National Review story well sums up my frustration with Speaker Straus & crew

Pratt on Texas - copyright Pratt on Texas all rights reservedIn a feature story in the 14 August issue of National Review titled The Republican Civil War in Texas, Kevin Williamson misses the boat on the Privacy Act by not pointing out that the bill out of the Senate contains substantive protections from local ordinances, either pro- or anti-homosexual agenda, for businesses and private property owners. When understood, this exposes the big-business position on the bill as little more than pushing the Leftist political ball further down the field as opposed to protecting their workplace cultures.

But Williamson gets the problem with Speaker Joe Straus right, just a little credit-fact wrong.

image: Joe Straus

Speaker Joe Straus

“In a conversation with conservative talk-radio host Robert Pratt, Straus was pointed about his colleague: “The lieutenant governor . . . has a different audience,” he said. “Literally an audience. He was in your business. He’s an entertainer, a talk-show guy.” Straus did not seem to mean it as a compliment,” Williamson wrote. 

Thanks for the mention but the interview with Straus was on The Chad Hasty Show which airs on my network’s flagship station KFYO in Lubbock. It seem to remember is as Straus responding to what Lt. Gov. Patrick had said on Pratt on Texas a few days earlier.

It is in the summary that Williamson gets it right and echoes my deep frustration with Straus and crew.

…he [Straus] isn’t eager enough when it comes to everything else. Despite their commanding political position, Republicans in Texas just are not getting much done.

“But the biggest beef with Straus for conservatives isn’t that he’s too soft or too eager to engage in bipartisanship, but that he isn’t eager enough when it comes to everything else. Despite their commanding political position, Republicans in Texas just are not getting much done. And this isn’t salutary neglect on the Calvin Coolidge model: Texas has some serious problems that need dealing with,” Williamson wrote.

I’ve said before on this subject, among the greatest sins is wasting opportunity one has been given especially in politics where the power always slips back to the other side. Wasting opportunity to tie future Democrat hands and make it very difficult to turn Texas into California or New York politically sums up the Texas House under Speaker Straus for more than half a decade.

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