Speaker Straus gaveled out on June 3 after having set up redistricting committees and with plenty of evidence Governor Perry was going to add pro-life issues to the special session, including calls by activists and elected officials such as Lt. Gov. Dewhurst.
Straus told the House to come back June 17, two weeks later.
Then, in a story on the special session yesterday on kxan.com, Straus tellingly said, “The Governor keeps adding issues to the call and I would remind people this is only a 30 day session.”
Well golly, how’d time get so short, Mr. Speaker?
Governor Perry added pro-life issues to the special session June 11, which means Straus’s pre-emptive recess cost the House three work days on pro-life issues.
Straus has a history of running the clock out on legislation he doesn’t like, having killed the TSA anti-groping law by putting it off until there wasn’t enough time to get it finished.
If time is such a precious commodity, why did Straus lop off half of the special session time with clear indications other issues were likely to be added?
Straus has a colorful history with the issue of abortion. His wife was a board member for Planned Parenthood years ago, and Straus received campaign money early in his legislative career from a Planned Parenthood PAC. He was once thanked by Planned Parenthood for his “tireless efforts” for their cause.
In an interview with Evan Smith after he was first elected Speaker in 2009, he owned the pro-choice policy, saying he would not seek to change abortion laws.
Then, in 2010, Straus attracted a conservative speaker challenge in pro-life champion Ken Paxton and for the first time ever claimed to be pro-life.
In 2010 voters created such a conservative electoral tsunami that no speaker could have thwarted pro-life legislation.
As a result, some pro-life bills passed. Straus turned lemons into lemonade, seeking to make pro-life groups feel indebted to him for legislation he was powerless to stop in the first place. No doubt he would pretend the sonogram bill was his gracious gift to pro-life groups for as long as they would allow him to.
It was rumored before the 83rd Legislature that Straus told legislators not to bother with pro-life legislation because he would not allow it to get to the floor. He has also made recent comments to the effect that he believes abortion is not a “serious issue”, but a political wedge issue.
One wonders what someone’s definition of “serious” must be to exclude murder of the most innocent people in Texas and include constant Bad News Bears schemes to get slot machines into Texas.
This is all happening at a time many establishment Republican voices want to push the party left on all issues. In fact, a recent national GOP survey asked Republican voters if they think the GOP should remain the pro-life party. In case anyone was wondering, there was no similar question about whether the GOP should remain the party of big business.
Pro-life Texans would be wise to look on the treatment of pro-life issues during this special session with great interest, now that Straus has tried to blame Governor Perry for over-stuffing the special session even though Straus himself shrunk it by half.