A large majority of Republicans in the Texas House have rejected demands by far-right groups by indicating that they will support the re-election of Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, as House speaker. The vote in the Republican House caucus represents a major defeat for far-right pressure groups like Texas Eagle Forum and Liberty Institute (the Texas affiliate of Focus on the Family) and extremists like David Barton and Peter Morrison, all of whom demanded that GOP House members replace Straus with a speaker who would be more obedient to their divisive legislative agenda.
The full House will vote for speaker on Tuesday, but the decision of the GOP House caucus appeared to ensure Straus’ re-election. Of course, Straus is a conservative, and given that the GOP holds a 101-49 edge in the House, conservative Republicans are expected to hold most committee chairmanships. Some are likely to be very conservative. So the legislative session will still be a tough battle. Help the Texas Freedom Network defend mainstream values like religious freedom and civil liberties at the Legislature by joining a Rapid Response Team today.
I see a pattern developing here. In case no one has been watching, the sane leadership members of the Republican Party have abandoned the Tea Party and far right conservatives because they have finally understood that the threat they pose to the future of this country is greater than their usefulness in winning elections. Their agenda is already undergoing a major double-cross in Washington, D.C. Biblical Translation: ” I never knew you.” They failed with this caucus vote in Texas. They failed with science textbooks in Louisiana. They failed with Tom DeLay’s sentencing to a 3-year prison term and 10 years probation. The Southern Poverty Law Center officially listed the Family Research Council as a hate group. However, the icing on the cake was the Arizona shootings. From sea to shining sea, government leaders and ordinary people are looking closely at where the hate rhetoric in our society is originating and who is fanning the flames that lead to violence. Although there is some on both sides, people are discovering the extreme right wing nutcase media such as Fox news, local conservative talk radio, and personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Anne Coulter are the key culprits. Just ask yourself. Who will be the next “inspired” nut with a gun? Will it be your 9-year-old daughter that gets killed as collateral damage at the local supermarket. Just think about it. The fruitcake extreme right has created a toxic environment that now makes it unsafe for your kid to go into a grocery store to buy a candy bar. And if you need any proof, please stop and ask yourself why a candidate for the U.S. Senate (Tea Party darling Christine O’Donnell) has to publicly address the subject of masturbation and whether or not she is a witch. I mean really. What kind of insanity is this?
Wohoooo! Small victories are still sweet. My rep (Laubenberg) voted against Straus. She’s already heard my opinion on her vote. Paxton takes himself out of the running, but still votes against Straus. Petty.
“Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States, the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history,” James Madison. Father of the Constitution, W&IMQ 3:555. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb7SbUWw9dM .
We’re supposed to keep using the same fruitcakes over and over again, not making new ones.