Tag Archives: Joe Straus
Empower Texans Flushed Millions Down the Toilet
After a decade spent trying to remake Texas politics, the right-wing enforcement group has achieved nothing interesting or notable with Tim Dunn’s money.
Earlier this decade, there was no more interesting subplot in Texas politics than the Republican Civil War, a somewhat grandiose name for the discomfort the tea...Read More
Texas Officials Allow 15 Immigrant Shelters to Hold More Kids than Licenses Permit
To accommodate Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, Texas officials have allowed at least 15 shelters to hold more than 700 additional kids, records show.
In recent months, Texas officials have granted permission to at least 15 immigrant youth shelters to cram in more kids than their child-care licenses allow, acc...Read More
The ‘Crazies’ Have Fully Taken Over the Texas GOP
At the state GOP convention, Dan Patrick said his side had “won.” He’s right.
At the Texas Republican Party Convention last week, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick did what so many conquerors ultimately do: He declared peace. The GOP civil ...Read More
What Texas Republicans Are (and Aren’t) Saying About Trump’s Family Separation Policy
While desperate immigrant families are torn apart and children sent to “tent cities” in Texas, most of the state’s prominent Republicans are more than happy to get behind Trump.
Over the past couple of weeks, the nation has been forced to confront the realities of President Trump’s goal of stopping immigration at the southern border w...Read More
The ‘Liberty-Loving Latino’ Who Uses Talk Radio to Make Texas Great Again
"As a Latino American I want American citizens to be put first; all immigration should be halted until this government takes seriously the threat of illegal immigration."
Editor’s note: With the far right ascendant in Texas politics, once-marginal ideas and people have found a place in the political mainstream. Our recurring F...Read More
One Last Kick in the Nuts: On Joe Straus’ Republican Censure
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up men to gather wood, divide work and to give orders,” said Amy Clark, vice chair of the Republican Party of...Read More
Loon Star: Li’l Lawmakers
To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here....Read More
Greg Abbott Declares War on Moderate Republicans
The Texas governor endorsed a primary opponent of Representative Sarah Davis, who is probably the GOP’s best chance to retain the district in upscale west Houston.
In the latest episode of Texas Politics, God’s dumbest reality show, Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the beginning of Republican primary season by going to wa...Read More
Burning Down the House: Joe Straus and the End of the Moderate Texas Republican
A tremendous amount now depends on whether a Straus-type successor can be elected speaker.
Joe Straus’ reputation is that of a boring and studious moderate, but that’s dead wrong. The speaker of the Texas House is a freak, a space oddity, an aberr...Read More