Congratulations to Texas Representative Joe Straus: he got reelected Texas House speaker! I’m glad; he’s who I wanted all along.
I don’t understand the campaign against him. Straus has good conservative and Republican credentials. The charges against him were flimsy or outright distortion.
The two groups who opposed him most were the evangelical theocrats and Tea Partiers. I think both groups got too big for their britches. They apparently don’t “get” that they are part of, not the, Republican Party.
The Texas Eagle Forum (TEF), in particular, acted stupidly.
First, the TEF bought into the anti-Straus hyperbole. Either their leadership is IQ-short, or they have little principle, pandering for cheap political points. Or both?
Second, the TEF rates all House members after each session. For this session, half their rating is based on each House members’s vote for speaker. So if you vote for Straus, the highest rating you’ll get is 50%. Gee, that’s smart–88% of the House is crippled with only a 50% rating since 132 voted for Straus. Such a useful rating. Most importantly, this shows the irrelevance of the TEF: defeat after all its blustering.
Petty tyrants.
Texas wanted a conservative House speaker, and it has one! Congratulations again to Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.