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Another Blow to Phelan: Trent Ashby Endorses David Cook for Speaker
Ashby praised Cook’s ability to work collaboratively with other statewide leaders to achieve conservative goals.
Houston Mayor Diverts $2.6 Million From Bridge Lighting to New Homelessness Initiative
Mayor Whitmire said the funding will be better used to tackle Houston’s homelessness crisis than on “decorative” lights.
A Leftward Lurch: Gene Wu Takes Over Democrat Caucus Amid Leadership Shake-Up
In addition to his ties to the CCP, Wu has been a vocal opponent of legislation banning hostile foreign entities, including China, from purchasing land in Texas.
Grand Prairie ISD Trustees Fire Suspended Superintendent
School board members hired Jorge Arredondo this summer but suspended him in September.
The Archive
Who Will Speak For You?
Incumbent House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio now faces two opponents in the race for the speakership: Warren Chisum of Pampa and Ken Paxton of McKinney. How do these three Republicans compare on taxpayer issues? To get a sense of their priorities, let’s first...
Speaker’s race fight is music to Texan ears
Political peace and quiet would be the worst possible sign for Texas voters right now, so we should be very encouraged by the Speaker’s race fight. The old guard will do everything it can to convince us the conservatives we sent to Austin are causing problems, but...
Proudly Outside
House Speaker Joe Straus is lashing out at "outside forces" engaged in the discussion about who should be speaker of the 99-seat Republican majority. Would those outside forces be lobbyists and consultants? Business insiders? Major contributors? Nope. The "outside...
Race for Texas Speaker!
Last week Texas Republicans did exceptionally well and defeated 22 liberal state legislators, bringing about a new way of running things in Austin. Election results on November 2nd were a clear mandate from the people of Texas for conservative leadership in the the...
Committee Baggage
On election day, lawmakers were issued a mandate to legislate conservatively. In Texas, public policy starts with the committee chairs. We thought the average score of Speaker Joe Straus' chairs would go up, since some of the chairs had been held by liberal Democrats...
“Right thinking” isn’t enough
Politicians are judged primarily on their philosophical commitments and voting record. Other things that determine the effectiveness of a politician, like agenda-setting and toughness, need more attention. In fact, if these categories became a common part of judging...
Immigration Reform I’d support
There was an interesting story in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about the large number of Mennonites who have immigrated to the Gaines County and Seminole-area over the past thirty years. While many Mennonites may choose to dress a bit differently, their style of...
The Motivation Deficit
How does a party, with as powerful a mandate as the Texas GOP just acquired, motivate for election day 2012? After all, nobody is afraid of the liberals right now. In one day, American liberals went from tigers to orange tabbies. The truth is, the GOP should never...
Election Night Analysis
Throughout the night we'll post updated election night analysis and updates. Please note that polls do not close until 7 p.m., Central. Polls close in El Paso at 8 p.m., Central (7 p.m., Mountain). UPDATE: (11:05pm) Hearing that all the ballots have been counted in...