Joe Straus Has No Pledges To Show the Agenda Wise Team
Knowledge is Power and again the team at Agenda Wise provides great information. Please see their latest post below.
The Fall of the Rino Republicans
AgendaWise made an open records request to the speaker’s office for pledge cards. We got a letter in return that said “The speaker does not maintain records of moved pledges, pledge cards or any other written record or communication concerning the vote for the Speaker of the House as part of the governmental records maintained by the office of the speaker.”
According to the speaker’s office, all communication related to the first vote of the session is categorically unavailable, not because they don’t have any, but because they don’t “maintain records… concerning the vote for the speaker… as part of the governmental records maintained by the office of speaker.”
Who knew written communication for a legislative vote could be excluded from records just because a legislator says it is excluded?
However, this isn’t the real story of the pledge card ORR. The real story is that if the speaker had a big stack of pledges he’d be happy to show them off. This means he doesn’t have them.
Perhaps he’s got some verbal pledges that don’t show up on ORRs, but what is a verbal pledge? A pledge to pledge?
Weston Hicks researches and writes about associations in the Texas political realm, media choices, and political strategy. Over the past year he has advised on grassroots and voter initiatives. He has a B.A. in History from the University of Texas at El Paso and a J.D. from University of Texas School of Law. He enjoys spending time with wife and three children, reading theology and political theory, and watching FC Barcelona. You can reach him at whicks@agendawise.com.
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TEXAS HOUSE PLEDGE CARDS VIOLATION OF SECTION 302.032
Sec. 302.032. LEGISLATIVE BRIBERY: PROMISES OR THREATS. A person commits an offense if, with the intent to influence a member of or candidate for the house of representatives in casting a vote for speaker of the house of representatives, the person:(1) promises or agrees to cause:(A) the appointment of a person to a chairmanship or vice-chairmanship of a house committee or subcommittee;(B) the appointment of a person to a particular house committee or subcommittee, the Legislative Budget Board, the Texas Legislative Council, the Legislative Library Board, the Legislative Audit Committee, or any other position the speaker appoints;(C) preferential treatment on any legislation or appropriation;(D) the employment of a person; or(E) economic benefit to a person; or(2) threatens to cause:(A) the failure to appoint a person to a chairmanship or vice-chairmanship of a house committee or subcommittee;(B) the failure to appoint a person to a particular house committee or subcommittee, the Legislative Budget Board, the Texas Legislative Council, the Legislative Library Board, the Legislative Audit Committee, or any other position the speaker appoints;(C) unfavorable treatment on any legislation or appropriation;(D) the refusal of or removal from employment of a person; or(E) the withholding of economic benefit from a person.
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Knowledge is Power and again the team at Agenda Wise provides great information. Please see their latest post below.
[caption id="attachment_1143" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The Fall of the Rino Re
Please attribute to Alice Linahan with Voices Empower 
