Top Stories
- Texas House passes property rights bill – Gary Scharrer, Houston Chronicle
The Texas House tentatively approved a bill Wednesday that clamps down on governments’ ability to seize property using eminent domain, an issue Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency at the start of the legislative session.
Strengthening individual property rights at the state level became an ongoing emergency with the U.S. Supreme Court’s misguided Kelo decision.
- Texas House voting scores – Mark Jones, Baker Institute
Take a look at the chart — ideology and partisanship finally match in Texas politics. - Hispanic Conservatives – William Murchison, The American Spectator
[A] poll more than a year ago asserted that 54 percent of Texas Hispanics call themselves conservative, as against 18 percent who self-identify as liberal or progressive. Maybe so, to judge from how things went at the polls in Texas last November. Four Hispanic Republicans won state house seats in Hispanic territory. Three of the Democratic losers were likewise Hispanic. With the election over, along came Rep. Aaron Peña, a Democrat, to cross over to the Republican side due to what he identified as the overlap of his own views with those of the GOP.
Of particular note, from this same standpoint, was the contest in formerly Anglo-Czech-Slovak Williamson County, home base for Dell Computer, lying just north of Austin, where a Hispanic woman, Diana Maldonado, two years earlier wrested the seat from a white man. In 2010, one Larry Gonzales wrested it back for the GOP. Nobody — Anglo, Hispanic, or what-not — seemed to notice anything but the philosophical and partisan divide between the two candidates. Walloping the Democrats, rather than fretting over ethnic identity, turned out to be the big thing.
Recommended
- First House Redistricting Maps – Ross Ramsey & Matt Stiles, Texas Tribune
- A Solomons-ic Choice on Redistricting – Evan, Texas Iconoclast
- Initial House redistricting plan – R.G. Ratcliffe, BurkaBlog
- R’s gain 10 seats in House map–or lose 7 – Paul Burka, BurkaBlog
- Proposed state House redistricting map protects Austin incumbents – Jason Embry, Austin American-Statesman
- The upside of not getting a space shuttle – Houston Strategies
- David Dewhurst for Governor of Texas? Something to Think About – Prof13
Burka was months behind Rick Perry vs World on this one. And now Murray’s behind Burka. - Get to Know CPPP, Board Member Naomi Aberly – Weston Hicks, AgendaWise Reports
Texas political journalists love to refer to the “non-profit, non-partisan” Center for Public Policy Priorities, despite its hard-left composition and advocacy. - Trouble brewing for puppies and kittens – Karen Brooks, Trail Blazers Blog
It’s rare when the Local and Consent Calendar gets a lot of attention, but when it does – watch out. Thursday’s calendar may see some fireworks, and some changes, if rumors are true about the first item on the list.
Remember when Dallas had something more than a subscriber-only community newspaper that runs with rumors?
- Texas Gov. Perry giving eBay $2.8 million – AP
“Giving?” There’s a case against these incentive programs, but straight news writing should use a different verb. - Bullet in the chamber: Texans aren't safe from guns-on-campus bill – Houston Chronicle
We’ll outsource our reaction to Matt Bramanti: “Chron opposes legislation explicitly on the grounds that it will pass if voted on.” - State Farm No Good Neighbor To Rep. Castro – Christopher Smith Gonzalez, The Texas Tribune
This grandstanding is news? - Latest Player In Sanctuary Cities Debate: God – Julian Aguilar, Texas Tribune
Newsish style guide: Conservatives & God = Bad; Democrats quoting the Bible out of context = Good. - Amazon hasn’t closed Irving distribution center, as threatened – Maria Halkas, DMN
The article is behind the DMN’s paywall, but the headline says it all. - Amazon's Irving center still open; status of lawmakers' bills unclear – Barry Harrell, Austin American-Statesman
- Obama tax hikes a “nonstarter,” Sen. John Cornyn says – Todd Gillman, Trail Blazers Blog