Why is Texans for Lawsuit Reform Negotiating Public Education Legislation?

by: Katherine Haenschen

Fri May 24, 2013 at 04:53 PM CDT

Today, the Texas Tribune reported that the lawmakers working on the bill were joined by some very special, very sleazy guests: Texans for Lawsuit Reform!

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst; House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio; Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston; and Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, were among the elected officials present for the negotiations. The meeting also included staff from Gov. Rick Perry's office, and Texans for Education Reform lobbyists Mike Toomey, Dick Trabulsi and Florence Shapiro, a former senator who preceded Patrick in leading the upper chamber's education committee.

Texans for Education Reform is a group of folks from Texans for Lawsuit Reform who have decided to focus their efforts this session on promoting charter schools and school "choice."

TLR, as y'all well know, is also the group dedicated to the defeat of Democrats, both through their funding of predominantly Republican candidates. They also take a more round-about way of doing this through their lobbying and efforts to weaken the rights of citizens to seek justice in our civil courts, which is intended to hurt the financial success of trial lawyers, traditionally donors to Democratic candidates.

And what lobbyists did TLR -- excuse me, TER -- send to the Capitol? None other than Mike Toomey, Perry's former Chief of Staff and BFF and noted corporate lobbyist,; former State Senator Florence Shapiro, who left public service to chase big dollars as a lobbyist; and Dick Trabulsi, a founder of TLR and chairman of the group's PAC.

Right-wing pro-corporate lobbyists should not be writing our public education legislation. We need education policies that focus on educating all of our Texas children to succeed in a competitive 21st century economy.

I have my doubts about whether an organization dedicated to representing corporations' interests in dodging legitimate lawsuits should really be shaping public education policy. TLR erects barriers to justice for regular Texans who deserve their day in court. They aren't qualified to represent the best interests of the over 4.9 million students in our Texas public schools.

As long as Republicans are in charge of our state, we can expect this business to continue. While Democrats are fighting to restore $3.9 billion to public education, Republicans are letting corporate lobbyists shape our education policy. It stinks, and it's another reminder that it's high time we took back this state and let real leaders make the decisions.  

TLR Trying to Buy Democratic Senate Seat With Carol Alvarado

by: Katherine Haenschen

Wed Feb 27, 2013 at 04:15 PM CST

Carol Alvarado raised almost half of her run-off money from Texans from Lawsuit Reform, Stand for Children PAC, a teacher's union-busting organization, payday lenders, and several Republican PACs and mega-donors.

Her campaign is being heavily funded by organizations and individuals that work every day to block our core Democratic values.

Sylvia Garcia, on the other hand, is primarily funded by trial lawyers and labor organizations, the tradional donors to our Democratic candidates and causes.

Before we get into the details of who's giving to who, here's a quick run-down of the notable donors and links to each candidate's runoff report.

February 22 Runoff Reports for SD-6 Special Election Covering January 17-February 20
Carol Alvarado Runoff Report Raise: $581,969 Spend: $463,496 COH: $99,432 Report available here. Alvarado's Major Donors: $184,000 from TLR PAC $54,317 from Stand for Children PAC (in-kind) $20,000 from Barbara and John Nau $14,000 from payday lenders $10,000 from HillCo PAC $10,000 from Ryan Texas PAC	Sylvia Garcia Runoff Report Raise: $662,686 Spend: $641,435 COH: $119,227 Report available here. Garcia's Major Donors: $356,750 from the Mostyn Firm $117,000 from Texas Organizing Project (in-kind) $8500 from AFSCME's federal PAC $5000 from the Teamsters $5000 from the Plumber's union $2500 each from ILA Local 24 & 28 $2000 from SEIU's federal PAC

Below the jump, find out more about Alvarado's donors and their long history of working against Democratic ideals and -- and usually candidates, too.

Did Dee Margo Pay Off Naomi Gonzalez and Marisa Marquez to Support Him Over Joe Moody?

by: Katherine Haenschen

Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 09:30 AM CST

Back in the fall, in the battle for HD-78, Democratic state representatives Naomi Gonzalez (HD-76) and Marisa Marquez (HD-77) endorsed Republican incumbent Dee Margo over Democratic challenger and previous officeholder Joe Moody.

That wasn't smart politics and it wasn't responsive to the needs of their constituents -- any Democrat is going to be more responsive to the needs of El Paso residents than a Republican, and Joe Moody is an exemplary public servant dedicated to making life better for all Texans.

As part of the endorsement, Gonzalez and Marquez appeared in at least three direct mailers supporting Margo. One is seen at right (click to open in new window). Turns out their opinion evidently didn't sway a lot of voters, as Moody was returned to office with 53.82% of the vote, ousting Margo.

Now, thanks to their January 15th semiannual reports, it is clear that Gonzalez and Marquez each took a $2500 donation from Margo's personal account, just days before the mailer went to print.

They also received another $2500 each from Margo's personal account after he lost. That's a total of $10,000 from Margo's personal bank account to the two Democrats.

Did Dee Margo give Naomi Gonzalez and Marisa Marquez $5,000 each to endorse him? Or are they actually just bought and paid for by Republican mega-donors?

See the details below the jump and decide for yourself.  

Justice DeLayed

by: Glenn Smith

Wed Sep 24, 2008 at 10:21 AM CDT

The sewers have backed up into Texas courtrooms. They need draining and cleaning. Sadly, it's not the special interests or their bought-and-paid for judges who are drowning in the unethical effluent of one-sided rulings that make a mockery of impartial justice. It's the people of Texas who suffer.

Before going on, let me say quickly that that not all Texas judges are lost in this swamp. There are good judges. There are courtrooms where fair trials still take place. God bless them. They know who they are, and the lawyers who practice in their courts -- and the citizens who seek justice there -- they also know fairness and impartiality when they see it.

Still, the overall situation is so bad that the editorial writers of the Austin American Statesman must ask the question they asked in today's editorial:

Have judicial ethics in Texas fallen so far that it is considered proper for a judge to rule on a motion involving defendants he previously counseled in a case he criticized?

The answer is yes, judicial ethics have fallen that far. On Tuesday, as Laylan Copelin of the Statesman reported today, Travis County District Attorney formally asked Third Court of Appeals Judge Alan Waldrop to recuse himself from a money laundering case against two DeLay associates. Waldrop had represented Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a group implicated in the scandal, and criticized the criminal investigation and indictments in the campaign finance scheme. Now on an appeals court, he sits in judgment on the case

As we noted yesterday, Waldrop and his colleagues have received a good deal of money from people who'd like to see the criminal cases go away. After all, the alleged crimes -- the pursuit of which at least led to DeLay's resignation from Congress -- also led to the speakership of their errand boy, Tom Craddick, who hasn't been forced from office. Yet.

As we've seen, the corruption is not limited to the Third Court of Appeals. No, it's system wide. It's time for those who care about justice, who know that democracy depends upon it, to drain the swamp. Maybe, finally, DeLay will be pulled down the drain along with the rest of the ugly special interests who have nearly ruined our state.

T. Boone's Power Play

by: Glenn Smith

Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 10:33 AM CDT

Equally disturbing are signs that Democrats in Congress and elsewhere appear willing to forget Pickens' attacks on them if he blows enough wind up their skirts.

Pickens will build a billion dollars worth of wind-driven generators in West Texas. The Texas Public Utility Commission has approved a plan calling for spending more than $4 billion in taxpayer money for transmission lines that will get the electricity from those windmills to consumers. Without government's extraordinary help, Pickens can't sell his electricity. He can't earn a profit.

Our governments should be investing in clean sources of energy. That is not the issue. And private investors who have awakened to the opportunities in alternative energy sources should also be encouraged.

The issue is hypocrisy. For too long the Right has bashed government as a destructive barrier to private enterprise and individual initiative. That broad-brush message has appealed to individualistic voters -- especially in the South where some voters have long resented such laws as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. The wealthy have long used the message to drive their anti-tax agenda.