87th Texas Legislature

[mchookem 16729]

what the actual fuck. SURELY cooler heads will prevail.

i thought i was well beyond being shocked. apparently i am not. 😳🤬

[StassneyHorn 6755]

Which one you assholes has worked with HillCo partners? One of their lobbyist allegedly drugged a Capitol staffer and Scott Braddock is calling a bunch of attention to it with retweets from female staffers. I caught myself doing LinkedIn roulette for my most likely candidates before I realized how shitty it was

[cactusflinthead 27626]

 

[Ghost of LL 15664]

It's hard to think of a more blatant violation of the First Amendment.

[Chooky 13337]

I think a good rule would be to fine businesses that I don't find helpful.  I don't really think I'll need a bilge pump for anything, ever.  So if you manufacture bilge pumps, fuck you.  You're getting fined.  If I ever do need a bilge pump then we'll work something else out and you can consider yourselves lucky.   

[Bookman 4754]

When was the last time the Texas Legislature considered foreclosure reform or consumer protection in real estate transactions?

[CooterBrown 18272]

When was the last time the Texas Legislature considered foreclosure reform or consumer protection in real estate transactions?

[Js1 86941]

I was gonna say- consumer protection? Why do you hate unregulated predatory capitalism? 

[cactusflinthead 27626]

 

[Guest Lobo]

You'd think the Legislature Leadership (read:  Senate President Dan Patrick) would begin to finally read the room on this shit.  

Yes, Texas still leans a bit towards socially conservative.  But most Texas, and their Reps., are kinda at the point after 6 years of this shit of, "Yeah, I guess I don't really understand the Trans thing.  And if I'm honest, it makes me a little uncomfortable...but it doesn't really seem to be a thing of concern in my community so we can drop this shit and move on to what's really freaking me the fuck out please?"  

[Brisketexan 106625]

13 minutes ago, Lobo said:

You'd think the Legislature Leadership (read:  Senate President Dan Patrick) would begin to finally read the room on this shit.  

Yes, Texas still leans a bit towards socially conservative.  But most Texas, and their Reps., are kinda at the point after 6 years of this shit of, "Yeah, I guess I don't really understand the Trans thing.  And if I'm honest, it makes me a little uncomfortable...but it doesn't really seem to be a thing of concern in my community so we can drop this shit and move on to what's really freaking me the fuck out please?"  

How you continue to be so adorable still baffles me.  Our leadership will keep trotting this shit out, and you'll like it, sonny boy!

[Updawg 2378]

You'd think the Legislature Leadership (read:  Senate President Dan Patrick) would begin to finally read the room on this shit.  
Yes, Texas still leans a bit towards socially conservative.  But most Texas, and their Reps., are kinda at the point after 6 years of this shit of, "Yeah, I guess I don't really understand the Trans thing.  And if I'm honest, it makes me a little uncomfortable...but it doesn't really seem to be a thing of concern in my community so we can drop this shit and move on to what's really freaking me the fuck out please?"  

I think he knows it will fail but at least he can say he tried. It’s all about dropping responsibility on other people.

[Guest Lobo]

So Dan Patrick's bathroom glory hole will be the "0" number of his bathroom bills to pass both houses and be signed by the governor?  How glorious.  

[Jive Turkey 12930]

so this isn't legislature related, but it is Texas politics related.  Ag Commish Sid Miller making an ass out of himself again:

 

[Guest Lobo]

I cannot fucking believe 'Farmers of Color' was just sitting out there for 150 years as a band name.  

I like how Sid specifically mentions the plight of Italian farmers in Texas.  This is how I picture him picturing Italian farmers in Texas:

 

[gmr548 16681]

When was the last time the Texas Legislature considered foreclosure reform or consumer protection in real estate transactions?

lol you know how I know you’ve never been to Texas?

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19279]

22 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

It's hard to think of a more blatant violation of the First Amendment.

This right here.

[StassneyHorn 6755]

 Video of the exchange, 4 min long

 

[SydneyCarton 49325]

The most absurd part of this video is that it is clear Cain has little to no understanding of procedural rules and how they work. 

[Ghost of LL 15664]

8 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

The most absurd part of this video is that it is clear Cain has little to no understanding of procedural rules and how they work. 

I'm not sure that I'd agree that that's the most absurd part of the video.  But it certainly does make an impression that he doesn't have the first fucking clue how to run a committee hearing.

[pyrohornIII 4844]

Cross posted from the Voter suppression thread... this from an hour ago:

 

In case you missed it, Chair Cain (R) just tried to take a surprise vote on SB 7 by steamrolling his Vice-Chair, Rep. Jessica González (D), and attempting to sub in the language for HB 6 so that he and Sen. Hughes (R) can rewrite the entire bill behind closed doors. 

Don’t let them.

We need you to call House Speaker Phelan right now and tell him not to let Chairman Cain jam SB 7 through the House Elections Committee today. There has been no hearing, testimony, or public notice on this racist anti-voting bill. 

Take two minutes right now and please call (512) 463-1000 and let Speaker Phelan know that Texans want their voices to be heard. We will not be silenced. 

Thank you for all you do - it really makes a difference.

[StassneyHorn 6755]

One ring, voicemail left

[GhostOfTomJoad 9483]

Cain is an absolute shit stain with no substance or knowledge of government & how a healthy society should function. Which means he'll probably be hand picked to replace Cornyn.

[StassneyHorn 6755]

On 4/25/2021 at 4:19 PM, StassneyHorn said:

Which one you assholes has worked with HillCo partners? One of their lobbyist allegedly drugged a Capitol staffer and Scott Braddock is calling a bunch of attention to it with retweets from female staffers. I caught myself doing LinkedIn roulette for my most likely candidates before I realized how shitty it was

...and the evidence didn’t support the claim. The lobbyist’s lawyers is now saying he was framed by someone else

 

[Penche Gringo 159]

On 4/27/2021 at 3:46 PM, Jive Turkey said:

so this isn't legislature related, but it is Texas politics related.  Ag Commish Sid Miller making an ass out of himself again:

 

I dealt with him a ton when I lobbied for an AG  trade assoc. He is the biggest piece of shit and a bully. Fuck that guy. 

[swraith 348]

21 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

The most absurd part of this video is that it is clear Cain has little to no understanding of procedural rules and how they work. 

For those of us not familiar with procedural rules of the committee....why did he stop the vote? I assume its not based on the opinion of the Vice Chair.

[pyrohornIII 4844]

This is what I figured he would try to pull.   Swamp the system with lots of crappy bills to divide the fight, then find a way to try to lump them all into one bill at the end.  Last ditch efforts to retain control.  They know Texas will turn blue, and they are working to forestall that as long as possible.  So even if these laws end up getting struck down, now they will clog up the courts.  

TDC Press Release 4/30

Vote-Suppressing Texas Republican Briscoe Cain Just Muscled Senate Bill 7 Through Committee

AUSTIN, Texas — On Thursday, Texas Republicans on the House Elections Committee ducked transparency norms in order to greenlight a shadowy version of voter suppression bill Senate Bill 7 (SB 7) — clearing a path to move the bill through the legislature and strip away Texans’ voting rights behind closed doors.

In a blatant attempt to force the voter suppression bill through the House, Committee Chair Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park) raised SB 7 without giving legislators advance notice, substituted the language of House Bill 6 (HB 6) into the titular SB 7 without giving legislators time to read through the bill, and disallowed public discussion and testimony from concerned Texans, as is customary. If Cain succeeds and the full House passes SB 7, a handful of Republican legislators will be able to pull the worst parts of SB 7 and HB 6 together behind closed doors and pass them through the legislature — without the House having heard testimony on many of the bill’s harmful, illegal, racist provisions.

Voting rights advocates, Democrats, and a broad coalition of allies sounded the alarm Thursday at the state Capitol during a press conference organized by MOVE Texas. Democratic legislators continue to fight tooth and nail to stop SB 7 and HB 6, which represent the worst attack on voting rights in our state since the Jim Crow era. The bills include blatant provisions to gut the voting rights of communities of color, voters with disabilities, and working Texans — including slashing voting hours and locations and clearing the way for Jim Crow-style voter intimidation. Now, if Cain manages to duck scrutiny through skirting House procedures, advocates fear the most harmful pieces of these bills will be compiled and passed into law.

Unfortunately, that was not enough voter suppression for one hearing, and the committee also considered SB 1340. This bill would require many Texans to provide documentary proof of citizenship before being registered to vote, confuse and lengthen the time between when a voter submits their registration form and when they can vote, and enshrine into law parts of Texas’ failed illegal voter purge from 2019. Public testimony highlighted many problems with the bill — not least of all how it violates the National Voter Registration Act, thus flying in the face of federal law. Looking at other states that have attempted similar schemes, such as Kansas, this bill could disenfranchise over 10 percent of new would-be registrants and would result in costly legal battles.

Texas Democratic Party Voter Protection Director Rose Clouston issued the following statement:

“Texas Republicans have already introduced the most racist, harmful voter suppression bills our state has seen since Jim Crow, in the form of House Bill 6 and Senate Bill 7. Now, Rep. Briscoe Cain is trying to cherry-pick all the worst parts of these terrible bills and pass them through the Texas Legislature without ever giving House lawmakers time to properly scrutinize this legislation, and without giving Texans a chance to give testimony on what’s in this bill.

“These are some of the shadiest moves yet from a party hellbent on slashing our voting rights. Republicans have decided to do the work of voter suppression in the shadows, ignoring their constituents’ concerns and experiences. They are abandoning normal procedures because it would be inconvenient for them to hear the outpouring of condemnation from everyone who believes in the foundation of our democracy — voting rights.

“We have to continue to ask why Republicans are trying to fix a voting system that isn’t broken. There is only one reason: Republicans know that if they let Texans vote conveniently and freely, Texans won’t choose them.

“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: we will not be silenced. Texans have already spoken loud and clear to say these racist bills aren’t welcome in our state. A massive coalition of advocates and Texans is fighting to stop these bills, and businesses and corporations are on our side. This is a brazen attempt to rob Texans of their right to vote, and it’s wrong, racist and illegal. We will keep fighting, and we will win.”

[Nice Guy Eddie 13707]

22 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

The most absurd part of this video is that it is clear Cain has little to no understanding of procedural rules and how they work. 

To no one's surprise, Cain appears to have no idea what he's doing in Austin. The last I recall hearing from Cain was when he flew to PA after the election to fight for Trump. He started to document the trip on Twitter but took so much abuse, he stopped the updates. Sad emoji that we missed out on reading and laughing at his effort.

 

1 hour ago, swraith said:

For those of us not familiar with procedural rules of the committee....why did he stop the vote? I assume its not based on the opinion of the Vice Chair.

It sounded like one of the Republicans, Clardy, passed on voting. I assume that would have not given Cain the majority vote so why continue. A chair needs to know how to maneuver around rules and objections. 

[pyrohornIII 4844]

I think maybe he stalled the vote in order to try to take it behind closed doors and pump it full of other crap.  If he lets it pass now, then some of the other voter suppression bills like 1340 would probably die.  This is an attempt to round up all the strays into one bad ass bill.   But I don't know shit, just trying to piece it all together too.

[atomheartbevo 90548]

46 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

They know Texas will turn blue, and they are working to forestall that as long as possible. 

Texas must be closer to flipping than we suspect if they are pulling this shit now instead of 2023.

[Voldemort86 2259]

15 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Texas must be closer to flipping than we suspect if they are pulling this shit now instead of 2023.

I think a lot of them are assuming Trump brought out a lot of Republican voters who have never voted before and probably won’t vote again if Trump isn’t in the ballot. They know they’re toast if that happens, so they gotta rig shit in their favor. Republicans are desperate in legislatures all over the country. There’s voter suppression bills under consideration in 45 different states.

[HenryJames 67116]

On 4/29/2021 at 1:50 PM, Ghost of LL said:

I'm not sure that I'd agree that that's the most absurd part of the video.  But it certainly does make an impression that he doesn't have the first fucking clue how to run a committee hearing.

“You must be this tall to run a committee hearing.”

[StassneyHorn 6755]

6 week heartbeat bill and permitless carry most likely going through today

[Beau Vine 55824]

I just got notice from the Budget Committee I'm on that my university can't do its fucking budget because of these shitheads:

Quote

Budget is still in limbo as the state legislature is still not acting on stimulus money.  1 billion in money is available thru stimulus funds but the state is not acting on it.

We're going to turn down $1B to own the libs and bankrupt our higher education, aren't we?

[CooterBrown 18272]

I just got notice from the Budget Committee I'm on that my university can't do its fucking budget because of these shitheads:

Budget is still in limbo as the state legislature is still not acting on stimulus money.  1 billion in money is available thru stimulus funds but the state is not acting on it.

We're going to turn down $1B to own the libs and bankrupt our higher education, aren't we?

So, a win-win?

/typical republican

[Brisketexan 106625]

Just now, CooterBrown said:

We're going to turn down $1B to own the libs and bankrupt our higher education, aren't we?

So, a win-win?

/typical republican

Will it "own the libs?"*  If so, yes, that's what we'll do.

 

* Note that "owning the libs" = anything that makes rational human beings stop and say "WTF?  Seriously, what the hell are you thinking?  That's the dumbest, most counterproductive thing I've ever seen."  If intelligent people think it's a terrible idea, you should definitely do it, because that will "own the libs."

[Js1 86941]

Uh yeah sounds about right. Heartless fucks 

 

[Ghost of LL 15664]

1 hour ago, Js1 said:

Uh yeah sounds about right. Heartless fucks 

 

They're pro-life, dontchaknow?

[Steamboat1874 4284]

Not anymore....they passed it.

Fucking assholes.

[atomheartbevo 90548]

2 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

I just got notice from the Budget Committee I'm on that my university can't do its fucking budget because of these shitheads:

We're going to turn down $1B to own the libs and bankrupt our higher education, aren't we?

Republican lawmakers assume their constituents are dumb as fuck.  

I didn't recognize that aspect when I was all-in on being a Republican back in the '90s and early '00s, but after bailing on them, and looking at the campaign stuff with an outside perspective.

[Longhorn_Fan68 34079]

lol, I'm sure law enforcement around the state super love the idea of every chuckle fuck walking around with a gun. You think they're twitchy now? I also think of all the unneeded 911 calls that are gonna happen when people start reporting this shit. People now get to die in fun and creative ways - like not being able to get through to 911. Go Texas!

[gmr548 16681]

Republican lawmakers assume their constituents are dumb as fuck.  
I didn't recognize that aspect when I was all-in on being a Republican back in the '90s and early '00s, but after bailing on them, and looking at the campaign stuff with an outside perspective.

Republican lawmakers are correct.

[Pancho 46054]

 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4998]

9 hours ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

lol, I'm sure law enforcement around the state super love the idea of every chuckle fuck walking around with a gun. You think they're twitchy now? I also think of all the unneeded 911 calls that are gonna happen when people start reporting this shit. People now get to die in fun and creative ways - like not being able to get through to 911. Go Texas!

Just like what happened when they first passed concealed carry? Or when they passed the bill to allow anybody who isn't a felon or gang member or actively participating in a crime to carry in their vehicle without a license? Or with open carry? There are a lot of states out there with no requirement to have a license to carry that don't have those issues. What in your opinion makes Texas unique?

[Voldemort86 2259]

10 hours ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

lol, I'm sure law enforcement around the state super love the idea of every chuckle fuck walking around with a gun. You think they're twitchy now? I also think of all the unneeded 911 calls that are gonna happen when people start reporting this shit. People now get to die in fun and creative ways - like not being able to get through to 911. Go Texas!

Expanding their “freedom” to own the libs.

[Js1 86941]

1 hour ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Just like what happened when they first passed concealed carry? Or when they passed the bill to allow anybody who isn't a felon or gang member or actively participating in a crime to carry in their vehicle without a license? Or with open carry? There are a lot of states out there with no requirement to have a license to carry that don't have those issues. What in your opinion makes Texas unique?

There you go again. Keep pushing reasonable voters away bc the idea of permits to carry a gun is now too unreasonable. Just stop.  Why do we have to treat it like the Wild West? 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Js1

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4998]

Wild west pimp style according to one racist rant by a Democratic house member, actually. But, no, I was not trying to argue in favor or against the bill. I was only trying to point out that if you are going to argue against it you shouldn't use unfounded and largely disproven emotion as the basis of your argument.

Edited May 6, 2021 by NotActuallyALonghorn

[Longhorn_Fan68 34079]

1 hour ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Just like what happened when they first passed concealed carry? Or when they passed the bill to allow anybody who isn't a felon or gang member or actively participating in a crime to carry in their vehicle without a license? Or with open carry? There are a lot of states out there with no requirement to have a license to carry that don't have those issues. What in your opinion makes Texas unique?

all of those made us less safe. and made the police less safe.

next question!

[Brisketexan 106625]

1 minute ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

all of those made us less safe. and made the police less safe.

next question!

But they didn't make "us" less safe.

If "us" looks like this, we're fine:

 

If "us" looks like this....not so much....

 

See the contrast:

 

But keep on keeping on, Texas.  Our priorities seem to be entirely in order.

[Js1 86941]

Voters: We would like reasonable gun control like licenses/permits, background checks, red flag laws for individuals with mental health issues and not making weapons on war available to the average regard with a gun.

Republicans: Hm, how about anyone can carry a gun in Texas with no permit?  Oh and FUCK YOU, we rule Texas, we make the rules. 

 

Again - one day, the gun control voters and Dem legislators will win out and the gun owners are not going to like the results because they refuse to meet anywhere in the middle for reasonable (and popular!) gun control measures.