by Rebecca Forest
11/21/10
Texas politics is interesting to say the least!
If you are one of the many women in Texas who worked hard to get “true” conservatives elected during the 2010 election, the Texas House Speaker’s race is another election you need to pay attention to and weigh in on.
In 2009, Rep. Joe Straus [R – San Antonio] was elected to serve as Texas House Speaker – an EXTREMELY powerful position in the Texas Legislature.
It only takes 76 votes to be elected as House Speaker and unless you keep up with the inner workings of the Texas Legislature, you probably don’t know that Rep. Straus rose to power because he initially got the support of 65 DEMOCRATS and 11 RINOs (Republican in Name Only).
Straus showed his true colors during the 2009 session!
After getting the early support of 65 Democrats, it was no surprise when he appointed liberal Democrats & flaming RINOs to chair key committees such as Ways & Means, Border & Intergovernmental Affairs, Business & Industry, State Affairs, Elections … the list goes on and on!
It is no wonder vitally important bills dealing with immigration, voter ID, and pro-life issues never saw the light of day because they died in committee. Shame, shame, shame on Joe Straus and his minions!
During a Texas Tribune interview, Joe Straus said (over and over) that he had NO REGRETS about the 2009 (do nothing) session!
Joe may not have any regrets but conservatives across Texas are FURIOUS that he spent more time worrying about the “mood, tone, and working conditions” of the legislature rather than working to make sure important legislation made it to the House floor for our elected Representatives to vote on.
Activists across Texas are networking to make sure this session a “true” conservative is elected as Texas House Speaker. The Texas Tea Parties did a GREAT job helping to deliver some real conservatives to the Texas Legislature BUT if Joe Straus remains speaker, all of that hard work will be in vain.
Those of us at Women on the Wall will be working overtime during the holidays to help educate Texans on this important issue and make sure the failures of last session are not repeated in 2011.
The vote for Texas House Speaker is the first vote of the session which occurs on January 11, 2011.
Please make sure our recent election gains are not lost! Contact your Representative TODAY and tell him/her you want a “true” conservative as House Speaker in 2011 and to do their part to deliver one on January 11, 2011. There will be a price to pay for not doing so!
Stay tuned, check back soon and help spread the word.