Rather than update the earlier post, I thought I’d do a new one rounding up various reactions to the committee assignments in the House.
Matt says the Republican “Gang of 11” won big, but Democrats got little respect.
Phillip is somewhat more sanguine. He did a ton of number crunching and other analysis, and deserves more than a one-line summary, so go read what he wrote.
Grits sees some good things for criminal justice bills.
EoW sees good things for WilCo’s freshman Rep. Diana Maldonado.
Vince thinks the Dems got rolled.
Greg is happy for his Rep., Scott Hochberg.
Equality Texas is encouraged by the Speaker’s appointments.
Finally, via the Texas AFL-CIO email list, Ed Sills says Straus “appears to have done a good job of balancing an intricate web of considerations in appointing House committees”, but he takes a look at one particular committee and sees trouble:
Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence – Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, chair; Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, vice chair; Dan Branch; Will Hartnett; Bryan Hughes; David Leibowitz; Roberto Alonzo; Jim Jackson; Tryon Lewis; Jerry Madden; Armando Martinez; and Beverly Woolley. Panel is the so-called “tort reform” movement’s ultimate dream. Hunter returns after long absence from House to chairmanship after tort reformers funded his campaign to unseat former Rep. Juan Garcia. Unbalanced 8-3 Republican makeup recalls days when Joe Nixon took dictation from anti-lawsuit crowd at Capitol. Panel consolidates two prior committees into powerhouse that would consider both civil justice and judicial selection. Something nasty could be brewing here.
Yet another thing to keep an eye on. What’s your reaction to the committee assignments?
UPDATE: And Burka weighs in, with his take on who won and who lost.
UPDATE: The TLCV gives its scorecard numbers for members of relevant committees.
UPDATE: Banjo asks if his Rep., Dennis Bonnen, is a winner or loser.
How much more damage can they possibly do with tort reform? Todd Hunter sees his fellow attorneys without work so there should not be any tightening of the screws. On the other hand, unfortunately there will also be little if any reversing of tort reform. Tort reform and the restricting of abortions are the issues that keep the far right wing conservatives in power.