Wow, time flies! 2015 is here and has started with a bang in the political world. We’ve been kind of slow posting around here and instead of telling you why and we’ll do better, I’ll send you over to Mark Bennett’s Defending People and let him tell you. Go ahead, click over, it is well worth the read to remind us of what truly matters in life. Well, except the prime rib: I’m more of a brisket/ribs/pulled pork kind of guy!
Speaking of starting out with a bang, the US House chose Rep. John Boehner to be Speaker again yesterday. I think that is probably a good thing because I think Boehner has done a better job than he gets credit for. We’ll see how he performs now that the Senate should be able to help. I would say that I’m disappointed in my new representative, Dr. Brian Babin, for not having the courage to vote either way but I knew going in that he would be a weak rep, which is why I voted for Ben Streusand in the primary. Voting “Present” was the worst vote he could have made. Heck, why didn’t he just stay home?
The Texas Legislature starts up its 84th session next Tuesday and once again, Rep. Joe Straus will be picked to lead the House. I think that the way he handled the attackers this year was good for all of Texas. Instead of staying back and letting them attack at will, he went out and got early commitments from the vast majority of Republican legislators, pretty much shutting down any real opposition. Oh sure, the attackers are keeping it up and that tiny fraction of activists are very loud, but as I said way back, there is no speakers race.
One of the best things to come from the attacks on Speaker Straus is that it actually raises the profile of Straus. November Republicans roll their eyes at the charges that Straus is “liberal” or against the pro-life movement. Anyone that has lived in Texas more than a few months knows that isn’t true. Be it our low state spending levels or the fact that we have some of the toughest laws on abortion in the country, the charges simply do not pass any type of sanity test.
If the Straus attackers would put just a fraction of their energy into learning how to pass legislation and how to get along with others in the sandbox, they’d be light years ahead of where they are now.
The vitriolic rhetoric that passes for political debate these days is disheartening. I’ve seen both Republicans and Democrats calling each other evil. We seem to forget the fact that those “evil” people are our neighbors, co-workers, fellow worshipers, and friends. Perhaps 2015 will see a reawakening by the vast number of people that don’t engage in these tactics and will produce bi-partisan legislation that enhances our lives. After all, wasn’t the sequestration idea originally a Democratic idea? For those of us that are fiscal conservatives, it worked out great. And wasn’t the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) originally an idea that came out of the Heritage Foundation? No single party or person can claim to always have the “best” legislation.
One of the things that we are going to do here a BJP this year is host a series of non-partisan educational forums. Our first one is this coming Monday, January 12th, from 11:30 – 1:00 pm at Stag’s Head Pub in the Montrose area. The speaker will be Steve Lonegan, former US Senate candidate in New Jersey. Mr. Lonegan will be presenting Fix the Dollar’s plan for sound monetary policy.
2015 should be a fun year for political junkies in Texas and in Harris County. The 84th session will be entertaining if nothing else. The City of Houston open mayoral race will be like a wild west show. Harris County Commissioner’s Court might decide what to do with the Astrodome.
But don’t forget about Mark’s post. Do whatever makes you happy and brings you joy, be it golf or tennis, bbq or prime rib, or quiet date nights with your spouse!
UPDATE: Unfortunately, the folks at Fix the Fed have cancelled their trip to Texas, so the meeting will not happen. We will continue to search for speakers that bring insight to today’s politics.