"If there is one prevailing theme of this session, it is an utter lack of leadership... We need elected officials all the way to the top – and I'm speaking of Governor Perry and our top three leaders – who will come here and not only set an agenda, but also work to help us pass it." - Republican Senator John Carona SD16 (Dallas Morning News, June 1, 2009)
"I think it's time, especially for you Republicans, that if we're to remain a viable party, we need to start looking at medical facts and dealing with reality and not dealing with black helicopters and other myths that are out there by the right wing extremists." - Republican Senator Bob Deuell, SD 2 (Dallas Morning News, May 26, 2009)
GOP ideologues took control during failed and confused Legislative Session
The end of the 2009 Texas Legislative Session can be most accurately described as a collapse rather than a conclusion. From the beginning, partisan but passive leadership allowed the most extreme and divisive members of the Republican Party to set the tone and the agenda. The Session was characterized by indecision, confusion and a startling lack of strong or effective leadership.
* Governor Rick Perry used the session as a campaign prop to push divisive issues designed only to win far right votes in an expected Republican Primary against Kay Bailey Hutchison;
* New Speaker Joe Straus sank to the occasion, alternating passive-aggressive partisanship with weak-kneed acquiescence to tougher and more combative Republican colleagues;
* Lt. Governor David Dewhurst again demonstrated why the title "Lite" Governor applies particularly well to him.
In the end, virtually every significant problem for the State of Texas remains unaddressed and getting worse. A Special Session will almost certainly be called sometime between now and the 2010 Elections.
Mean Wing Wins
There were many clear-cut losers – particularly Texas families who must continue paying the highest home insurance rates in the country, the 80,000 eligible Texas children who were denied basic health insurance coverage and the thousands of Texas small businesses that will see their taxes raised because Governor Perry and GOP legislators blocked enactment of urgent unemployment insurance legislation. There is one clear winner though – the Mean Wing of the Republican Party. Day-after-day and time-after-time, the most ideologically extreme, narrow minded and mean spirited elements of the Republican Party dictated the priorities. For the most part, they got what they wanted and blocked what they didn’t. Take a look:
* Texas Home Insurance Relief
Reform of the Texas insurance system died because the Republican leadership –held fully captive by the insurance industry – killed the Department of Insurance Sunset Bill. As a result, Texans will continue to pay the highest home insurance premiums in America. (Source: Associated Press, June 1, 2009)
* Health Care for Kids
Through cynical manipulation of the schedule, Straus and Dewhurst collapsed to Rick Perry and to the harshest ideologues in the Legislature in order to kill health insurance coverage for at least 80,000 eligible children under the broadly popular Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Despite repeated efforts by Democrats to reach a compromise, Republicans slammed the door on Texas children. (Source: The Houston Chronicle, May 30, 2009)
* Traffic and Air Quality
Traffic congestion and the resulting air pollution threaten Texas productivity and health. Yet, Republican Leaders could not settle fights within their own party to approve vital legislation to fund and manage key projects within the Texas Department of Transportation. (Source: The Houston Chronicle, May 31, 2009)
* Small Businesses and Laid-off Workers
Unemployment claims in Texas are rising monthly, and in the last fiscal quarter alone, nearly 40,000 Texans lost their jobs. Federal funds were made available to Texas through federal stimulus legislation. By refusing Texas’ share of federal stimulus money, Perry, Dewhurst and Straus stiff-armed hard-working Texans hit by the recession and virtually guaranteed Texas businesses a massive unemployment tax increase. (Source: Austin American-Statesman, June 1, 2009)
Who’s in the Mean Wing and why are they in charge?
Both parties have some strident and inflexible activists who are driven by an extreme ideology. Responsible leaders, however, adopt the best ideas and then work to temper and harness the destructive passions of their supporters. The Texas Republican Party, however, has been hijacked by its most partisan, most narrow minded and most ideological wing. Current GOP leaders are either members of this Mean Wing or unwilling to stand up to confront divisive tactics and initiatives that are harmful to Texas families. Particularly high-profile Republicans like David Dewhurst, Rick Perry, and Joe Straus encourage the Mean Wing in hopes of winning its support for their own future aspirations, regardless of the consequences for Texas. Here’s how we break down some of the most prominent Members of the Texas Republican Mean Wing:
Ideological True Believers: Dan Patrick, Tom Craddick, Linda Harper-Brown
While most don’t hold official leadership positions, these are Members who hold extreme views that reflect the most narrow-minded and mean-spirited Texas Republican activists. They are ideological, inflexible and intimidate the current weak Republican Leaders in the Texas House and Senate
Ruthless Practitioners
These Members are driven by partisan ambition and a willingness to ruthlessly exploit emotional fervor to get their way. They are rigid partisans, but ideological opportunists.
* Rick Perry – Few politicians have ever displayed the cynicism and opportunism of Rick Perry. Over the past six months, he has relentlessly moved to the extreme right, going so far as to suggest that Texas secede from the Union. But just over a year ago, he endorsed pro-choice Republican Rudy Giuliani for President and even ran Al Gore’s 1988 Presidential Campaign in Texas. (Source: Arlington Morning News, September 15, 1998, Politico.com, February 2, 2008) His cynical, "me first" approach has served him well. Perry has never lost an election.
* Todd Smith – While barely known prior to this year’s Legislative Session, Todd Smith has established himself as one of the most cynical and insincere Texas politicians. Smith opened the Legislative Session pledging to work closely with Democrats to craft a fair Voter ID bill that would not suppress turnout among any group. This meant Smith would have to stare down the harsh partisans in his own party and keep his word to potential Democratic allies. In the end, he did neither. Smith collapsed to the partisan and ideological pressure of extremists like Betty Brown and Dennis Bonnen, while breaking his word to Democrats who had given him the benefit of the doubt. (Source: Star-Telegram, May 6, 2009)
* Greg Abbott – Few Texas elected officials use their official office for more destructive or cynical purposes than Abbott. As the Lone Star Project has reported in detail, he has spent up to $2 million harassing, investigating and prosecuting senior citizens and other minority citizens for hyper-technical, minor violations of badly written election law, while ignoring blatant sexual abuse of children at State-run facilities and failing to conduct any oversight of management of failing Texas pension funds.
Cynical Enablers: David Dewhurst, Joe Straus
Perhaps most damaging to the public are the Republicans who too often are leaders in title only. House and Senate presiding officers in Texas are provided enormous power through the Constitution and the Rules of the House and Senate. Both have the tools at hand to corral the worst instincts among their own Party’s ideologues and find fair and bipartisan compromise. Neither, however, displayed the skills, courage or instinct to do so. With Dewhurst, it is no surprise. His weak leadership has been on display since his election as Lt. Governor in 2002. Straus is a greater disappointment. He was elected Speaker by a bipartisan coalition made up mostly of Democrats. He had the opportunity and moral authority to instill fairness and discipline in the House. Joe Straus utterly failed.
The Lone Star Project is an activity of the Lone Star Fund.