Now don’t go all ballistic thinking that I’m broad brushing all tea party leaders as being driven for profit because I’m not. If you fit the bill or if your “leader” fits the bill, then you know who I’m talking about. The majority, at least at this early stage in the development of the movement, are still in it for the right reasons. All I’m saying is that the media portrayal of Teapers as lemmings following Rush Limbaugh or anyone else without thinking for themselves is a gross distortion of Teapers. I trust Teapers to think for themselves and the best way to allow them to do that is to present the truth and let the chips fall where they may.
And that is why I’m not a political consultant. If I were, I’d tell Texas House Speaker Joe Straus to distribute the video below far and wide. Let the people decide for themselves instead of having to rely on Empower Texans employees channeling Tom Craddick via Tim Dunn’s money. Or Diane Nusbaum of the Collin County Tea Party channeling Empower Texans employees channeling Tom Craddick via Tim Dunn’s money.
I’m not sure why I haven’t seen this video before. I have to give a h/t to one Alice Linahan who is very much against Speaker Straus. She left a comment on Burkablog with a link to the video, hoping to persuade people to contact their reps and urge them to replace Speaker Straus. She is also connected in some way to North Texas Navigator News, a rightwing faux-news site run by the Resolute Media Group, which also happens to be the first place that announced Rep. Ken Paxton’s challenge to Straus. And which was written by none other than…Alice Linahan. Make of that what you will or won’t.
Back to the video. It is an interview of newly minted Speaker Straus from 1/16/2009 by Evan Smith when he was still at Texas Monthly and wasn’t yet sporting his new, trendy glasses (see Cory at Harris County Almanac for that one). Despite the fun we poke at Evan, he is on his way to becoming the next Charlie Rose of interviewing. Here is the interview, in full, for you to watch:
{youtube}dTehIlCMMCE{/youtube}
A fascinating interview. You watch it, you decide.
Here are some time points for those of you that will spend 30 seconds forwarding something negative about Speaker Straus but refuse to watch the whole 27 minutes. Shame on you if you do that but it is what it is.
First the biggie: Social issues. Evan does a very good job of pulling information out – remember, Speaker Straus is not a 40 year politician, this was the beginning of his third term, his first indepth interview as Speaker, and he is a conservative being interviewed by someone with a, let’s say, not so conservative reputation. He asks Speaker Straus about abortion, gay foster parents, and gambling. Here are your cue points:
- Abortion: 16:10 (short intro to the segment, then 2 minutes on abortion)
- Gay Foster Parents: 18:30
- Gambling: 19:57
You watch, you decide. For some, this will confirm your support. For some, this will confirm your opposition. For some, this may very well change your mind, either way. You watch, you decide.
Interestingly, Evan also brings up Voter ID. For those of you that think Speaker Straus is against Voter ID, this should put that to rest once and for all. He is for Voter ID. I dare you to watch, then decide. The cue point is 21:40. Pay special attention to Speaker Straus’ words and Evan’s pressing him on it – it is obvious that Evan is against it and Speaker Straus supports it. He even said something that would make Catherine Englebrecht’s (True the Vote) leg tingle: “Is it a priority? Well, I’m for fair elections, yeah.”. And he stuck to that even when it was clear that Evan wanted a different answer. You will hear Evan reference a vote in the 2007 session when Speaker Straus voted for Voter ID.
That vote was on HB-218 authored by Betty Brown, Leo Berman, Dwayne Bohac, and Debbie Riddle. You can find the journal vote referenced by Evan here (Record Vote 621). But if you understand the way the House works, third votes aren’t where the real action is, it is the second vote that matters. Here is the second record vote (Record Vote 618). Speaker Straus voted “Yes” on both. He also voted “Yes” on the first vote, if that matters to you (Record Vote 604). Fascinating reading in those journal records.
So if Voter ID is your main goal this year, have no fear, it will pass in this 99-51 session. But you watch, you read, you decide.
The last cue I want to point you to is at the end of the Voter ID segment. It starts at 23:17 and Evan transitions from his frustrating attempt to get Speaker Straus to cave on Voter ID to his view of the Speakership itself. Refreshing, especially after watching Tom Craddick bang the gavel in the face of Rep. Robert Talton in the 2007 session. If you don’t know Rep. Talton, just think of the most conservative person you know and up it a notch. That is Rep. Talton. And Craddick continually banged the gavel to shut him up because, unlike Speaker Straus, Speaker Craddick thinks the House was HIS, not YOURS through your representative.
I very much like Speaker Straus’ answer. But you watch, you decide.
Some of you will watch and decide opposite of me. And that’s okay because at least you are getting the information first hand. I trust you. I don’t trust some of your “leaders”. Cheers.