Is this true?

[tomtexan]

I sincerely hope not.
If so, we may be seeing the last of Straus.
Not sure how reliable this site is.

http://www.empowertexans.com/features/s ... icas-isis/

[treadlightly]

If true it would not be surprising, nor would seeing the last of Strauss be a bad thing. Just my two cents, which probably qualify for the discount shelf.

[Kenneth77]

That is just so stupid that anyone would think that for one i dont see the NRA going around killing people , they dont cause riots and destroy their own cites . I really wonder what people like this can possibly have to offer to the advancement of the US .....they want to say things like this but if you told them the truth about how the dem's and the left are more like the said ( not going to even give those people credit saying thier name ) group .

[bblhd672]

what the heck? What kind of Republican leader appoints this type of liberal to any positions of power?

[mojo84]

what the heck? What kind of Republican leader appoints this type of liberal to any positions of power?

hint, he isn't a Republican leader.

[joe817]

what the heck? What kind of Republican leader appoints this type of liberal to any positions of power?

hint, he isn't a Republican leader.

He's not?? As a Republican Speaker of the House, he is pretty powerful, and wields a lot of weight. And appointing a FAR left wing liberal democrat to the Texas Ethics Commission seems like an oxymoron to me. UNLESS, it's a political ploy on his part. He's pretty cagey. Perhaps the Governor & Lt.Governor has already appointed(and are serving) Republicans to the committee. Only 4 people on the Committee can be from the same party:

"On November 5, 1991, Texas voters approved an amendment that added Article III, Section 24a, to the Texas Constitution. The constitutional amendment created the Texas Ethics Commission. The amendment set out the method by which the eight members of the Commission are to be appointed, with four of the Commissioners appointed by the Governor, two appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and two appointed by the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. No more than four members may be from the same political party.

The constitutional provision established staggered four-year terms for Commissioners. Commissioners annually elect a chair and vice-chair from their membership. "

https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/pamphlet/B09ethic.htm

But still, nominating that person leaves me & wondering why.

[mojo84]

what the heck? What kind of Republican leader appoints this type of liberal to any positions of power?

hint, he isn't a Republican leader.

He's not?? As a Republican Speaker of the House, he is pretty powerful, and wields a lot of weight. And appointing a FAR left wing liberal democrat to the Texas Ethics Commission seems like an oxymoron to me. UNLESS, it's a political ploy on his part. He's pretty cagey. Perhaps the Governor & Lt.Governor has already appointed(and are serving) Republicans to the committee. Only 4 people on the Committee can be from the same party:

"On November 5, 1991, Texas voters approved an amendment that added Article III, Section 24a, to the Texas Constitution. The constitutional amendment created the Texas Ethics Commission. The amendment set out the method by which the eight members of the Commission are to be appointed, with four of the Commissioners appointed by the Governor, two appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and two appointed by the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. No more than four members may be from the same political party.

The constitutional provision established staggered four-year terms for Commissioners. Commissioners annually elect a chair and vice-chair from their membership. "

https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/pamphlet/B09ethic.htm

But still, nominating that person leaves me & wondering why.

Sorry you missed the sarcasm. He is the leader of the House and was elected as a Republican. However, he get as much or more support from democrats than he does republicans. Check out how he became speaker. He is what is called a RINO. Therefore, I do not consider him a Republican.

[joe817]

Sorry you missed the sarcasm. He is the leader of the House and was elected as a Republican. However, he get as much or more support from democrats than he does republicans. Check out how he became speaker. He is what is called a RINO. Therefore, I do not consider him a Republican.

Ahhhh, I see your point. I'm a little slow today. It's called old age.

and I certainly cannot disagree with you about him being a RINO.

[Rhino1]

I moved to the area 18 months ago. Every one of Strauss' TV ads had "conservative" in them. He gets re-elected as speaker with the support of all the Dems and a handful of RINOs. Fortunately my RINO state rep and Strauss lieutenant Doug Miller, was voted out. Unfortunately, unless some runs against him for Speaker that has a viable chance, he'll get re-elected. If there is no chance of defeating him, good state reps won't vote against him because they'll receive garbage committee assignments.

[treadlightly]

Strauss has enormous PAC resources and has bought elections, using the term "bought" in the context of political gamesmanship, and he isn't cagey. He's more of a quisling.

Interestingly, I note this from the Wikipedia entry on the TEC, "The Texas Ethics Commission is currently chaired by Paul Hobby, a Democrat appointed to the Commission by Texas House Speaker Joe Straus."

I've heard it said Forbes Magazine once called Joe Strauss Texas' own Harry Reid.

I don't have any confidence the Ethics Commission does much. I contacted them about an ethical issue once, and found they only deal with a narrow range of ethics. I think it's pretty hard to be a target for the TEC.

[mojo84]

Sorry you missed the sarcasm. He is the leader of the House and was elected as a Republican. However, he get as much or more support from democrats than he does republicans. Check out how he became speaker. He is what is called a RINO. Therefore, I do not consider him a Republican.

Ahhhh, I see your point. I'm a little slow today. It's called old age.

and I certainly cannot disagree with you about him being a RINO.

I just had a head start on you in the caffeine department.

[The Annoyed Man]

http://www.empowertexans.com/tag/joe-straus/ led me to this: http://www.empowertexans.com/features/e ... n-resigns/

After initially defying calls for his resignation, one long-time commissioner on the Texas Ethics Commission resigned late Friday. The resignation comes as evidence mounts that he may have been violating state lobby laws while serving on the commission.

Tom Harrison, a Democratic Party appointee on the Texas Ethics Commission (“TEC”) and the commission’s vice chairman, submitted his resignation to Gov. Abbott on Friday. Harrison was appointed to the TEC in 2004 after working as the agency’s executive director.

Despite a constitutional prohibition on TEC Commissioners serving more than two four-year terms, Harrison had continued to “hold-over” on the commission since his term expired in 2011. He is not alone. Three of the other seven TEC commissioners are also continuing to act despite having expired terms.

To me, THAT is even more disturbing than Strauss's appointment of a leftist democrat. If a judge's term expires and there is no-one to fill the vacancy, he does not continue serving as a judge until replaced. If a Congressman's term expires and there is no-one elected to replace him/her, he does not continue serving until replaced. If a president finishes two terms, and the two contestants to replace him are locked in litigation to determine the winner, the outgoing president does not continue serving past the expiration of his term until he is replaced.

This is a state constitutional issue for Texas, is it not? How is it that someone didn't just throw these bums out of their offices, since they occupy them in violation of the very law which created those offices in the first place?

[JALLEN]

"I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement." Calvin Coolidge

[TexasJohnBoy]

Direct link
http://www.texashousecaucus.com/posts/c ... nt-process

[JALLEN]

From the Commission website:

The Texas Ethics Commission has eight commissioners. Four of the commissioners are appointed by the Governor, two are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and two are appointed by the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Members of the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives who represent each political party submit lists of nominees to the appropriate state official for appointment. The commissioners serve for four-year terms.

4 of the Commissioners seem to have expired terms, 2 by the Governor and one each by the Lt. Governor and Speaker.