Here’s my view: our 99 Republicans should vote for the Speaker candidate who has the most legislative skill and experience to know what the priorities of the next session should be, and how to pass the legislation needed to address those priorities. What we don’t need is another mouthpiece or showhorse—we have enough of those to champion our party’s interests. We need a legislative leader.
I don’t know any of these three men personally (though I am not a fan of the current Speaker, because of his support of Democratic incumbents over Republican challengers in certain districts in this election cycle), so I don’t know which of them is the most capable legislative leader—I’ll leave that to those who have worked, and will work with them in the House. But I do have my own thoughts about what the legislative priorities should be for this General Session. It should redistrict the Texas legislature and the Congressional districts so that Republicans can retain a working majority for the remainder of the decade so we can restructure government and gain control of our public debt; it should pass a balanced budget that begins to address the structural problems presented by our current educational, medical, prison, and transportation systems; and it should pass legislation that improves security for our border and our ballot. If the legislature can accomplish these tasks and address other issues, great; if it can’t accomplish these priorities during the General Session, the Governor should call Special Sessions until they do. To get these priorities through the drafting, committees, and voting process will take extraordinary legislative skills in both the House and the Senate, and those are the skills our legislators should be looking for in this upcoming race.
What we don’t need in this upcoming race is any hint of improper motive. Accusations have already been flying around allegations made by Representative Bryan Hughes that he was coerced to pledge his support for Speaker Strauss under a threat of redistricting him out of the legislature. Based on the news to date, it sounds like the issue has been referred to the proper ethics committee to investigate, and that no one is accusing Speaker Strauss himself.
As for the forces aligning against Strauss, some in the press are raising veiled questions as to whether the opposition is driven by anti-Semitism. In a very oblique recent post, a blogger for Texas Monthly cited to an online newsletter published by Peter Morrison, who serves as an officer of the Hardin County Republican Party, and has been a member of the Lumberton ISD School Board. The blogger noted that in his newsletter, Mr. Morrison described the race in these terms:
“Joe Straus is pro-abortion. In fact, his rabbi sits on the board of San Antonio Planned Parenthood. I can tell you what I would do if my pastor supported Planned Parenthood: I would find a new church. Joe Straus clearly lacks the moral compass to be Speaker, the third most powerful office in the state. …Both Rep. Warren Chisum and Rep. Ken Paxton, who are Christians and true conservatives, have risen to the occasion to challenge Joe Straus for leadership.”
Now if this is anti-Semitic, it’s very indirect, and a pretty thin basis for making any such insinuation or for drawing any such inference. I don’t think Reps. Chisum and Paxton are seeking the leadership because Speaker Strauss is Jewish, nor do I ascribe such motivation to Mr. Morrison. In fact, I think any insinuation that religious affiliation is a motive in this upcoming race is really a new low. But, let’s be honest with each other: this is what happens when we conservatives constantly describe our political beliefs in religious terms—religious motives then become fair game for speculation.
In 2007 and 2008, when I campaigned over 10 counties in Texas, I met many people who shared the principles that our Founders described as “Christian,” and who favored the type of government Reagan promoted during his campaigns in 1976 and 1980 and in his speeches about a “New Republican Party” in 1977. Most of these Texans were, like me, Christian, but many were Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim, and many others never discussed their faith with me. We need these individuals in our party, and among our candidates, elected officials and leaders, in order to promote and support the causes and priorities we hold dear. Rhetoric that drives them away, or that re-enforces pre-conceived biases about conservatives, should not be tolerated. We can’t control what bloggers insinuate or hope readers will infer, but we can control what we say and do.
So, as this race unfolds, let’s focus on the fact that all three men are fellow Republicans, and then let’s ask the members of the Texas House to choose their next Speaker based on his or her legislative leadership skills.
