America is in a liberal political cycle, which means outcomes everywhere are mostly disappointing for conservatives.
However, things could be much worse here in Texas, which is a testament to our dominant principle-based conservative orientation. That is not to say our outcomes aren’t bad here, too – they are.
For example, a big water slush fund just passed through the House, without any of the common sense amendments that would have made it semi-responsible. Now connected people, especially government officials, can put your tax dollars in their bank account by selling land and services to the government as water development.
Also, all kinds of things that would have legislative life under a genuine conservative speaker have no pulse.
For example, with over 90% of GOP voters in favor of them, and with 92 House Republicans, spending limits have never even gotten a hearing.
Paring back our gargantuan bureaucracy by 10%, and reducing bloated budgets by 10% – these kinds things aren’t even a flicker in our imaginations.
Instead of opposing ObamaCare the Speaker is pushing Medicaid expansion in service of ObamaCare.
And, while the federal government just completed a work-around for Planned Parenthood to help restore funding the state government cut off last session, the Speaker has aborted the Hobby Lobby bill, which is a similar move going the other direction.
Jonathan Stickland’s Hobby Lobby bill is a Texas work-around to protect businesses from the oppressive anti-religious liberty Health and Human Services demand that all businesses pay for abortifacient drugs. These are “birth control” drugs that destroy a fertilized egg, which is against the moral commitments of many Christian businesses.
The heroic owners of Hobby Lobby have chosen to risk losing their massive fortune as a protest to this awful law. Stickland’s bill is much-needed relief. Unfortunately, it was written under the wrong Texas House Speaker.
Conservatives in the House are stuck with an unofficial whip (designated vote counter) from Team Straus.
The bottom line is, we are having a special interest session with a double helping of Obama-brown-nosing.
Opportunistic special interest moderate Republicans all over the country are triangulating Obama’s power to try to squash conservatives right now (“We gotta move his way fast to survive!”).
While, at different times, major statewide officials like Governor Perry, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, and AG Greg Abbott have stood up to our rogue federal government, Speaker Straus has towed the special interest Republican line of using post-election power of the President to discourage opposition to his radical agenda.
Still, despite the liberal political cycle, and the crypto-Democrat Texas Speaker of the House it has empowered, the Texas legislature is still dominated by people who get voted in on conservative campaign promises. A 92-58 Republican/Democrat breakdown in the House tells the story, even after bad redistricting.
The special interest Republicans nationwide are trying their best to push the party left, and fast, but they have a much taller task than they let on. They must convince conservatives not to run for office, and they must convince conservative voters to behave in the voting booth against their own beliefs.
Getting the media to sing a tune in unison is easy, and they’d like us to believe it matters more than it does. Endless polling that fishes for liberal answers is also easy. None of it means they’ve effected voting practices.
If conservatives run for office, and conservative voters vote their consciences, the whole GOP establishment has failed. The rest is just noise made by people nobody trusts.
And, in the meantime, Texas conservatives have some real bright spots to be inspired by.
Conservative courage by Giovanni Capriglioni has shown everyone what happens when people doing good things challenge people doing bad things without backing down. The bad guys and gals end up weeping, gnashing their teeth, and suddenly pretending to like the good thing.
The grassroots has given CSCOPE nationwide attention and raised its name ID in Texas tremendously. They have created a real chance that CSCOPE will not be able to continue propagandizing Texas schoolchildren in anti-Americanism.
The special interest press corps in Austin continue to elevate conservative activists by desperate propaganda against them, coverage they’d much rather not have to give. They know the constant coverage will grow their enemies if it doesn’t cow them, but silence is simply no longer a prudent choice.
In short, the ground is seeded for a serious resurgence of conservative principles in Texas politics when the political winds change, when Obama’s power declines, which is as sure to happen as the changing of the seasons.
Some conviction conservatives, finally realizing that the Speaker can never be their friend and stay speaker, are remembering who they are and getting ahead of the coming season change.
There is good reason for conservative Texans to have hope. The wood is stacked high, and though it was soaked with water, the water is drying. Have patience. Fire will come.