All Eyes Are On Speaker Straus

The 2015 Texas Legislative Session saw the first contested race for Speaker of the House in forty years. The outcome was a foregone conclusion as Joe Straus was unbeatable and Rep. Turner was able to pull only nineteen votes. However, the number of Turner votes is not important; his willingness to run resulted in a record vote and for this, all Texans should be grateful to Rep. Turner.

 A Bit of Texas Political History

In 2009, a group of eleven Republicans who were disenchanted with then-Speaker Tom Craddick (R) formed a group that became known as the “ABC’s” meaning "Anyone-But-Craddick," a/k/a the “Gang of 11.” This appropriately named “gang” that included current Speaker Joe Straus, conspired with House Democrats to elect a new Speaker. It came as no surprise that one of the Gang of 11 would be anointed and Joe Straus was selected to oppose Tom Craddick. With only eleven Republicans and all of the Democrats, Joe Straus was going to be the clear winner and Rep. Craddick withdrew from the race.

Speaker Straus rewarded his Democrat supporters by placing them in positions of power including chairmanship of several House Committees. Thus, the “Gang” stabbed Texas conservatives and fellow Republicans in the back solely because of their self-interest and their legacy of betrayal continued through the 2013 Texas Legislative Session.

Conservative legislation has been bottled up on various committees, including the powerful House Calendars Committee. In 2013, Speaker Straus appointed a liberal Democrat from El Paso, Joe Pickett, as the Chairman of the most important House committee for gun owners, the House Homeland Security & Public Safety Committee. Chairman Pickett was very personable in the way he ran public hearings, but he bottled up several bills that were of great importance to Texas gun owners. He did this by not allowing the committee to vote on bills, or by allowing a vote when it was so late in the session that passage would have been impossible.

Importance of the Record Vote

Thanks to the record vote in the Straus/Turner race, the treachery of the “Gang” may finally come to an end. Rep. Straus was reelected as Speaker, but now the Republicans voting for him are on record. While all 50 Democrats voted for Straus, a fact that speaks volumes, 19 of the 96 Republicans voted for Turner. So if gun bills and other conservative measures die again in the Straus-controlled House, candidates and voters in the 2016 elections will have a list of the people to blame.

Speaker Joe Straus Is Not Anti-Gun

Speaker Joe Straus has been labeled as “anti-gun” by some people, including nationally discredited Dudley Brown and his National Association of Gun Rights (NAGR). This is too broad and inaccurate. There is no doubt that Straus had a hand in killing some bills that are of great importance to Texans especially Texas gun owners. Campus-carry, removal of off-limits areas applicable to Texas Concealed Handgun Licensees, and open-carry of handguns are a few examples. However, Speaker Straus also helped the passage of numerous pro-gun bills in every session during which he has been Speaker. These include extending the so-called “employer parking lot bill” to college and university students, reducing CHL classes from 10 hours to 4 hours, removing the requirement to take a renewal class to renew a CHL, creation of the School Marshall program, requiring the Tex. Dept. of Public Safety to create special training for teachers to enable them to be better capable of protecting their students with handguns, and many more. He also helped to kill anti-gun bills.

In all fairness, Speaker Straus is not “anti-gun,” but he is not as pro-gun as many of us would prefer. However, his personal opinion would not matter as long as he does not abuse his power by killing bills that are important to Texas gun owners.

Elections Have Consequences

The 2014 elections were a huge success for conservatives and Republicans on both the national scene and in Texas. The Texas Senate is far more conservative and Tea Party supported Dan Patrick is now Lt. Governor. As already mentioned, 19 conservative Republicans ignored the threat to their own political careers and put the interest of Texans ahead of their own. Texans have made a clear and unmistakable statement – they expect to see Republicans act like Republicans and pass legislation that comports with family values, personal freedom, promotes business, and to shun Obama-style nanny state bills.

Speaker Straus must respect the will of the voters and help achieve the goals of his Party as set out in the Republican Party Platform. If he does, if he makes sure that pro-gun bills get a vote in committee and on the House Floor, then he will have done everything that could be expected of a Speaker. Those Republicans who voted for Straus will be able to hold their heads high. On the other hand, if the Texas House continues with business as has been usual since 2009 with the appointment of Democrats to positions of power, killing of some gun bills while letting others reach the House Floor, then the 77 Republicans who voted for Straus may wish they could have a Mulligan.

Mr. Speaker you have the opportunity to prove your critics wrong and reward the support of the Republicans who have given you another chance. All eyes are on you.