#TXLEGE: Rove and Straus weaseling into redistricting

"The king establishes the land by justice,
But he who receives bribes overthrows it."
Proverbs 29:4

PushJunction yesterday:

JOE STRAUS (former Speaker of the Texas House) and Karl Rove (former top-tier strategist) got some love yesterday as they weasel their way back into Texas politics ahead of 2022.

The two appear to be manufacturing energy; they can parlay into more control of the GOP in 2021 (redistricting) as they plot a liberal Republican renaissance.

This is both interesting...AND something into which it's easy to read faaar too much.

It's interesting because it shows Rove and Straus returning to an old playbook.  In 2011, Joe Straus' Texas house drew a redistricting map that, while it favored Republicans, boosted liberal R's at the expense of conservatives.  Wayne Christian and Ken Paxton were the primary targets.  Many of the challenges conservatives have faced in that chamber this decade are rooted in the fact that the last redistricting map elevated rural school board members.

That being said, let's not build this effort up unnecessarily.  It's true that current district boundaries favor rural school board members.  But it's truer still that there have been a long list of failures and missed opportunities since.  While this reality deserves consideration, it's an excuse for nothing.

Bottom Line: How big of a role they play remains to be seen.  They're still has-been's.  Nevertheless, it's worth keeping this effort in the back of your mind over the coming months.