In a new letter to the Democrat caucus pushed by Quorum Report, Trey Martinez-Fisher turned up the heat on Joe Straus.
Conservatives can agree with Martinez-Fisher that Straus is a serious problem.
Conservatives cannot agree with Martinez-Fisher that Straus is Texans for Lawsuit Reform’s best friend. He is not. From a legislative perspective, Straus was made speaker by, and inflates the influence of, the party that opposes tort reform.
Before the 82nd Legislature, when the horse racing interests that Straus belongs to still had some hope of passing slot machine legislation, Democrat Megadonor Steve Mostyn became an owner of the Lone Star Park racing license. Straus also opposed TLR in several 2012 primaries.
Straus is less a friend of TLR than he pretends to be.
However, Straus angered Democrats with his disregard for the rules, and the consequences his behavior had on redistricting. Straus punished conservatives in redistricting, too. Disregard for rules is a legitimate problem that weakens the state of Texas, and Straus should be held to account for it.
But the Trey Martinez-Fisher saga would obscure reality if it repaired well-earned cracks in Straus’ relationship with TLR and falsely painted conservatives as enemies of TLR.