#TXLEGE: Creighton, Leach, Springer and the GROTESQUE Cheapening of 9/11

"Professing to be wise, they became fools,"
Romans 1:22


UPDATE II: Say whatever else you want about Leach, but his recognized this misjudgement and fixed it.

I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong. And, on this, I was clearly and regretfully wrong. I sincerely apologize for this error of judgment and am fixing it immediately. https://t.co/wdTiiHdVcE

— Jeff Leach (@leachfortexas) September 11, 2019

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UPDATE (20ish minutes after publication): We just received a message from Jeff Leach acknowledging error, and pledging to fix it.  We appreciate the attention.

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Original post:

It started innocently enough:

This times a zillion. https://t.co/enUC1zyFbU

— cahnman (@cahnman) September 11, 2019

Then culprits emerged:

The crisis of September 11, 2001 revealed the true character of our Nation. We saw the exceptional greatness of America through the overwhelming goodness of the American people. May we never forget all that we witnessed together on that fateful day. pic.twitter.com/IMTjHgiiBK

— Jeff Leach (@leachfortexas) September 11, 2019

pic.twitter.com/LrXhRZ79Q1

— Drew Springer (@DrewSpringer) September 11, 2019

Not to be outdone, Brandon Creighton used an actual photo of the plane hitting the building:

#NeverForget #September11 #txlege pic.twitter.com/dHXTWSibk6

— Brandon Creighton (@SenCreighton) September 11, 2019

Ugh.

How tacky.

9/11 was many things to many people.  One thing it is not, however, is relevant to the job of a state representative or state senator 18 years later and 1500 miles away.  One would think you wouldn't have to explain such things.

Yet here we are.

The ironic thing, if you explore social media (which we did after discovering the above), is that the overwhelming majority of politicians get this.  Or at least they have enough political sense to understand why it's a bad idea.  Either way, they kept campaign logos out of their tributes.

Apparently, however, for Brandon Creighton, Jeff Leach, and Drew Springer, 9/11 was all about them.  We know politicians have egos.  But still.

[Fun Fact: Speaking of 9/11 and Texas Legislators, guess which Senator didn't smack their campaign logo on 9/11 imagery?!?  Brian Birdwell.  Probably a lesson in there.]

Bottom Line: It's a small thing in the grand scheme, but it does speak to the degree to which that which once mattered has become a cheap platitude.

#TXLEGE: Senate has opportunity to restore teeth to Sunset Process this interim

"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous."
Proverbs 13:22

We were on the Sunset Commission's website this morning when we noticed something interesting about its current membership (on the Senate side):

Our first reaction: "Dadgum, Bob Hall's on the Sunset Commission?!? When did that happen?!?" Apparently, it happened last November.

Then we realized that Brian Birdwell and Dawn Buckingham are also on Sunset.  Thus, you have a core group of 3 solid conservatives; that's never happened before. Historically, the Sunset commission has been made up of members who range from "ok" to awful (eg. Byron Cook was appointed twice).  You might have one, or at most two, solid conservatives.  3 is unprecedented.

There are 32 governmental entities going through Sunset this interim.  Of those 32, using very generous standards, 20 might be justifiable.  In other words, the Texas Sunset Commission has an easy opportunity to abolish at least 12 pointless governmental agencies this interim.  Even if Birdwell, Buckingham, and Hall can't get the full commission to agree to their abolition, as a dissident faction they can create headaches for all involved.

For example: Did you know that Texas has a "Funeral Service Commission" (aka. you can't escape the government, even in death)?!?  Neither did we.  But that entity does exist, and it's up in Sunset this interim.

Bottom Line: Imagine a world where, as conservatives steadily gain ground in the legislature, the Texas Sunset commission uses the authority it already has.  Then consider that, with his appointments this interim, Lt. Governor Patrick has given us a down payment on that world.  This is an opportunity we should exploit.

#TXLEGE: Senate Free Speech hearing correctly identifies problem (solutions = anyone's guess)....

"When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them."
Acts 5:33

We attended today's Senate State Affairs committee hearing about free speech on college campuses.  They did a good job asking questions.  Whether they promote good answers remains to be seen.

The hearing began with two hours of invited testimony from bureaucrats representing the various public university systems around the state.  They predictably filibustered and gave Senators the runaround in denying the had a problem.  Honestly, they didn't say anything interesting.

During the third and fourth invited panels, various speakers from across the political spectrum described their experience navigating the morass related to free speech on Texas' campuses.  Contrary to the rosy picture painted by the bureaucrats, Tony McDonald of Empower Texans described his experiences during his college/law school days with YCT.  McDonald proposed eliminating "free speech zones", not charging "security fees" to student organizations, and eliminating requirements for "mandatory faculty advisors" for student groups.  Glenn Maxey of the Texas Democrat Party largely echoed McDonald's testimony but, citing some of his own experiences as an LGBT activist in the 1980's, stressed the need for protections to apply equally to groups on the left as groups on the right.

During the fourth invited panel, Senator Birdwell (finally!) identified the real solution: the Regents need to do their job!!!  Birdwell specifically bemoaned that the university bureaucracies deliberately keep Regents in the dark about the extent of the problem.  Of course, Birdwell neglected to mention that the various Boards of Regents already have the authority they need to eliminate the bureaucracies in question and...well...they haven't.

We built upon Senator Birdwell's comments in our testimony.  We testified that the real responsibility for protecting free speech on campus lies with the Boards of Regents.  We pointed out, furthermore, that at this time last year we told the Texas Senate (and Senator Birdwell in particular) that if they confirmed the last round of UT regent nominees, political correctness (including this free speech stuff) would get worse.  Every Senator on that panel then voted to confirm the Regents in question.  One year later, here we are.   We also pointed out that, among elected officials, it's the Governor (who appoints the regents) who's primarily responsible for public university governance.  It's worth pointing out that, in four panels and four hours of invited testimony, not a single currently serving Regent from any university system was asked to speak.

During public testimony, several left leaning students voiced concerns about the backlash to a student newspaper columnist who publised a highly imflammatory essay about race last fall.  Specifically, they described death threats and doxxing experienced by the author of said essay.  On the other hand, several of those same left leaning students talked about how racist flyers posted around both the UT-Austin and Texas State campuses last year created an "unsafe" enviroment.  Let's clarify: death threats and doxxing aren't cool...but when you lump flyers (no matter how distasteful) with those sorts of physical threats, you undermine your own credibility.

Bottom Line: We'll know if the Senate is serious about this issue when it takes up regent confirmations next year....

A tale of two Texas politicos with ties to 9/11

"A man’s pride will bring him low,
But the humble in spirit will retain honor."
Proverbs 29:23

Obviously, the anniversary of 9/11 was last week.  On this year's anniversary we realized something we've been meaning to discuss.  We want to commit this to writing before more time passes.

Senator Brian Birdwell and Chancellor Bill McRaven are both veterans.  During their military service, both were involved in incidents with direct ties to the 9/11 attacks.  But the contrast between how each discusses those experiences is striking.

On September 11, 2001, Brian Birdwell was stationed at the Pentagon.  Not only was he stationed at the Pentagon, but he was stationed in the section of the Pentagon where the plane struck.  The only reason he survived was because he had left his office to go to the bathroom.



Birdwell was burned on over 60% of his body and a plurality of those burns were third degree.  His full recovery took several years.  Nevertheless, he persisted to a full recovery before retiring from the military.

In 2010, Birdwell won a special election to the Texas Senate.  Since then, he's served as a faithful conservative in that body.  During that time, he's focused on the issues in front of him rather than looking backwards.

While Birdwell doesn't hide from his 9/11 experience, he rarely discusses it unless he's asked.  We've never heard him discuss it in a political context except when it's directly relevant to the issue at hand.  Indeed, this author didn't realize the Brian Birdwell from 9/11 and the Brian Birdwell in the Texas Senate were the same person until a couple years ago.

Bill McRaven, by contrast, was appointed by Obama to head special forces.  As such, he was involved with the raid that killed Usama bin Laden.  While McRaven likes to present himself as a crucial participant in that mission, numerous special forces sources (at least five) have told this author that McRaven was a bit player who has embellished his role to advance his career.

[Note: Direct quote from a Navy SEAL with whom we spoke approximately two years ago, "McRaven's story of his role in the bin Laden raid is the biggest horse shit political fairy tale I've ever heard in my life."]

Three months after the bin Laden raid, SEAL Team 6 was shot down while performing a mission in Afghanistan.  This tragedy highlighted many shortcomings of U.S. policy in Afghanistan and was thus politically embarrassing to the Obama administration.  To avoid said political embarrassment, Bill McRaven ran point on the Obama administration's cover-up.

Furthermore, Birdwell only brings up his 9/11 experience when he's asked or it's directly relevant to the situation.  McRaven, on the other hand, never shuts up about having once been in the military.  It's become a running joke at the Capitol and among UT Board watchers that you could turn McRaven's incessant references to his former military employment into a drinking game.

Bottom Line: It's a very revealing contrast.

Texas Senate's Abdication, Abbott's Mendacity, enables UT-RGV's unprecedented expansion of Bilingual "Education"....

"Therefore by their fruits you will know them."
Matthew 7:20

With their accreditation hanging by a thread, the University of Texas' Rio Grande Valley campus demonstrates some...odd priorities:

The bilingual course I visited is a pilot for an initiative known around campus as B3 — “bilingual, bicultural, biliterate” — that aims to transform the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) into the United States’ first comprehensively bilingual public university. The project’s goals, proponents say, are far-reaching: to not only produce the bilingual professionals in high demand along the Texas-Mexico border, but also to begin to redress a historical legacy of what queer Chicana theorist Gloria Anzaldúa, a Valley native, calls “linguistic terrorism” against border Spanish speakers denied the legitimacy of their native tongue. As the initiative moves from rhetoric to reality, though, UTRGV finds itself grappling with questions of identity: What does it mean to be a bilingual and bicultural university?

“It’s about being much more aware of the language that is being spoken, and making sure that the space is safe for my students,” Saldívar told me after class in his office, which is decorated with an oversized pennant from Stanford, his alma mater. Saldívar, who in the fall of 2016 taught the first of what is expected to be dozens of bilingual or Spanish courses, has plenty of common ground with his students. Now in his late 30s, he grew up in the rural South Texas community of Edcouch-Elsa; his parents were punished in school for speaking Spanish and encouraged him to speak only English at home. Language could play a role in helping students feel a sense of comfort and belonging at the university, Saldívar said, but he wanted to impress on me that what the students were talking about was as noteworthy as how they chose to say it. “I think the American ethos is you pull yourself up by your bootstraps in order to be successful,” he said. “And that’s great. But I want my students to recognize the challenges and the disparities. And when faced with those challenges, ask: ‘What do we do?’ Because I want them to be able to handle that.”

For the class I visited at UTRGV’s Edinburg campus, students had read an article by Juan Carrillo called “I Always Knew I Was Gifted: Latino Males and the Mestiz@ Theory of Intelligences.” It led with an epigraph from Anzaldúa: “Theorists-of-color are in the process of trying to formulate ‘marginal’ theories that are partially outside and partially inside the Western frame of reference (if that’s possible), theories that overlap many ‘worlds.’”

The critical theory made for challenging reading for first-year students in what has often been taught as a remedial course.

[Author's Note: Emphasis added.]

Read the whole thing here, though we caution that slogging through this predictable litany of academic identity politics doesn't add much.

But why is this happening in Texas in the first place?!?

That's because the University of Texas system has a well documented history of doing whatever it wants and daring their Board of Regents, and the elected officials to whom they report, to stop them.

We know how that's worked out in recent years.

Prior to his first round of Regent appointments, Governor FoxNews stated:

"I will give them marching orders about what I want them to achieve, and I expect them to achieve it without micromanaging."

One would think an allegedly conservative Governor would give 'marching orders' to Regent appointees that would put a stop to hard left gobbledygook, but Abbott's first round of regents did nothing of the sort and his second round are well documented defenders of the status quo.

And the Texas Senate just rubber stamped that second round so, absent a new set of "marching orders" from the Governor (which, now that the Regents are confirmed, they are under no obligation to follow) or direct intervention from the Chancellor, you can't even begin to address this nonsense for another two years.

We put in a request for comment from the Chancellor and the Abbott appointees on the Board of Regents but had not heard back by the time of publication; if they reply, we will include it in a separate post.

As we told Senator Birdwell at the confirmation hearing: if that second round of regents were confirmed, political correctness on campus would get a lot worse.

The Senate chose to disregard our warning, they confirmed the regents, and look what's already happening.

And the Texas Senate, along with Governor FoxNews, OWNS this nonsense.

Bottom Line: Buckle up, because it's going to get a lot worse over the next two years.

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Governor Greg Abbott: (512) 463-2000
Chancellor Bill McRaven: (512) 499-4201
UT System Board of Regents: (512) 499-4402

Wrapping up loose ends from last week's UT Regents fiasco....

"He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
Proverbs 28:13

As promised, here's our testimony from Thursday's regental confirmation hearing:



Obviously, Friday's farce of a SCOTX decision renders the first half of what we said obsolete, but speaking of said farce Cassidy the indefatigable provides the best analysis to date of what happened:

Put another way, Wallace Hall was so clearly in the right here, the only principle the Supreme Court could invent to defeat him is one that nullifies the rule of law itself. And the court still needed to completely botch a basic factual question in order to get there.

....

Needless to say, the decision flew in the face of precedent, which held officials absolutely immune only when they enjoyed “absolute discretion” to decide something, a rare freedom given that officials are surrounded by laws and policies.

....

Yet the court purports to apply the same principle here in determining that McRaven was “unconstrained” by any law other than the one by which the board presumed to delegate him authority.

Who would want direct authority established by law, when delegated authority makes the law disappear?

Until now, the court has consistently applied the principle that “a public officer has no discretion or authority to misinterpret the law.” Yet, that is just what the court sanctioned.

Heck, if McRaven had concluded that FERPA required him to share with Hall nothing but aerial photographic surveys, this court would have shrugged and said “sure, if you say so.”

....

Worst of all for this case, if less relevant to the generalized destruction the court has just worked upon governance in Texas, their decision is entirely predicated upon a factual mistake.

Read the whole thing here.

UT Regent confirmation hearing tests the Texas Senate's capacity for willful self-delusion....

"And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN."
Daniel 5:25

The good news is that they haven't voted yet.  The bad news is that the fix remains as in as it's been and that vote will be a formality when the committee meets next week.  Yesterday, we called this fiasco dirty politics worthy of House of Cards and nothing that occurred in today's confirmation hearing changes that.

Everything you need to know about this process can be summed up in the fact that Kirk Watson said that he was "very pleased" and "looking forward to swift confirmation."  That being said, Watson did ask each of the nominees to define how they see their role as individual regents.  Ironically, it was in response to a question from Kirk Watson that all three nominees admitted they see the the role of an individual regent to be a yes man for the chancellor.

We will confess to being pleasantly surprised by Kevin Eltife's testimony.  He spoke of the need to end "smoke and mirrors" budgeting while committing to ending the practice of building new buildings without sufficient funds raised for ongoing maintenance and operations.  That's a pretty meaningful cost driver and if a potential Regent Eltife can make progress in that area so much the better.

Janiece Longoria was a talking points repository.  She was the president-elect of Texas Exes prior to being nominated by Governor FoxNews Abbott and was previously on the Board of UTIMCO.  Honestly, that's all you need to know, although she also gave winking approval to the admissions scandal.

Rad Weaver is, straight up, not qualified for this position.  We're doing our best to be polite, but it's impossible to be truthful without saying that the word bimbo comes to mind.  His response to every single question from Senators was some variation of the phrase "I don't know."  Well, if you don't know the answer to basic questions about how the system is governed, you shouldn't be serving on the Board of Regents!  If these Senators had any self respect, they would have been offended at how many times they were told "I don't know."

Senator Birdwell sounded like a cuck asked a milquetoast question about whether the new Board will respect the chain of command as it relates to the relationship between the UT system and the legislature, which Birdwell deemed "unsatisfactory" currently.  All three nominees mouthed the platitudes you would expect them to mouth in response to such a question.  But actions speak louder than words and everything you need to know about how these new Regents will view the legislature can be summed up by the fact that Rad Weaver failed to do basic preparation for his confirmation hearing.

In response to various questions from Senators Kel Seliger and Borris Miles, Eltife and Longoria spoke unfavorably about the UT system's Houston land grab.  Meanwhile, Chancellor McRaven was chided for the Houston project in a separate hearing.  But that doesn't change the reality that, even if you take Eltife and Longoria at their word, McRaven has a 7-2 majority on the Board to push Houston forward and the legislature isn't going to do a damn thing to stop him.

To his credit, Senator Van Taylor told a fantastic Aggie joke.

The only Senator who demonstrated a basic grasp of reality during this hearing was Dawn Buckingham.  She asked pointed questions about admissions and tuition and disdainfully left it at "we will see" when she received buzzwords and truisms in return.  But Senator Buckingham did everything we asked her to do when we discussed this issue on the campaign trail.

We are working on technical issues related to the video of our personal testimony and will share it in a separate post; the indefatigable Jon Cassidy has more here, the Statesman has more here.

What's at stake for Senators in tomorow's UT confirmation hearing....

"He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
Proverbs 28:13

That was quick:

In 25 years following politics, we've never seen a case of the fix being in like this one.  The indefatigable Jon Cassidy has a good summary of the dirty politics here.  Suffice to say, at this point, comparisons to House of Cards are appropriate.

But while we could justifiably focus on the past, let's consider what confirming these regents will mean over the next two years.

In 2015, when the Texas Senate confirmed three equally wretched nominees, we predicted they would raise tuition.  Three months later, in a private conversation at the Texas Republican Assembly state convention, we also predicted to chairman Brian Birdwell that UT would gut the campus carry law.  Both of those predictions materialized.

[Author's Note: We did not, however, predict the "Cocks not Glocks" protest...but it's worth pointing out that happened since the last round of Regental confirmations.]

So let's consider what is likely to happen in the next two years after if the Senate confirms these regents:

• They are GOING to raise tuition again.

• Political correctness is going to get a lot worse.  With Trump in the White House, alongside university leadership that has never shown any interest in reigning them in, the SJW's won't be able to help themselves.  We cannot stress it enough, this is the campus that gave us "Cocks not Glocks."

• We can't shake the feeling that there's yet another financial scandal out there that what we've seen so far; we have no specific knowledge, but something at UTIMCO stinks.

And if the Texas Senate gives the UT Politburo a free pass, which is what confirming these regents amounts to, then every individual Senator who voted for confirmation will own the results.

Think about that: There are 13 months between now and the next Republican primary.  That's 13 additional months for the geniuses who brought us "Cocks not Glocks" to fall into deeper into hysteria without any adult supervision.  Would you want to be a Republican Senator running for re-election in March 2018 with a vote to give the UTs politburo a free pass on your record?!?

Bottom Line: If the Texas Senate confirms these regents, politically correct absurdity at the University of Texas will get a lot worse, and every senator who voted aye on confirmation will own it.

#TXLEGE: Senate Pressure re: Property Taxes already changing local behavior....

"But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God."
Nehemiah 5:15

This is fantastic:

Plano Property Tax Hearing (10.03.16) by Cahnman on Scribd

Paxton issues pro-#2A Campus Carry Opinion

"Then He said to them, 'But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.' "
Luke 22:36

THIS is solid:

Paxton Opinion on Campus Carry

One thing in particular we'd like to commend Ken and his staff over is the section on whether or not individual professors could ban firearms in their classrooms.  This is a particularly insane idea that would render anyone in those classrooms during an active shooter situation a sitting duck.  Public Universities should have a uniform firearms policy across campus and any exceptions should be stated clearly.

The opinion also lays a solid foundation should litigation on this issue become necessary.

Bottom Line: If this is headed to court, Paxton's opinion is a strong place to start.

Birdwell Discusses the 84th #TXLEGE

"So then each of us shall give account of himself to God."
Romans 14:12

Senator Brian Birdwell spoke to the Texas Republican Assembly's convention this afternoon:







Highlights:

• His district extends into Tarrant County.

• Lege produced a decent budget.

• 40-50% of the businesses that used to pay the margins tax will no longer be liable.

• Long talk about the border

• "Transportation" as a smokescreen for trains instead of roads.

• TxDOT needs to be on a tighter leash.

• Transportation used to be 30% of the budget but it's been crowded out by Medicaid.

• Caught a lot of flack over pre-K

• Senate deferred to the Governor on UT nominations.
• No bad enough smoking gun to justify going against Gov.
• Abbott's nominees: "Wouldn't have been my choice."

• 10th amendment is the Feds job.

Birdwell endorses Cruz for POTUS

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

Wasn't expecting this:

WACO—Texas State Senator Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) today announced his endorsement of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz for President.

Birdwell, one of the leading conservative voices in the Texas State Senate, stated, “Ted Cruz articulates and demonstrates the core conservative principles upon which our country was founded. He understands what it means to fight for those principles at this critical time in our nation’s history. We desperately need that kind of leadership to defend liberty and return us to greatness, and that’s why I’m supporting Ted Cruz.”

Birdwell continued, “From the first time I met Ted Cruz, I have known him to be a steadfast conservative and a tireless defender of liberty. It has been my honor to work with Senator Cruz on a number of issues impacting our shared constituents, and time after time, I have witnessed firsthand his effective leadership and genuine care for the citizens he was elected to serve.”

Birdwell was a staff officer at the Pentagon on 9/11 when American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed just yards away from his second floor Pentagon office. Birdwell was critically wounded and severely burned; of the burns that covered more than 60 percent of his body, nearly half were third degree in severity. Today, following 39 operations, months of hospitalization and numerous skin grafts, Birdwell has made a miraculous recovery. Despite physical limitations, he testifies not only to his physical healing, but the ultimate miracle of grace through Christ. He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received that day. Upon retirement in July 2004, he was awarded the Legion of Merit.

In June 2010, Birdwell won a special election to the Texas State Senate. He currently serves as Chairman of both the Senate Committee on Nominations and the Subcommittee on Border Security, and is a member of the Senate Committees on Natural Resources & Economic Development, State Affairs, and Veteran Affairs & Military Installations. He also served a 2011-2015 term on the Sunset Advisory Commission, a 12-member legislative body focused on identifying and eliminating waste, duplication and inefficiency within state government agencies. In his first three sessions in the Texas Legislature, Birdwell has been consistently heralded as an effective conservative leader, earning recognition from business, family, Second Amendment and other conservative groups throughout Texas.

Brian and his wife, Mel, have been married for 28 years and they have one son, Matt, a graduate of Texas Tech University. The Birdwells attend Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury.

 Learn more about Brian Birdwell's 9/11 story here.

In-State Tuition supporters attempting to pack today's Senate hearing

"Do not remove the ancient landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;"
Proverbs 23:10

[Author's Note: The committee livestream can be heard here.]

Texas State Capitol -- The Texas Senate subcommittee on Border Security is holding a hearing today on several bills.  The highest profile legislation under consideration is SB 1819, which would repeal in-state tuition at Texas' public Universities for illegal immigrants.  The committee gaveled in at 11 AM.

Predictably, supporters of in-state tuition have packed the committee room.  In addition to a full gallery in the room where the hearing is being held, they've also got a second overflow room nearly full.  We overheard one of the organizers say that their intention was to wear the committee down with sob stories.

In an attempt to elicit sympathy, they've even got the "dreamers" wearing caps and gowns:

While this website does not endorse a particularly hard-line on border and immigration related issues, we find the self-entitled narcissism of the so-called "dreamers" to be detestable.

As of 1:54 PM, the committee had yet to take up the repeal bill.  If you're within' three hours of the Capitol and wish to testify, there's still time to make it.  It's going to be a late night.

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The following video is a representative sample of what's been going on outside the committee room:



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Here's the over the top press conference the pro In-State tuition people held this morning:

Controversial U.T. Regent Nominees face the music

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
Matthew 7:7

Betty King Room -- Earlier today, the Texas Senate nominations committee held a confirmation hearing for Governor Abbott's controversial U.T. regent nominees.  The nominees faced a number of difficult questions from Committee Chairman Brian Birdwell, along with fellow committee members Konni Burton and Van Taylor.  Senator Charles Schwertner, who has taken an interest in higher ed issues this session, spent more time at the hearing than several committee members.

Regent nominee Steve Hicks was the first to testify, A known defender of Bill Powers, Hicks is the only current nominee being re-appointed.  While Hicks confessed that undue influence in the admissions process is undesirable, he nonetheless made the excuse that Powers was "the only one who sees the whole field of battle."  Hicks also denied the obvious similarities between the current issues at U.T. and the 2009 scandal at the University of Illinois.  Under questioning from Senator Burton, Hicks defended his vote against investigating the law school's secret "forgivable loan" program.  Hicks also made the absurd claim that while regents are supposed to "ask tough questions," they are subsequently expected to accept whatever answer the administration gives them.  Hicks could not provide answers to Senator Schwertner's questions about accounting gimmicks used to keep tuition "artificially low."

Nominee Sarah Martinez Tucker, who has come under fire for supporting Common Core, was up next.  Asked about the forgivable loan program, she explained "I don't have a lot of specifics," which makes one wonder how she will perform her duties if she can't prepare for an obvious question in a confirmation hearing.  Asked about her support for the controversial educational program, Tucker explained "I APPLAUD COMMON CORE."  Pressed to explain, Tucker made vague claims about Common Core being bad for Texas but o.k. for other states.  Asked by Senator Schwertner about the role of the student loan bailout she helped engineer in 2008 in higher education cost explosions, Tucker unconvincingly attempted to shift blame to the Obama administration.  To her credit, Tucker spoke favorably about zero-based budgeting for the U.T. system.

David Beck faced the most intense questioning.  Beck was a key player in creating the afore-mentioned forgivable loan program, and was mentioned by name in a scathing Attorney General's report released last year.  Pressed by lawmakers, Beck claimed "we can't compete" in retaining faculty with public compensation.  At issue was an undisclosed "deferred compensation" agreement with lame-duck university president Bill Powers during Powers' previous tenure as law school dean.  Beck told Senator Burton he had assumed that off-book compensation agreements had made their way up the chain of command.  As Senator Schwertner told Beck, seven years is a long time to not know the details of a compensation agreement not going up the chain of command.  Beck was also unable to answer questions about cutting university costs, although he did oppose a tuition increase "at this time."

Tony McDonald testified against all three nominees.  McDonald, who was a law student at U.T. during the height of the forgivable loan scandal, discussed professors of his who were visibly distracted by it.  Regarding Hicks, McDonald objected that he could not clean up a mess he helped create.  McDonald also explained that off-book compensation was not subject to open-record's laws.  Finally, McDonald chided Beck for "a shocking refusal to take responsibility" for his role in creating the mess.

The committee adjourned following testimony; no vote on the nominees has been scheduled.

Today's hearing asked difficult questions of these controversial nominees.  The committee maximized this point of leverage.  The nominees answers left much to be desired, but at least they were asked to the questions.  Kudos especially to Senators Burton and Schwertner for their question.  It's a start....