NEWS
Speaker Race Not Over?
Despite calls from conservative activists, tea party leaders, Republican leaders and Texas voters, the House Republican caucus voted in closed session this afternoon to endorse Joe Straus for re-election as House speaker. No doubt to the chagrin of some tepid lawmakers, the speakership race apparently isn’t over.
House Tax Talk
It may no longer be a question of if the leadership team surrounding House Speaker Joe Straus will move to raise taxes, but when and how much. Just this weekend another Straus lieutenant announced his openness to hiking taxes this year. Hopefully Gov. Rick Perry has a veto pen ready.
Wentworth’s Land Grab
Legislation being offered by Republican State Sen. Jeff Wentworth would create a massive land-grab for schools, forcing developers to sell property at or below market value.
Dispelling Redistricting Myths
With Texas being the biggest winner of this decade’s decennial census and subsequent congressional reapportionment, many liberals are trying to find a silver lining, especially after their November beat down in which the Texas Democratic delegation shrunk from 12 to 9.
Speaker Vote Will Be On Index
The vote for House Speaker will be included on the Fiscal Responsibility Index, announced the president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility today.
Straus Supporters Are Wrong… Statistically
It seems Speaker Joe Straus’ supporters need a refresher on Statistics. Many of those supporters cite historic GOP gains in Texas’ House as evidence of political effectiveness. That means Mr. Straus should remain Speaker, doesn’t it? Hardly.
Deleting DIR
It’s a safe bet most Texans haven’t heard of the Department of Information Resources. It’s hummed along under the radar for years, generating revenue by selling services to other state agencies. After a scathing Sunset Commission report, State Rep. Byron Cook is ready to shut it down.
Again Lefties Lead with Tax-Hikes
It seems time after time, the left’s go-to solution for budgetary issues is to “increase revenue streams” (ahem) raise taxes. More curious is that these “solutions” keep coming from the leadership team assembled by House Speaker Joe Straus.
Fiscal Index 2011
Preparing for the start of the legislative session, we last week sent lawmakers a letter outlining our priorities and reminding them how our scorecard, the Fiscal Responsibility Index, works. Of more immediate significance, we noted that House members’ first vote could be graded.
Cutting Corporate Welfare
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has it exactly right: “The Texas economy will grow, with or without incentives.” The ‘incentives,’ of course, are government giveaway programs that cost taxpayers a lot without providing much return. It’s time for them to go.
Yoo-hoo, Beverly Woolley…
Endorsing Straus doesn’t make Straus a conservative. It makes you a liberal.
The man you endorsed:
- Was brought to power by the Democrats
- Only has unanimous pledges for Speaker from one party in the House of Representatives: The Democrats. Straus is the Democrats choice.
- Presided over a session wherein roll-rates indicated clear Democratic control
In Defense Of Military Voters
In HD-48, Republican Dan Neil is taking his recount battle to unseat incumbent State Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) directly to the Texas Legislature. Travis County officials are now admitting that (some?) straight-ticket overseas ballots were counted for the November election, but only in statewide races.