Burnt Orange Report

.....and all God's people said AMEN!

Well said, Phil. The House Dem's have stood for a lot of things - and they have stood for the same school plan since the April, 2004 special session. It must pain some GOP "leaders" to see Republican Members starting to vote for their districts again, because a little independence and democracy is a real threat to people who just do not believe it should be that way.

Excellent post! I am so sick of the "Democrats only oppose plans, they don't offer solutions" crap.

Unbelievable

Just pour more money into the schools but heaven forbid it actually go to the students...that amendment had no way to pay for it. I know, lets give lots of money away and make ourselves feel good and who cares that we don't have the funds to back it up, we can SAY we did good. That's real responsibility alright, you guys need to come back to earth. Schools need reforms, money for teachers not administrators, and less rhetoric. There is going to be lots of new freshman legislators soon. Maybe they will actually care about the folks that elected them and actually DO good.

The Hochberg amendment was paid for with the same amount of money used to pay for Rep. Grusendorf's bill. It had to be--the House ruled that any amendment be revenue neutral, so if it spent more money, it would have died on a point of order.

Furthermore, Speaker Craddick and Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst are the ones with the empty rhetoric. Last Thursday, they claimed to have the votes to pass their version of the bill. We have seen, now, that their rhetoric was hollow, and the actions of the Democrats and Republicans to pass real education reform is the only positive step forward we've seen on the education bill since January.

" They are for letting educators run public schools instead of companies."

We've got news for you, the "educators" have been running the schools and that is why the schools are so screwed up!

No sir, read the clause in the final paragraph of the amendment for your point of order.

This was a net tax hike with the salary increases for teachers left to the school districts to fund amoungst its many other problems. The very unfunded mandates that are cursed in every corner of the state.

You are correct in that you had leadership less than a week ago talking about how close they were...well, mainly because...they were. Why do you think the senator from Houston filibustered.

What happened?? What happened was that members succumb to outside interests instead of the principles of which they were elected by. A dozen or so superintendents won the ground game over 130,000+ constituants in the members respective district. Like I said before...there's going to be a big freshman class next cycle when those voting records are combed over...but thats the process they all live with and we all live by...if we dont like what they do, vote anew.

The 1,000 phone calls and e-mails Rep. Pitts received were from "outside interests" all right---his constituents. Call around to the other R's that voted for the Hochberg amendment, and asked them who was pressuring them to vote with the leadership. The Governor and Craddick calling them into the office and threatening them with primary challengers? You're advocating breaking arms as a better way to run? Sorry, I just don't see what's good in that.

And by the way, I believe that having teacher groups influence education bills is much, much better than having SBC and Insurance companies influence education bills.

" The 1,000 phone calls and e-mails Rep. Pitts received were from "outside interests" all right---his constituents."

Oh yeah, and it froze in hades today, too!

Those phone calls and emails were from local school district employees organized (and lied to) by the state educrat organizations to put pressure on local legs.

"Local Control", ha --- the school districts are influenced in every way by a bunch of statewide educrat organizations with HQ's in Austin, and these are the crooks who are lobbying against the taxcuts in the legislature while using taxpayers money ( in the form of district and administrator membership fees paid to these groups.)

Pitts caved, and he will pay for it big-time in the primary unless he turns it around before the session ends.

If you want Hochberg and Dunnam to even survive next year's election, you'd better get them to back spreading the school finance tax burden and cutting the property tax substantially.

Because if this tax cut fails, we are going to retaliate at the polls and Mr. Hochberg, Mr. Dunnam and Mr. Pitts will simply be annihilated in the voting.

Teachers and superintendents are crooks, now.

I guess damage control can get ugly.

Ttyler5,

In Harris County, I'd watch my back if I were a GOP state Rep, not a Democratic one.

"Because if this tax cut fails, we are going to retaliate at the polls and Mr. Hochberg, Mr. Dunnam and Mr. Pitts will simply be annihilated in the voting."

It failed. Scott Hochberg is a hero, Jim Dunnam kept all the Democrats in line, and the Republican leadership has gone 0 for 5 in fixing school finance. Scott and Jim are real scared of being 'annilated.' Martha Wong maybe, but not these guys.

I conclude that the current GOP Leadership has shown a failure to govern. If you can tell me they haven't in the face of overwhelming evidence on school finance (I believe Tom, Rick, and Dewey all said that this was the most important issue), then the echo chamber has numbed your mind.

Step outside, realize bomb throwing at educators is probably unpreductive when combined with legislative failure, and realize that investing in our state's future by funding education should be our first priority.

Damage control wouldn't be this the right word. When the folks across the aisle dont want to do what they were elected to do its more like duck and cover now. Very unfortunate, but again the voters will have the last laugh.