Politics
On Rodney Reed Case, Greg Abbott Gets a Political Reprieve
John Cornyn’s Weaselly Immigration Record
How to say one thing and do another.
On a June afternoon in 2007, U.S. Senator John Cornyn sounded eminently reasonable. In a floor speech, the rangy, snow-haired Texan said that of all the legisla...Read More
Texas Congressional Candidate Shannon Hutcheson Defended Corporations Against the Vulnerable. EMILY’s List Endorsed Her Anyway.
Shannon Hutcheson has billed herself as a fierce reproductive rights advocate. But the corporate lawyer has papered over a troubling record, including her defense of a prison guard who sexually abused migrant women.
After working at the prestigious corporate law firm Baker Botts for more than a decade, Shannon Hutcheson decided to hang out a shingle of her own. Along with a...Read More
‘You Can Only Take So Much’: Low-Income Hurricane Harvey Survivors Sue Over ‘Discriminatory’ Recovery Process
The lawsuit accuses state and federal officials of favoring wealthier, white homeowners over poorer black and Hispanic renters.
Former city council member John Beard has a term to describe Port Arthur residents. In his Gulf Coast city of 55,000, people have all but given up on getting th...Read More
Rick Perry Exports His Pay-to-Play Politics to Ukraine
Perry has talked about his aspirations for Ukraine to become “the Texas of Europe.” On the corporate cronyism front, he may just have succeeded.
It appears that Rick Perry exported his pay-to-play politics from the Texas governor’s mansion to the notoriously corrupt Ukrainian oil and gas sector, where,...Read More
‘Nobody’s Beating You,’ Trump Assures John Cornyn
Our state’s senior senator continues to hitch himself to Trump’s wagon, even as things get rocky.
John Cornyn might as well fire his entourage of political consultants, advisors, and pollsters. President Donald Trump—the pollster of the people, the one who...Read More
State Investigators Identify ‘Serious Contractual Violations’ by the Heidi Group
A new report from the health inspector general says the Heidi Group, an anti-abortion group tapped to replace Planned Parenthood in state family planning programs, misused taxpayer funds, and calls for an expanded investigation of the group’s contracts.
State investigators now say an anti-abortion group tapped to replace Planned Parenthood in Texas’ reproductive health programs must repay nearly $1.6 million ...Read More
Governor Launches Camp, Backs ‘Mega-Tent’ for Austin’s Homeless, Surprising Advocates
The governor and Austin’s business community announced plans for a temporary campsite and a future “mega-tent” shelter for the city's homeless community. They’re working separately from local homeless service providers.
After a months-long campaign of smearing Austin’s homeless as violent and disease-ridden, Governor Greg Abbott announced Thursday he was designating 5 acres o...Read More
Will a High-Stakes Suburban Houston State House Race Give Texas Dems 2020 Vision?
A sole suburban legislative seat in Texas is up for grabs in November, providing a glimpse at Democrats’ 2020 effort to expand control of the suburbs and take control of the state House.
Before the 2018 midterms, Texas Democrats targeted a long list of state House Republicans in urban and suburban seats that were won—or nearly won—by Hillary...Read More
‘El Paso Will Never Heal’: Three Months Later, the Border Town Still Reels
El Pasoans share the deep and expansive trauma that the Walmart massacre has inflicted, and they’re urging lawmakers to take action.
Faded American, Mexican, Texas, and German flags ripple in the wind and a single wind chime softly clinks at a makeshift memorial at the Walmart in El Paso whe...Read More
