It’s been linked around elsewhere, but here for a limited time is the Texas Monthly Best and Worst Legislators of 2005 list. One thing to keep in mind as you read this: in general, they’re measuring effectiveness, not ideology. Look at the Republican failures – Bohac, Grusendorf, Keel, King, and to a lesser extent Harris and Denny, all got dinged due to inability to do what they were supposed to do. The same is true for Gallegos and Barrientos on the Dem side. The one exception for each party, Talton and Edwards, are there to prove that stone craziness is always a qualification. Maybe it’s a good thing that there was more incompetence than insanity this time around, though to be honest for some of these guys there were days where it was hard to tell the difference.
Anyway. The blurbs are served with the usual wit and occasional nastiness that we’ve all come to expect from this feature. Read and enjoy.
” …due to inability to do what they were supposed to do …”
In other words, if a rep steps out front, takes the lead and attempts to pass some necesssary reform or legislation that is good for the public, and the rest of the house or senate is too stupid, or greedy, or corrupt to go along with, well then, the editors blame it on the guy who tried to get something done!
The Un-Texan Monthly’s insipid criteria once again make its Best-Worst List a candidate for the Top Ten Worst Best-Worst Lists in America.