A Dallas Democrat is finding company with broken clocks and blind squirrels—criticizing House Speaker Joe Straus for sending him a tactless form letter thanking him for his service on a committee that never even met.
“I am grateful for your many hours of hard work and your leadership on issues that matter to this state,” Straus wrote to State Rep. Eric Johnson (D–Dallas), the Vice Chair of the House Committee on Redistricting Committee.
Johnson says that the letter “symbolizes perfectly” his experience during the 85th Texas Legislature.
This symbolizes perfectly my 85th #TxLege: a form letter thanking me for serving on a committee that never met even once. #worstsessionever pic.twitter.com/9UuhSig6o1
— Eric Johnson (@JohnsonForTexas) May 30, 2017
The letter is especially galling for Johnson given that he spent virtually the entire session asking Straus and his appointed chair, State Rep. Cindy Burkett (R–Sunnyvale), to call a hearing for the committee. Despite Johnson’s requests, no committee hearing was ever called, leading the Democrat to ask if the funds appropriated could be returned to the taxpayers.
If a #txlege committee never meets once, yet pays a staff, is there a way to reimburse taxpayers? Asking for a friend. ? #fiscalconservatism
— Eric Johnson (@JohnsonForTexas) May 31, 2017
Johnson’s tweets are merely the latest expression of the frustration experienced by both Democrats and Republicans who are chafing under Straus’ equal parts ham and iron fisted rule. They’re also further validation of the theory that Straus was chosen to be Speaker precisely because he is too talentless and incompetent to stand up to the real masters of the House such as State Reps. Charlie Geren (R–Fort Worth) and Byron Cook (R–Corsicana).
While the approval, or lack thereof, from Democrats isn’t a good metric of leadership on its own, it is worthwhile to point out that members of both parties seem significantly more satisfied with the way Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick runs the Texas Senate than they are with Straus’ failed leadership regime.
