Sunday, October 19, Speaker Tom Craddick and his District 82 opponent, Bill Dingus, squared off in a televised debate in Midland. Candidates discussed issues from the merits of CHIP, TxDOT, property taxes, and lobbyists. The surprise at the debate, however, was that Leslie Ward, a vice president and lobbyist for AT&T, was allowed to sit at the table with local journalists and have a turn at asking questions. AT&T was the debate's official sponsor, and its Political Action Committee (PAC) recently donated an even 50 G to Craddick's own PAC three days before the debate. ...

Yesterday, the 80th Texas Legislature officially ended. And if you thought this session was fraught with partisan bickering and political vendettas... baby, you ain't seen nothing yet. On Monday morning, just after midnight, the long-brewing attempt to dethrone the powerful Tom Craddick, Speaker of House, reached a fever pitch as several Republican anti-Craddick members rose up to move for a vote on whether Speaker Craddick should vacate his position. The Speaker's chair fought back......

The current battle over the Trans Texas Corridor (“TTC”) – essentially a fight between rural Texas, Governor Rick Perry’s office and the urban developers that Perry is backing – appears to be approaching its endgame this week. Certainly this story has all the obvious implications for the State’s infrastructure, but it could also have other consequences that may be less obvious: It could change how millions of Texans vote. Here’s the present story in a......

Moneyed interests from across the state of Texas are donating huge sums of cash to the renovation of House Speaker Tom Craddick’s capitol apartment. For those who, not long ago, suggested that Speaker Craddick’s power grip in the Texas House of Representatives was loosening, this story should serve as strong evidence to the contrary. So far, the who’s who of the Texas corporate elite have made over $1 million in tax-deductible donations to the......

It could be argued that money led DeLay to the top of the republican heap, but it seems that money, or the lack thereof, will bring him down in end. DeLay's leadership PAC, Americans for a Republican Political Majority, is in debt. His legal fund is also in trouble with less-than-sufficient amounts to cover the legal expenses that continue to mount. We're also happy to report that he is not favored to win his......

Our good friends over at Pink Dome alerted us late last night to some troubling goings-on on the Hill that have us, well...troubled. Apparently a Republican operative has been appointed to lead the Legislative Council for Texas. Ho hum, right? Another legislative appointee. Not so fast. The Legislative Council Director controls everything on the Hill - the emails, the network, the drafting of bills, the handling of those bills being drafted and all of......

Texas - A lobbyist hired by the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations once worked closely with DeLay cohort Jack Abramoff. The lobbyist, Todd Boulanger, was a member of what was known as "Team Abramoff" (lawyers are so creative) while they were working at a law firm together. We won't bore you with all the details, but essentially Todd worked with Abramoff as registered lobbyist for Indian tribes who were coerced into "donating" money in......

Teachers get extra homeworkLast Friday , we told you about the legislative special session regarding school funding. Because they can't seem to reach a decision, not only will Speaker of the House Tom Craddick miss his Alaskan fishing trip, about 1,000 Round Rock high schoolers won't have textbooks. It's estimated that the delay in receiving books could be three weeks to two months, causing teachers to throw together some lesson materials at the last......

If at first (second, third) you don't succeed, quit!So said Tom Craddick, House Speaker, about the Legislative special session regarding paying for public schools. Craddick said they are wasting time and money in these sessions, and should agree to resolve them, just not in a special session. Maybe it has something to do with his Alaskan fishing trip scheduled next week, the one he'll miss if they stay in session? A great lesson for......