By Adrian Murray & George Scaggs
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas On November 2 2010 the citizens of Texas indeed of the entire United States sent a clear & unmistakable message to those entrusted with the power of governance. Since the deliverance of
that historic electoral reminder of where governments derive their just powers there has emerged a great controversy in Texas over who should be the next Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
That message acknowledging that our liberty is threatened by government left unchecked was a complete rejection of not only the policies and philosophy of big government liberalism but of politics-as-usual within our governing bodies.
This divisive issue has the potential to split along ideological lines a Republican majority of historical proportions one which should be united in victory.
While robust debate is a healthy part of our democratic process we believe that the people of Texas having worked hard to achieve this resounding conservative victory deserve better than assimilation with liberal Democrats to determine the next Speaker of the House and the resulting legislative agenda.
It is not enough for Speaker Joe Straus and a few of his lieutenants to simply assume he is the best person for the job because he is the current Speaker or worse yet that the position be bequeathed to him based on procedural precedent.
The on-going efforts by powerful political insiders and various media outlets to take matters into their own hands attempting to quell opposition by suggesting that it is illegitimate if not non-existent have had the opposite
effect. Talking down to the electorate has only served to add insult to injury subsequently fueling an anti-Straus juggernaut.
After all these are not the idle threats of an angry and insensible mob but stern and reasonable reminders of an electorate that is ever more engaged and determined to play a proper role in their own governance.
This is in fact our system of government working precisely as it was designed.
If the matter were to be put to a vote there should be no doubt that the clear consensus of the voters would be that the next Speaker of the House whoever that might be should be chosen by Republicans and Republicans only.
We do not have in this state nor in this nation a parliamentary form of government in which a ruling coalition is formed by cobbling together support among minority parties. That such arrangements even exist in the Texas Legislature is a troubling usurpation of the will of the people.
Clearly the next Speaker of the House should be beholden to the majority not the minority.
It has been said that any Republican representative who previously pledged support of Speaker Straus and now chooses to withdraw that pledge should be viewed as untrustworthy and disloyal. Given events which have transpired since representatives made those pledges we believe such views are devoid of proper context.
The Baker Institutes analysis of the 81st Legislature subsequently released following the pledges provides glaring empirical data which illustrates that the body produced a very liberal agenda under Mr. Straus leadership. One which went well beyond reflecting his chambers narrowly
divided membership.
When coupled with an electorate that looks much more conservative today than it did when legislators pledges were secured many of our representatives are now presented with a wide gulf between the leanings of their political leader and the views of their constituency.
Perhaps more importantly it is unreasonable to speculate that any Republican legislator could foresee Mr. Straus support of a member of the opposing party during an election cycle. Under such circumstances if any betrayal exists it can hardly be laid at the feet of those Republicans who previously pledged their support to Straus.
Further complicating the question at hand are allegations that some pledges were secured from representatives while Speaker Straus was directing funds into their campaigns. While this may or may not be standard operating procedure or a purely innocuous political practice if true avoiding the appearance of impropriety demands that those pledges be released. Why muck up the process?
Now making matters worse for the Straus camp Brian Hughes a well respected member of the Texas House has testified under oath that a member of Mr. Straus leadership team threatened him with being drawn out of his district if he did not maintain his support for the Speaker.
Voters deserve and our challenging times demand leadership that rises above political gamesmanship. A worthy and confident leader need not stack the deck.
Speaker Straus most avid supporters continued insistence for a sort of blind support does not reflect positively upon their man. Rather it suggests they are oblivious to the rapidly changing dynamics in the relationship between the people and their government.
The
State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) recently approved a resolution calling for the Speaker of the Texas House to be selected by a Republican Caucus with an increasing number of County Executive Committees are now following suit. We believe this common sense solution reflects the will of the people and effectively diffuses any controversy. We urge all Republican state representatives to endorse this resolution.
Further we urge Speaker Joe Straus to release all state representatives from their prior pledges of support so that they will be free to vote based upon their own convictions and the stated desire of their constituents.
Texas future and the peoples faith in their government are too important to do anything less.
Adrian Murray is President of the Fort Worth 9-12 Project. George Scaggs is a writer commentator voice actor & audio-video producer. You can find his work at Bargain Citizen Media Ramparts360.com and TexasInsider.org.
