Joe Straus: Obstacle to Prosperity

I met Bryan Hughes last night, and was generally impressed; I'll have a lot more to say on the positive side of this race shortly.

In the meantime, I want to piggyback on this piece from Empower Texans, because it encapsulates the importance of the Texas House Speaker's race to the long term economic future of Texas.

The piece, entitled "Dewhurst Doubles Down" details Lt. Governor David Dewhurst's welcome Road to Damascus-esque fiscal conversion.  Under the leadership of a chastened Lt. Governor Dewhurst, Cahnman's Musings is cautiously optimistic the Texas Senate will act as prudent stewards of the people's money.  Unfortunately, we are forced to concur with this assessment of the Texas House:

House Speaker Joe Straus refuses to make any commitments towards reducing spending, opposing new taxes, or preserving a strong Rainy Day Fund.  He's sent out many signals since the end of the 82nd session indicating the state should instead look for more revenue....

In other words, Governor Rick Perry supports prudent financial stewardship.  A chastened Lt. Governor Dewhurst is also saying the right things.  However, the man who the Texas Constitution grants near dictatorial powers over the Texas State House dogmatically refuses to commit to prudent stewardship of the people's money.

Governor Perry frequently cites four factors behind Texas' economic success.  Number one is "do not spend all the money;" when government is frivolous with the people's money, the people cannot pursue productive activity.  It's common sense.

Joe Straus' spendthrift leadership is an obstacle to prosperity Texas cannot afford; that's why Cahnman's Musings supports Bryan Hughes for Texas House speaker.