Those are the words of Texas State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a Republican from the north Dallas area. From Scott Braddock reporting in the QuorumReport:

Some Tea Party supporters in Tarrant County got a wakeup call overnight as one of the lawmakers they have supported over establishment Republican figures told them late Monday that there is no race for Speaker of the Texas House.

In a town hall style meeting, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, answered questions about his newfound support for Speaker Joe Straus in a matter-of-fact way. “The reality is there is no race for Scott Turner versus Joe Straus,” Capriglione said, referring of course to the lawmaker from Frisco who has announced his challenge to Speaker Straus.

Click here to read the entire post on QuorumReport.com ($$)

You really need to watch the video on Facebook to understand why Rep. Capriglione correctly states that there is no race.

That correct assertion doesn’t mean, however, that there will not be vicious attacks on Speaker Joe Straus from groups funded by Midland oilman Tim Dunn. These people would rather waste their time swinging pitchforks on the Oust Straus wagon rather than work to advance their public policy goals. They get paid a lot of money to try and divide the Republican caucus, not to push good public policy.

My fellow Harris County Republican Party Precinct Chair Greg Aydt is already hitting Straus, although not in the vicious way that Dunn’s groups will. Greg has written a couple of posts over at his RhymesWithRight site:

• Will Speaker Joe Straus Reappoint Dem Committee Chair Who Called Republicans Stupid, Ignorant?
• Why Breaking The Joe Straus/Senfronia Thompson Connection Is So Important For Texas Conservatives

I have to disagree with this statement from the second link:

In other words, he has to show us that he is willing to defer to the GOP base and the GOP platform — or he needs to be replaced by someone like Scott Turner, who we know is a conservative who will run the Texas House like Texas is a red state.

First, Turner is not a “conservative” – listen to Rep. Capriglione discuss Turner in the video and then research him. Second, the reason that 80{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of Republican legislators and 100{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of Democratic legislators prefer Straus is because he lets the members run the House. He doesn’t run it like a dictator nor does he allow outside groups to have undue influence on House members. Ask any member that has been there under other Speakers and they will tell you that Straus is fair, effective, efficient, and leads the House to focus on major issues but allows the members the freedom to vote their districts. Your beef, if you have one, is with the legislators themselves, not the Speaker.

So, no, there is no Speaker’s race in Texas. But there will be a lot of hot air blowing in from those who would rather scream than discuss public policy.

 

Wow. R’s rule! A few thoughts on the results in the Texas election.

But first, I have to give thanks to the election workers in my precinct, the mighty 377 in Harris County! As a precinct chair, you always wonder if the workers you ask are actually going to show up. Fortunately, we had a great team and made it through a long day without any problems that we couldn’t handle on site. So thank you to Don Hill (Alternate Judge), Richard Florance (my right hand), Marion Schmitz, David Williams, and Mike Meehan.

Human Interest Story

Okay, so during the 12 hours (really 14) that election workers work the polls, there are always several human interest stories. From the mighty 377, the one that stands out was the grandmother who brought her autistic grandson to the poll. I was so happy with the response of our poll workers and the voters in the booths at the time. My alternate judge, Don Hill, displayed grace beyond measure in trying to talk to the young man and then moving discretely behind the voting machines to help protect the setup. The voters in the booths at the time quickly understood what was happening and no one complained. It was, to me, an awesome display of basic humanity and I’m proud to say that the grandmother was able to vote with minimal distraction and I am blessed to have met her for this brief period of time.

Harris County Sweep

Kudos to Chairman Paul Simpson. He came in on a platform of “professionalizing” the party and he did it in just a few months. The phone banking and GOTV measures he put in place clearly helped in the Republican sweep. And he took advantage of Houston Mayor Annise Parker’s gift and spent party money on radio ads by Paul Bettencourt urging voters to vote straight R. More on that later but since I haven’t been Paul’s strongest supporter, I think that I have to give kudos where they are due and certainly, Paul earned them.

Governor

Greg Abbott is the real deal and he is not Rick Perry or anyone else. Voters made an awesome choice and Governor-elect Greg Abbott is going to surprise many of his Democratic detractors with his forward thinking ideas for Texas. He is going to be an awesome Governor, I guarantee it!

Justice, 1st Court of Appeals District, Place 3

So, so happy that my friend Russell Lloyd destroyed incumbent Jim Sharp in this race. Russell has a brilliant legal mind and will be a positive force on the 1st Court.

Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 7

Justice Ken Wise deserved to be elected to this position. Justice Wise is a calm, steady jurist that will not legislate from the bench.

District Judge, 113th Judicial District

Everyone in the top echelon of Harris County Republican Party politics was worried about this race. Judge Landrum didn’t get the Houston Chronicle endorsement and his opponent was a well respected former Democratic judge. I didn’t understand the concern because I know Judge Landrum and he is one of the finest men I’ve ever met. Fortunately the voters agreed with me and he coasted to victory. Congratulations to Judge Landrum and Mary Grace!

State Representative District 23

Very pleased that Wayne Faircloth won this race and flipped a former Democratic seat. Wayne is exactly the type of candidate we need (we coastal residents) in this district and I look forward to his leadership on TWIA issues.

State Representative District 129

It was never in doubt after the primary but I still have to give kudos to Rep.-elect Dennis Paul and his campaign manager Debra Risinger for their overwhelming victory in my home district. And Debra did this while pregnant and giving birth to the newest Risinger! I’m almost positive I received an email from her while she was in labor urging me to get out the vote for Dennis! How do you top that?

State Representative District 144

This might be the biggest surprise of the night to many but since I know the players involved, it wasn’t such a shocker to me. Gilbert and Cynthia Pena worked their tails off to win this Democratic, Latino focused district and flip it from last session’s rookie of the year, Mary Ann Perez. They did it with no money, just hard work and great strategy. I’ll have a lot more on this race since it involves my old stomping grounds in Pasa-get-down-dena. For now, if you are a candidate in an urban area, I’d suggest you check out American Renaissance Consulting for help.

Harris County District Clerk

Another non-surprise but Chris Daniels has shown the way for future Republicans. Do a great job in your elected position, get out and talk to people of all stripes, and you will be rewarded with another term in office. Love this guy.

Harris County District Attorney

Hey, you can’t win them all. The Republican voters chose to “keep Harris County red”. If you look at the totals, those of us that supported the D in this race made a fairly significant impact but clearly not enough. That’s okay, Mrs. Anderson is on record on any number of issues for change at the criminal justice center. Believe me, we will be watching. I hope that she follows through on them and gives me a reason to vote with a very happy face for her in two years when she runs for a full term. It is never fun coming out publicly for a Democrat when you are a dyed in the wool Republican precinct chair. Trust me on that one.

We’ll have more and certainly more specific numbers and analysis later. For now, that’s all I got.

Except…wow! It was almost as good as 2010! Let’s govern like we deserve these votes and then we’ll have a chance in the 2016 Presidential election!