By Bill Keffer
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas The 82nd Texas legislative session was gaveled in last Tuesday which was preceded by a midterm election that resulted in the largest Republican a total of 101 Republicans vs. 49 Democrats delegation in the Texas House since Reconstruction. Even more unusual was the unprecedented attention from outside the Capitol on whether the incumbent speaker Joe Straus should be re-elected or replaced.
Tea Party activists turned their attention to the speaker election because Straus was seen as insufficiently conservative to lead the charge for government reform demanded by voters.
Challenges made by Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) and Ken Paxton (R-McKinney) became the rallying points for those seeking change in Austin with Paxton becoming the clearer symbol for that change. But after all of the
rallies and emails and letter writing and op-eds and endorsements were said and done Straus was re-elected almost by acclamation.
So what happened?
Its nothing more than another illustration of whats right vs. whats reality."
In a perfect world where the will of the people at any given time is reflected in the selection and actions of those who represent them Paxton would have been chosen as the new speaker because his record and philosophy unquestionably reflect the message of the last election.
That would have been the right" thing to do.
The reality" however is what constantly prevents government from being able to respond meaningfully to the pleas of citizens who increasingly realize the unsustainable path we are on.
Legislators are unable to make the right" decision because other obstacles distort and obstruct their path. Career advancement committee assignments committee chairmanships obligations felt and owed because of financial support during the campaign past or promised legislation support friendships discord or even just misplaced priorities are many of the very
real" reasons that right" decisions are not made.
The world wont end because Paxton lost; but it is much less likely now to be the world that voters were seeking when they voted last November.
TexByte was written for the Insitutue for Policy Innovation by Bill Keffer a Dallas attorney who served in the Texas legislature from 2003-6. His email address is bkeffer@mklaw.net.
