Texas Legislature Rolls Hard Right - What does that mean for the next legislative session?

A Republican TexasAs the sun came up over the Texas Capitol Wednesday morning something was different. No, you really couldn't see it if you looked at the majestic Texas Capitol, but there was something new... something different.  Ah, I see it now! She is leaning more to the RIGHT! In what may be the largest shift in political power since Sam Houston sent Santa Ana packing, Texas Republicans now have a strong hold on at least the House side of the Capitol and a majority in the Senate where we should be able to pass much of the legislation that has been held up by Democrats for the past several sessions.

Twenty-two new freshman Republican State Representatives will be moving into new offices in the capital displacing their former Democrat opponents.  Texans have now given the Republicans a solid, controlling majority, at 100-50.  More important than the numbers is the "who" of the outgoing Democrats!  Take a look at this list from across the state. Some very important Democrats will not be returning to Austin next year, unless they are back as lobbyists. What does this mean in the Texas House?

The first question that comes to mind is who will lead this body of legislators? Currently House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) is the sitting Speaker, elected to the position with a coalition Republican/Democrat legislators that proved to be a disaster from the standpoint of moving vital legislation forward in the last session.  Will the new strong-conservative base choose a new Speaker with solid conservative credentials?  I am certain these talks are already underway. Supposedly Speaker Straus has been dialing for pledges of support.  I wonder who is taking his calls?

Hunting Season in the Texas CapitalOnce this issue is settled, we will have a much better picture of what kind of legislation will come out of the Texas House in the 2011 legislative session. Voter ID is certainly on the list of hot topics.  There were many reports in Dallas about people coming in to vote and finding they had "already voted"! Apparently there is a new service out there that will vote for you to make it easier.  Problem is, they don't ask you how you want to vote.  Voter ID will go a long way to slow this problem down.

Border Security and Illegal Immigration will be another hot topic.  State Rep Debbie Riddle from Houston, has promised to introduce legislation to send money, technology and manpower to the border to assist our brave border sheriffs who are our first line of defense against the violent war going on just south of the Texas/Mexico border.  She will also introduce a bill to make driving without a driver's license (meaning you don't have one, not you left yours at home) a mandatory arrest violation. Much like the current law which requires arrest for driving on a suspended license.

Rep. Leo Berman, from Tyler, will introduce legislation to bring an Arizona style law to Texas. Other Reps are promising new legislation to make Texas more secure and safer.

Texas faces a wealth of issues in the coming session; a sever budget deficit, redistricting, nullifying the Obama Healthcare unconstitutional action, regaining control of our environment from the EPA, school financing - just to name a few. This promises to make this session hugely challenging with great opportunity for Republicans to show they deserve the new power they have been given.  

It is indeed a new day for Texas and for Republicans. We now have an opportunity to show what true conservative leadership can do.  We also have an opportunity to watch for some of the remaining "big government" Republicans to identify themselves and target them for elimination 2012 primaries.  You see Legislators, we are watching.  We are paying attention.  And, we WILL take action.

Good luck and God Bless Texas!

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Comments

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Hopefully the new Congress in Texas will also relieve us of RINO Joe Straus.

I am starting to see the signs of we Republicans misreading our electoral mandate.  Our Nation and our state did not change on November 2, 2010.  We are still, and will continue to be, a center right country.  When we stopped being fiscally conservatives, we were unceremoniously booted from power in 2006 and 2008.  Next Democrats completely misread their mandate and mistakenly believed the country had gone hard left.  The election results from November 2 was the nation telling Democrats they had gone way too far.  As Republicans, if we make the same mistake Democrats did, we will give the other side a chance to reinvent themselves as a centrist pro-business party with a reasonable immigration policy.  If they do that and the Texas Legislature passes an Arizona type law, we will lose power as fast as we got it.  Hopefully the Democrats will not be smart enough to move to a center pro-business position similar to what Tony Blair did with his “New Labor”, but if we abandon the center right, we run the risk of ceding this valuable political territory. 

I say:  Let's go all the way conservative right!  I want Godly values and virtues to come back to this country, starting with Texas.  A nation under God, like our founding fathers intended it to be.  This is what made us into a great nation to beging with.  I am not willing to compromise my values with anyone!  If we are strong and do what is right, God will reward us accordingly.  Who cares about the Democrats taking back territory?  "If God is for us, who can be against us."  Romans 8:31.

This same stuff is floating around over at Tom Pauken's website, too.

I've been a conservative for all my 56 years and I love Joe Straus. Michael Quinn Sullivan and Welch are more concerned with telling people how to live than they are about our taxes, spending and debt. Venable is just unbelievable for signing this letter.

I've lost a lot of respect for everyone involved and predict there will be some changes. Some of them won't be leaders much longer. Straus actually helped cut taxes and spending last session. His leadership was essential to getting through a session where we had only a 1 seat majority. Now, he'll be able to run the chamber without having to play nice with the demos.

We have a conservative leader in Speaker Straus. These people should be smart enough to see that which makes me wonder what they've been promised to agitate for 'change'. We've seen our first gains in the House since 2002... he must be doing something right!
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