Tag Archives: filibuster

Yeah, they’re still working on a transportation funding bill

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The committee hearings will continue until morale improves. After consulting with members from both the House and Senate, state Rep. Joe Pickett decided to make some minor changes to his latest transportation funding proposal. On Thursday — the third day … Continue reading →

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Special Session 3: Beyond Thunderdome

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Beyond ridiculous, if you ask me, not that they did. Standing before mostly empty chairs in the 150-member Texas House on Tuesday, House Speaker Joe Straus adjourned the second special session and announced that Gov. Rick Perry would be calling … Continue reading →

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There are other items on this session’s agenda

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I know, hard to believe, but there are two non-abortion items on the session agenda, and the Senate has already taken preliminary action on two of them. Six hours before a marathon state House committee hearing on abortion, two Senate … Continue reading →

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Protest day at the Capitol

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty impressive: The story: Opponents of Republican-backed legislation to dramatically curtail abortion rights in Texas descended on the Capitol by the thousands on Monday, spurred on by musicians, celebrities and their new hero: filibustering state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth. … Continue reading →

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I do not expect another Ardmore

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The AusChron tries to get out the Democrats’ strategy for Special Session 2. When the Texas House convened last last month to pass, on third reading and onto the Senate for final passage, Senate Bill 5, the omnibus abortion regulations … Continue reading →

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Time to lace up your Mizunos and head back to the Capitol

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Special Session 2 starts today. If you can be there to watch the proceedings in the Legislature, that would be great. RSVP here, and while you’re at it, give a Like to the Stand With Texas Women Facebook page. The … Continue reading →

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What the future may hold for Wendy Davis

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Patricia Kilday Hart has her take on the Wendy Davis phenomenon, including the reaction of some Republicans to it. For both proponents and opponents of SB 5, the legislation that would have banned abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy and … Continue reading →

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Still standing with Wendy

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let me just say that I hope Sen. Wendy Davis slept in yesterday, and did nothing more strenuous than channel surfing and ordering takeout. She’s earned a lazy day, and a lot more than that. And while she (hopefully) took … Continue reading →

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Filibusted

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I figure this is about how the Republicans think of Sen. Wendy Davis right now: Well, they probably think a few more things, too, but this is a family blog. If you didn’t stay up late last night and follow … Continue reading →

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No action on SB5 in the Senate

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The name of the game is running out the clock. Texas Democrats, far outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, are nonetheless on the verge of killing one of the most restrictive abortion proposals in the nation … Continue reading →

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In which I try to find common ground with Sen. Patrick

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From a news item about President Obama’s nomination to helm the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Congress created the bureau a year ago this week with the enactment of the Dodd-Frank law, which overhauled financial regulations after the credit crisis. The … Continue reading →

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Wendy Davis profile

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib profiles State Sen. Wendy Davis. It’s a good read. The filibuster was a defining moment for Davis, a twice-divorced single mother who had her first daughter as a teenager, was the first in her family to go to … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the special session

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here they come back. And with the start of the special session comes a little surprise. Gov. Rick Perry and legislative leaders hope to move through a series of bills quickly during the special session that begins … Continue reading →

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Davis filibusters SB1811, special session looms for tomorrow

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Hoo boy. Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, filibustered for a little more than an hour Sunday night, probably killing a school finance and revenue bill critical to the budget (it’s still possible for a four-fifths supermajority of the Senate to … Continue reading →

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All eyes on the Senate

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: Republicans hold a 19-12 majority in the Senate, but 21 senators need to agree to bring the bill to a vote, so Democrats have two members who can make a stand on … Continue reading →

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The immigration wedge issue for the GOP

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this story. Evangelical ministers in Texas and across the nation are splitting off from the hard right, declaring immigration reform is needed that includes a path to citizenship without first deporting millions of … Continue reading →

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The lack of leadership

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. John Carona gets medieval on his party’s leadership. Tempers flared Saturday on the Legislature’s last weekend with a key GOP senator declaring that the session’s central theme is “lack of leadership” by top members of his own party. … Continue reading →

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Red light camera ban appears dead

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So says the Star-Telegram, which has been the go-to source for these stories. A final version of legislation restructuring the Texas Department of Transportation is not expected to include a ban on red-light cameras or a local option provision allowing … Continue reading →

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Specter switches

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As Greg says, wow. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning. Specter’s decision would … Continue reading →

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