Most conservatives have in recent years come to suspect that Texas Monthly’s “Ten Best” legislators list is little more than a compilation of the biggest shills for big government. Now comes proof. In a May 26 posting on the “BurkaBlog,” Texas Monthly writer Patricia Kilday Hart unabashedly advocated for the expansion of the “Children’s Health Insurance Program” and other far-left causes, then suggested supporting such measures would get legislators on the ten-best list.

“Our deadline for the 10 Best and 10 Worst Legislators is fast approaching and there are plenty of spots open,” Hart posted. Is she a journalist or a partisan hack?

Hard to tell in the mainstream media these days. Books on journalistic ethics are now used as doorstops in the few remaining newsrooms. But I suppose we should give Hart and Texas Monthly some credit for finally coming clean about the ideological bias built into their lists.

Hart suggests the causes important to Texas Monthly, and therefore earning one’s way onto the self-hyped Ten Best list, is support of CHIP expansion, “needle exchange, renewable energy incentives, and on and on.”

Sounds like any Republican named to the Texas Monthly Ten Best will be a legislative liberal without the courage to campaign on their convictions. We’ll see…

If your lawmaker makes the list, disregard the puffery about “experience” and “effectiveness,” and examine what liberal water they carried in the last days of Session for the activists running Texas Monthly.

One way to tell who the real conservatives are serving in the House and Senate? Staying off the Texas Monthly Ten Best. Heck, if Hart’s comments are the standard, then making the “Ten Worst” list is probably a sign you’re doing right by Texas’ families and economy.

Michael Quinn Sullivan

Michael Quinn Sullivan is the publisher of Texas Scorecard. He is a native Texan, a graduate of Texas A&M, and an Eagle Scout. Previously, he has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine contributor, Capitol Hill staffer, and think tank vice president. Michael and his wife have three adult children, a son-in-law, and a dog. Michael is the author of three books, including "Reflections on Life and Liberty."

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