San Antonio Columnist Questions Ability of TX GOP to Govern

Now that post-election gloating — and hand wringing — is subsiding, Texas leaders are shuddering at the thought of the upcoming session (or more likely, sessions) of the Legislature. In January, when the House elects the first Republican speaker since Reconstruction, Democrats will lose their last grasp on state government. And when Rep. Tom Craddick replaces Speaker Pete Laney, he will install his own team of committee chairmen and members.

In the Senate, Sen. Bill Ratliff has been senator and acting lieutenant governor since Rick Perry ascended to governor. Ratliff, who is well regarded in both parties, will return only as a senator.

Lieutenant governor-elect David Dewhurst will also name his own committees and chairmen, though he has never been a legislator.

Both incoming presiding officers say they will carry on the practice of appointing some minority party chairmen. But some wonder how many such appointments there will be in the Senate, because unlike Ratliff, Dewhurst was strongly partisan during the redistricting process, and moderates in both parties fault him privately for wielding ideological hatchets.

The 2003 session won't be unusual just because so many of its leaders will be inexperienced.

The GOP could not have gotten its first taste of absolute power at a worse time. Long-delayed infrastructure needs have multiplied as the population has grown.

And the next legislature faces a shortfall of as much as $12 billion that is largely the result of unanticipated demand for state-federal health insurance programs.

But for each state dollar cut from insurance programs, Texas will lose two to three federal-match dollars that are also computed into the state budget. So, cutting these will actually increase the shortfall.

Incredible pressures have also built up to change how Texas funds public schools and for lowering property taxes. Throughout the state, dissatisfaction with schools has grown as the number of districts bumping up to the $1.50 property tax cap has grown.

But the drive to replace the ill-named "Robin Hood" system has been fomented by the few wealthy districts forced to share their huge tax revenues with poorer districts.

The Texas Constitution requires that all children be provided reasonably comparable educational opportunities. Now that districts that once offered truly great educational opportunities are limited to offering their kids what the rest of Texas' kids get, they are complaining as bitterly as did the parents in poor districts about their kids' poor schooling.

The truth is that school districts — rich and poor alike — cannot raise property taxes any higher.

But neither can our great state allow a few rich districts to offer vastly superior education while others must saddle their kids with inferior opportunities.

Public schools are already the state's biggest budget item. Since the only way to really fix school funding is to provide more state money for all schools, the lawmakers will have to choose between higher taxes or an overhauled state tax structure.

So, the GOP is about to learn why caution should be exercised in what one wishes or prays for.

And next year, the GOP will also learn that being in total control during tough times and doing nothing will win it as much condemnation as actually fixing things.

To leave a message for Carlos Guerra, call (210) 250-3545 or e-mail cguerra@express-news.net.

Guerra believes that in near total victory, the TX GOP will fail to deliver sufficiently to please its supporters. Therein lies the Democrats' wedge to regain power in TX. But can it be as easy as Guerra hopes?

Guerra is a 'clymer'!! He's the reason I dropped the Express-News in San Antonio, Tx. When solicitors ask me if I take the paper I say no. Then they ask me if I want to start taking it again. My answer is simply this...."Sure, I'll take it. If you promise to drop Carlos Guerra and Molly Ivans". They just smile and leave me be.

Carlos Guerra has a panick button next to his typewriter.When he starts a story first he hit the button.

Back to the Republic(ans) of Texas....yeh yeh yeh. For years and years we've had a phantom Republican Party in Texas. Encouraged and visible, now we timid ones are coming out of the closet as newly-registered Rebuplican voters working grass roots where we will support local candidates for county, district, and state races. Let's begin right now to get some good people to run Republican campaigns in our local and county races. 04-NO-MORE-TEXAS-DEMOCRATS... Our time has finally come.

Guerra poses a false dilemna here. The are more approaches than the two he suggests. But he will always do this sort of thing since he's nothing but a La Raza/Reconquista propagandist for the left.

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