Tag Archives: Jonathan Stickland

Yet another Paxton roundup

The Senate trial starts in 11 days, and there continues to be so much Paxton news. Political pressure is intensifying around Republican state senators who will serve as the jurors in the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. … Continue reading

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More on the shitty people who prop up Ken Paxton

There’s no end to these assholes, part 2. In late June, about a dozen conservative Gen Z influencers converged on Fort Worth for a few days of right-wing networking. They hit local night spots, posed for group photos and met … Continue reading

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The long line of shitty people who prop up Ken Paxton

There’s no end to these assholes. Hours before the Texas House overwhelmingly voted to impeach Ken Paxton in May, a well-funded supporter of the attorney general issued a threat to his fellow Republicans. A vote to impeach Paxton, Jonathan Stickland … Continue reading

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Paxton calls on Phelan to resign

The last few days of a legislative session are always the dumbest days of the session. Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday that state House Speaker Dade Phelan should resign, accusing him of presiding over his chamber “in a state … Continue reading

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Is there really a primary threat to Abbott?

Maybe, but it’s not a serious one. As Gov. Greg Abbott races to reopen all businesses and end mask mandates this week, it hasn’t been fast enough to defuse escalating political pressure from fellow Republicans who see Texas lagging behind … Continue reading

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After-deadline filing review: The Lege

Now we come to the State House, which is where most of the action will be in 2020. In 2018, much of the energy and focus was on Congressional races, to the point where some hand-wringing articles were written about … Continue reading

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Your daily Bonnen-MQS update

I’m just sittin’ here watching the wheels go round and round… After a week of denying that he asked an arch-conservative to target 10 fellow Republicans in the next primary election, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen challenged Empower Texans CEO Michael … Continue reading

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See ya, Stickland

Good riddance. State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, a firebrand conservative Republican from Bedford and one of the most vocal members of the Texas House, announced Monday he will not run for reelection in 2020. Stickland, first elected to represent House District … Continue reading

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There’s always time for an attack on Planned Parenthood

This one comes with an attack on local control, so it’s a twofer. Texas and its local governments would no longer be able to partner with abortion providers or their affiliates — even for services like sexual health education and … Continue reading

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So long, red light cameras

Like ’em or not, they’re on their way out, barring a veto from Greg Abbott. The Republican-led push to rid Texas intersections of red-light cameras moved one step closer to becoming law after the state Senate signed off on a … Continue reading

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We could have had an excise tax on e-cigarettes

But then Greg Abbott got involved. At the urging of the nation’s biggest tobacco company, Gov. Greg Abbott launched a late-hour push to change Texas legislation creating a 10% state retail excise tax on e-cigarette and vapor smoking products. That … Continue reading

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There’s only one solution to the anti-vax crisis

They have to be beaten at the ballot box. There’s no other way. On the South steps of the Texas Capitol, state Rep. Briscoe Cain prayed that the children standing beside him would not be mocked for their parents’ decision … Continue reading

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House approves budget, and other news

Always a major milestone. In Dennis Bonnen’s first major test as speaker of the Texas House, the chamber he oversees resoundingly passed a $251 billion budget Wednesday after a long but largely civil debate — a departure from the dramatics … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: 2018 State House

Beto O’Rourke won 76 State House districts. Out of 150. Which is a majority. Let me say that again so it can fully sink in. BETO O’ROURKE WON 76 STATE HOUSE DISTRICTS. Remember that after the 2016 election, Democrats held … Continue reading

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The anti-vaxxers keep on coming

Eternal vigilance, and some more problematic legislators getting booted out of office, are required. Among the new Texas proposals is an “informed consent” bill filed by state Representative Bill Zedler, an outspoken anti-vaccine member of the House Public Health Committee. Zedler drew national … Continue reading

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Can we turn the anti-vax tide in the Lege this session?

It sure would be nice, and this needs to be the primary goal. In Texas, children are required to have certain sets of vaccinations before they can be enrolled in public school – including the vaccine for measles. But parents … Continue reading

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TAB wants the Lege to quit it with bathroom bills

The talk is good. We’ll see about the action. Texas lawmakers spent too much time this year debating bathrooms and immigration, and took their eyes off some matters vital to economic growth, such as phasing out the business-franchise tax and … Continue reading

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Pushing the NFL Draft angle

Every angle is going to be needed, and this is one that ought to speak to some folks. The Cowboys’ efforts to land the NFL draft and how it could be derailed by the legislative push for a bathroom bill … Continue reading

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The anti-vaxxers had another good legislative session

Sure would be nice if we could put a stop to this. It was mid-April, more than halfway through the legislative session, and Texans for Vaccine Choice was finally getting the fight it had been spoiling for. On April 11, … Continue reading

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House passes its budget

Mostly shenanigan-free, with a nice little side order of shade for a few people who deserve it. After 15 and a half hours of debate on hundreds of amendments to the Texas House budget, lawmakers in the lower chamber passed … Continue reading

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Some early legislative race news

Just a few links of interest. First, the race in SD24 heats up. Republican state Rep. Susan King said Monday that she will join an increasingly crowded primary field to replace retiring GOP state Sen. Troy Fraser. King had earlier … Continue reading

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Rangers finish Stickland report

Rulebreaking but not lawbreaking is the conclusion. A Texas Rangers investigation released Tuesday found that the staff of state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, filled out witness registration forms for people who were not in the Capitol but that no one … Continue reading

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There’s still time for bad bills to be passed

Bad bill #1: After four hours of debate and more than a dozen failed amendments offered by Democrats, the Senate on Monday gave preliminary approval to far-reaching restrictions on minors seeking abortions in Texas without parental consent. On a 21-10 … Continue reading

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Stickland not out of the woods

Despite what he says. A state investigation into allegations that state Rep. Jonathan Stickland improperly registered witnesses to testify on a bill banning red light cameras has cleared Stickland of wrongdoing, his office announced Monday. But two officials involved in … Continue reading

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Rangers to investigate Stickland

It’s starting to get real. The Texas Rangers will investigate allegations that witnesses were improperly registered to testify last week on a bill banning red light cameras at a House Transportation Committee hearing. The House General Investigating and Ethics Committee … Continue reading

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Stickland responds

He says he did nothing wrong. esponding to claims that he improperly registered witnesses at a committee hearing, state Rep. Jonathan Stickland released a statement Monday standing by his actions. During a Thursday night hearing of the House Transportation Committee, … Continue reading

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As Jonathan Stickland turns

Cue dramatic organ music. The chairman of the House Committee on General Investigating and Ethics said Friday he plans to investigate allegations that witnesses were signed up improperly to speak at a transportation committee meeting from which state Rep. Jonathan … Continue reading

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Budget passes House as most amendments get pulled

It was a long day in the House on Tuesday and Wednesday but not a terribly bloody one as many of the budget amendments and riders that had been queued up got withdrawn. A brief recap of the action: Border … Continue reading

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Bill filing deadline has passed

Believe it or not, we are almost halfway through the legislative session, and we have now passed the point where new bills can be filed. Racing to beat a deadline for filing bills, state lawmakers on Friday submitted hundreds of … Continue reading

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Rallying to save the Texas DREAM Act

It won’t be easy. With a new Texas legislative session underway and incoming state leaders indicating a desire to repeal the Texas Dream Act, supporters of the law are gearing up for a renewed fight to keep it in place. … Continue reading

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A look at how Democratic legislative challengers did against the spread

It’s been long enough since the election that I feel like I can go back and look at some numbers. Not a whole lot of good out there, but we’ll try to learn what we can. To start off, here … Continue reading

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Special session for border security?

What could possibly go wrong? State Sen. Dan Patrick, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, joined some of his conservative colleagues on Tuesday in calling for “immediate action” to address the surge of undocumented immigrants crossing into Texas. “The Texas … Continue reading

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Pay no attention to Mark Jones

This is a really bad idea. At least for the time being, the Republican primary is the decisive election for the governance of Texas. In contrast, the most pressing issue facing Houston-area Democratic primary voters will be whether they prefer … Continue reading

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Some are elected to do things, others are elected to not do things

Meet the opposite ends of the spectrum in the Legislature. They were the freshest of the freshmen — the two youngest members of the largest freshman class of the Texas House in 40 years. And even before they took office, … Continue reading

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