Maybe there is a blog there... Joe vs. Ken ...
Here is my position. I am about where I was in March 2009 in the gubernatorial primary... I have some mild predispositions but I have no strong feelings either way... obviously by late summer of 2009 I was on Rick's bandwagon but this speaker race is much much shorter and much less in the public view...
My sense is that Joe Straus may be more conservative than he showed in 2009 when he basically presided over the House as the Democrats' choice... but will he help forge an agenda? Do we need him to forge an agenda? If he is hands off doesn't that help conservatives in a sense because they simply have the numbers? Would Ken Paxton or anyone else be more aggressive on redistricting? Voter identification? Immigration? Cutting the budget?
Did Straus do anything to earn staying on as speaker? Will he insist on certain peeps as committee heads? Does he deserve to face consequences for certain failures in the 2009 session?
Will the opposition to Straus snow ball now? Is it stalled? Is there any truth to the allegations Bryan Hughes made about being threatened with redistricting if peeps don't get on board?
I think there are a lot of intriguing things... the insider crowd in Austin wholly believes that Straus will win (link)...
...but they may have said the same things just before Craddick was ousted...
To be perfectly honest I think this race is more open than a lot of peeps realize... but at the same time I think Straus is taking some proactive steps to stave off losing...
I do agree with the peeps who say the election two weeks ago was a mandate for a conservative speaker... and a conservative agenda...
I also do agree that Straus really did not help much in many races the way Craddick used to do so for him to take credit for the sweeping gains is not particularly honest... Straus' whole argument is that Republicans gained a lot under him, therefore elect him... that is just not really a real argument he can make...
I also don't think he can pull off the "Texas is good, why change" mantra that Rick pulled off because Straus was such a new comer onto the scene in 2009...
Has Joe Straus promised any conservative groups that he will help push any specific legislation? Has he said who might be appointed as chairs of committees? Does he owe anything to Democrats who put him where he is now?
Also... and this is potentially a big deal... Is the "Joe Straus is Jewish" whisper smear campaign thing really happening? Harvey Kronberg and Paul Burka have hinted at it, but I have not really seen much evidence of peeps trying to stir the pot on his religion... if they are doing it they should be condemned for it unequivocally but I think some pundits may see it where it isn't... they may be seeing traditional Christian conservatives just using their normal copy and paste year after year same old same old rhetoric but in the context of Straus being Jewish it comes across as a sleight at him.
Frankly I think him being Jewish is almost irrelevant and possibly even a net positive for the party moving forward... because the party needs Jewish people to thrive... and the whole religion talk is a big distraction that helps Joe Straus rally...
At issue is the record and tea party groups have strong feelings on the matter (link)...
RedState.com's Erick Erickson even weighed in (link). Excerpt follows...
For those of you unfamiliar with what’s going on, there is a fight going on over the next Speaker of the Texas House. It really boils down to two choices: the current Speaker, moderate and Democrat supported Joe Straus, and conservative Ken Paxton.
As arguably the most powerful figure in Texas politics during the legislative session, the Speaker appoints Committee Chairs and those chairs set the agenda. As a result, liberal chairmen can keep conservative reforms from being voted on. This is exactly what happened the last legislative session when Speaker of the House Joe Straus swept into the Speaker slot on the backs of 65 Democrats and 11 Republicans (infamously known as the “Straus Eleven”). Yes, you read that correctly. A Republican Speaker that only had 11 Republicans vote for him. The reward for the Democrats loyalty was handing 14 committee chairmanships to liberal Democrats out of the 32.
These weren’t just any committees either. Democrat Rene Oliveira chaired the Texas House Ways and Means Committee in the 81st Texas legislature. On top of that, Straus handed the Chair of Calendars to Brian McCall - one of the most liberal Republicans in the Texas House, having received a rating of 27% from the Young Conservatives of Texas. The Chair of Calendars is the second most powerful leadership position in the Texas House because he sets the legislative calendar. If you want to kill conservative legislation, put a liberal in as the Chair of Calendars.
But it gets worse. During the 81st legislative session, Straus and his lieutenants burned conservative Texans over and over again.
Straus lieutenant, Vicki Truitt, lead a push to increase Texas’ gas tax.
Straus’ Elections Chair Todd Smith killed Voter ID in committee.
Todd Smith authored and passed McCain Feingold type election law, only to have it vetoed.
No hearings were allowed on spending limits
Legislation to provide business tax exemptions to small businesses wasn’t allowed
Straus was recently given a 100% rating from NARAL in Texas and was honored by Planned Parenthood (where his wife sits on the board). He stumped for the poster child of the Left in Texas, Democrat Patrick Rose, this fall while not giving one dime to Republican challengers across the state. The ironic twist in all that is 22 Republican challengers won, including Jason Isaac, Patrick Rose’s opponent.
Possibly one of the most damning pieces of information against Straus is the percentage of Republican bills that were killed under his “leadership”-32%. 32% of Republican bills killed under a Republican Speaker while only 3% of the Democrat bills were killed. Elections have consequences. At least they should. Under former Republican Speaker, Tom Craddick, almost 50% of Democrat bills were defeated in final votes compared to 4% of Republican bills.
Some very valid points... although 2009 was a very unique year because of the close partisan split...
I don't have an endorsement to make... but I will be following the race very closely...
Let's see if Straus can hold off some challengers for the Speaker's gig.
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