The Straus team, which includes the Austin media jack-in-the-boxes, is making hay about the pledge count. Straus has 120 and Paxton has 12. It’s a good sound bite for them.
It’s also as hollow as a paper mache speaker gavel.
A pledge gotten with campaign money coming back across the table, an expectation of an 82-68 House, no idea of what the new speaker race world will be like, and before the Straus team went ‘thug’ is like the marriage proposal I gave to my summer sweetheart over snow cones at age 11.
If we want to compare meaningful pledges, pledges given in service of constituents, pledges that cost something, pledges given by people with real leadership in them, its Paxton 12 Straus 0.
Straus’s real house allies are his 17 Republicans for rent, and they don’t even respect themselves. Fifty-one Democrats would throw him under the first blue bus that rode through, and 82 Republicans wouldn’t look at themselves in the mirror for a few days after voting for Straus.
Paxton has a cluster of granite pledges and the will of Texans. Straus has lots of paper mache pledges and a conservative costume.
Paxton represents the majority. Paxton represents November 2nd. Paxton represents Texas. A Paxton speakership represents a lot of cynicism draining out of our state politics. Close to 70 more Republicans are waiting for an excuse to vote for Paxton. With a little leadership, it isn’t far away.
Basil King famously said, “Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” Well, Redstate.com is already on this story, and they feed ideas to the big fish. Who wants to already be on the right team if and when that happens?
