Will Republicans claim 100th seat in Texas House?

One Texas Democrat announced over the weekend that he’s switching parties, and another says he’s thinking about following suit.

Both are members of the Texas House, where Republicans now hold a 98 of 150 seats (with one vacant).

If the GOP were to attain a supermajority of 100 House seats, The Texas Tribune notes, Republicans could, for example, approve constitutional amendments without a singe Democratic vote.

On Saturday, Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Nederland, told KFDM-TV in Beaumont that he’s jumping ship. He plans an announcement Tuesday in Austin. Gov. Rick Perry and other Republican leaders are expected to be on hand.

And Paul Burka of Texas Monthly says Rep. Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, could follow suit.

Full Story Here:
Will Republicans claim 100th seat in Texas House?

I’m not at all opposed to the idea of Texas leading the way in Conservatism, but here’s where I may confuse a few Republicans; if the GOP attains a supermajority, that looks pretty good at first glance, GOP control of Texas, a solid RED state and all that, but to the Texas GOP I have to say, you guys aren’t always Conservatives.

The Texas GOP is shot through and through with that most dreaded species of creature, RINOs!

“I am taking it under consideration,” Burka quoted Pena as saying.

The legislator, who was traveling out of state, added: “When I get home to Texas on Tuesday, I’ll talk to people. What concerns me is, How do you function as a super minority? I’m concerned the Democrats will be irrelevant. I’m considering every option. What is the best way to help my constituents?”

What these guys need to consider is this; if you discount Harris, Dallas, Travis and a few other counties along the Rio Grande, Texas IS Republican, and Dems are pretty much irrelevant. That is not said as a slam against the Dems, it’s just the truth.

If the Dallas suburbs could be separated from Dallas, the city, Dallas would be a BLUE LIGHT on the prairie. Dallas itself is a bastion of liberal life, but Dallas county is mostly Republican and is considered to be Conservative.

I personally don’t care about party labels, in so many cases you can’t tell a GOP from a Dem if all you do is listen to them talk. I have stated many times, the GOP has become nothing more than a version of Dem Lite. All that matters is America 1st Conservatism.

Some folks just can’t help themselves though. They refuse to research candidates, they are lazy, maybe they are just so set in their PARTY ways that they can’t help themselves. Maybe they’re just too stupid to know the difference. For whatever reason, far too many, on both sides of the aisle, walk in to the voting booth, don’t even think about individual issues and they simply pull the STRAIGHT TICKET lever.

Straight-party voting skews results, is bad for democracy, foes say

In most elections, voters are drawn to the polls by top-of-the-ballot candidates for president, governor or even mayor.

But increasingly prevalent in Texas are campaigns based on party affiliation rather than the merits of an individual candidate.

As the most recent elections show, so-called straight-ticket voting has been transformed from a convenient voter luxury to a tool that helps Democrats and Republicans win elections and build their party bases.

Critics contend that allowing voters to press one button to finish out a partisan ballot is bad for democracy and skews elections that, without the practice, would have had a different result.

Full Story Here:
Straight-party voting skews results, is bad for democracy, foes say

I don’t care WHO you are, if you vote a straight party ticket, you have just become a political pawn of whatever party you voted for. You have become what the GOP and Dems cherish the most, a BLIND supporter that will allow them to throw whatever piece of garbage they want into an election because they know that YOU will vote for it.

In the recent elections there were a great many that voted straight party ticket. By doing so, by not looking at the candidates, by not researching the candidates, many in my part of Texas did the unthinkable, they voted a Marxist onto the Texas State Board of Education.

The gentleman in question ran as a Republican, but his beliefs, his spoken platform, wreaked of Marxist philosophy. But he got elected anyway, thanks to voters that were too lazy to take the time to do a bit of fact finding and are too entrenched in the local GOP to consider voting for any other than a fellow member of the GOP.

Also on Election Day, I ran into a friend at a local restaurant. I happened to be having lunch with a Libertarian Party candidate. I introduced my friend to the candidate. Before he met her, he announced that he had voted straight party Republican.

Without hesitation, I announced to the whole restaurant, “Well, you voted for at least one Marxist!”

From:
Is voting an exercise in futility?

The above quote is from Jerry Berggren, President of The Rowlett TEA Party. Jerry is my friend and associate and is an astute political observer. We are in fact, in his story and mine, talking about the same candidate. We’re also talking about the same voter, a person that we both know, one that was proud of the fact that he had voted a straight GOP ticket.

Damn the consequences!

“We’re not England,” said state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, pointing out the British system of voting along party lines. “Straight-ticket voting is a detriment to our system and not the way it was designed to be.”

I have to agree with Sen. Wentworth. Straight party voting is, in MY opinion, an effortless endeavor for the mindless that are too afraid to make decisions on their own. And…it makes them feel really good about themselves, “I did MY civic duty, I voted.”

Read the full story on the Dallas Morning News. It’s long, but it points out the pros and cons of straight ticket voting.

Then ask yourself this question, do I want the GOP, the Dems, the Libertarians, whoever the case may be, do I want someone else making MY decisions for me or do I have the common sense to pick my own candidates to vote for? And ask yourself this too, do I have the motivation necessary to research the candidates, and then still have the motivation to get out and vote with my BRAIN and not my heart?

You’re the only one that can answer those questions, but every time there’s an election, and every time we see the results of straight ticket voting, those of us that DO have the motivation see the results of votes by those that didn’t.