(RINO)Straus Cruises to Re-election as Speaker of the Texas House

Star-Telegram ^ | January 11, 2011 | Dave Montgomery

[JeepersFreepers]

The 82nd Legislature got under way Tuesday as House Speaker Joe Straus quelled a conservative rebellion to retain his leadership post and Gov. Rick Perry called on lawmakers to pursue a conservative course that will result in a "leaner, smarter" state government.

[JeepersFreepers]

Straus was first elected to Speaker of the Texas House in 2009 when a "gang of 11" turncoat Republicans joined with all 65 Democrats to oust the current conservative speaker. Straus then appointed Democrats to 16 of the House's 34 chairmanship positions. He was able to undermine the conservative agenda of the Republican majority. Now, with the dramatic gains from the recent election, there is a super-majority of 101 Republicans out of 150 members in the House. Inexplicably this majority bypassed two conservative candidates to reelect this RINO as speaker, the 3rd most powerful position in Texas. They don't call the Republicans the Stupid Party for nothing. The most likely consequence of this re-election will be in how the House deals with the Texas budget deficit. Spending cuts will likely be stymied and tax increases enacted instead.

[freekitty]

They didn’t listen to the voters.

[Alex Murphy]

Straus was first elected to Speaker of the Texas House in 2009 when a "gang of 11" turncoat Republicans joined with all 65 Democrats to oust the current conservative speaker. Straus then appointed Democrats to 16 of the House's 34 chairmanship positions. He was able to undermine the conservative agenda of the Republican majority.

Related thread:
Priest, the bishop and Sunshine [retired Catholic bishop: voting for TX Rep. Joe Straus is a sin]

[Gadsden1st]

It is going to be a long, hard fight to straighten out the mess we have allowed. We have the same problem in state houses as we do at the Federal level. We must get involved at the local level and clean house from the bottom up. The RINO’s and Old Boy Network will not go quietly.

[montag813]

Can someone please explain to me how any Republican could support Straus after he appointed Democrats to head half of all committees?

[B.O. Plenty]

With all due respect, our system is a Representative Republic....the Representative has no obligation to vote with their constituents.

That being said....

...they may have no obligation to vote with their constituents, but they are most certainly accountable to them.

We, the People will take care of the situation in Nov 2012....

[Frantzie]

LBJ Republicans. They s*ck.

[JeepersFreepers]

As is typical, the left has tried to brand Christians who oppose Straus as anti-Semitic as he is of the Jewish faith. It has nothing to do with his support of abortion. This is kind of analogous to playing the race card.

[freekitty]

I hope so. So far at the very least; more Rinos are serving.

[BillyBoy]

>> Straus was first elected to Speaker of the Texas House in 2009 when a "gang of 11" turncoat Republicans joined with all 65 Democrats to oust the current conservative speaker. Straus then appointed Democrats to 16 of the House's 34 chairmanship positions. He was able to undermine the conservative agenda of the Republican majority <<

Man, those state legislative leaders are great! Such wise leadership in those "red" states. Thomas Jefferson would love this guy! I'm not sure who is better, Straus, Kent Williams of Tennessee, or the RINOs who lets the Dems run the Alaska Senate despite Republicans far outnumbering them. If only Straus could be choosing the state's U.S. Senators instead of the lowly voters, we'd have true statesmen in office. Obviously professional politicians are sooo much smarter and better than the citizens of their state.

Yessir, most state legislatures are truly inspirational. And of course, in the rare circumstance you don't like your state legislator, you should just "pay closer attention" to the candidates and produce a better one (not sure how this works if you're in a state like Ilinois where all the districts are gerrymandered, or in Arkansas where the system is rigged so the incumbents run unopposed), but oh well. And of course, if Texans don't love their wonderful state legislature, there's another "solution", they can just pick up overnight and "move!" to a new state -- as some "abolish the 17th" advocate told me when I explained to him my state legislature sucks.

(I suppose I should add the < /sarcasm> tag in case anyone thinks I actually like the Texas State House.)

[DallasSun]

They had the courage of their convictions. Thank goodness. I am proud of them though many here will disagree with me I know.

[freekitty]

What exactly are their convictions?

[manic4organic]

Their convictions: no voter ID required, no action against illegal aliens, no pro-life legislation.

[freekitty]

Couldn’t agree more.

[DallasSun]

Their convictions were obviously that Straus was the best choice for this post. And I agree with them. Their alternatives were not in the best interest of this beautiful state. That is simply my opinion.

[DallasSun]

The alternatives were all much the same as having Craddick back which is exactly what the majority of republicans did not want, for good reason.

[freekitty]

I undertand what you are saying but aren’t you tired of taking the less of the two evils? This is where the Left wants us where we have no choice. No one wants to take the plunge to actually get a real conservative.

[DallasSun]

I appreciate your thoughts on this but disagree. In no way do I see Straus as the lesser of evils. I like and respect him very much and he is so much better than Craddick who turned off even the most conservative members of the republican party.

[freekitty]

I think a much better alternative could be found then those two.

[Impy]

Straus, a San Antonio Republican who became speaker in 2009, was elected to a second term by a 132-15 vote after his two challengers, Reps. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, and Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, dropped out.

They just rolled over? A shame.