The Latest
Commentary, Life, Texas Scorecard Podcasts
Language to Save the Republic
Too often, conservatives cede the selection of the rhetorical battleground to the left. It is why we are losing.
Texas Supreme Court Rejects Effort to Remove Justice Devine from Ballot
Justice John Devine’s opponent alleged that he is deficient in the signatures required to qualify for the ballot.
Gov. Abbott Secures Border Park; Accessible Only to State Officials
Illegal crossers are expected to be arrested for criminal trespass, although some warn without returning them to Mexico this new move by Abbott will accomplish little.
Decision Texas, Local, Metroplex
Candidates Race for Open House District 97 Seat
The Fort Worth-area seat has three candidates vying for the Republican nomination.
The Archive
Texas GOP legislators growing government
At political blog sandstormscholar.com, the following was posted about the 83rd Legislature: “State legislators are making the rounds touting the bills they passed. We wonder when we’re going to get less, not more. Instead of more laws how about fewer? An agenda of...
Plano ISD: Massive Debt May Lead to Higher Taxes
Texans are becoming increasingly aware of our state’s local borrowing crisis driven primarily by local school districts, as revealed in a series of reports released last year by the State Comptroller’s office. Michele Samuelson accurately summarized one of those...
Hilderbran for Comptroller?
Straus-appointed Ways and Means Chairman Harvey Hilderbran has officially thrown his name into the race for Texas Comptroller. What exactly should taxpayers expect if he’s elected as the chief steward of the state’s finances? You may recall earlier this session where...
Put Administrators Ahead Of Students
With more than 84 percent of Republican primary voters saying they wanted more academic freedom and parental choices in education, GOP members of the Texas House decided to maintain the status quo … and explicitly forbid any efforts to expand options for students and...
Opposing tax increases is not the be-all of conservatism
Earlier this week Texans for Fiscal Responsibility released Texas’ most important conservative scorecard of legislator performance for the latest session. Michael Quinn Sullivan titled his summary of the report “Lack of Responsibility” and I couldn’t agree more. I say...
Know the “effective rate” to judge local tax rate changes
It’s local budget time and all over Texas I see the distortions of city and county elected officials ignorantly passed along by local members of the media. Time and again I read quotes of officials talking about how they are giving local taxpayers a break by either...
Ethics Commission Suppresses Testimony
In a letter to the Texas Ethics Commission, attorneys for Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and Michael Quinn Sullivan are demanding that all documents, records and electronic files be preserved in the wrongful complaints filed against their clients. [side_text]The...
Trading Access?
When the University of Texas defended itself in the Fisher lawsuit, they provided a list of criteria considered for admission. Not surprisingly, they failed to list what some say almost guarantees admission: a relationship to a powerful politician or big donor. More...
Do Local Elections Matter?
Yes, Texas, local elections do matter. As mentioned in a previous article highlighting Irving’s tax-payer funded giveaway, Texas has the second highest local debt per person ($7,500), more than California ($6,469), a state drunk on lavish public pensions and rock-star...