Texas Take

Texas Take

Ep129: Can Texas Lawmakers Really Avoid Red Meat? Plus, it Turns Out Beto Spent More Time on Oprah’s Couch

Feb 21 • 33 min

An abortion bill is in the mix along with taxes and school finance. More on Beto’s couch time with Oprah.

Ep128: Trump vs Beto, and the Secretary of State apologizes

Feb 14 • 35 min

President Donald Trump and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke held dueling rallies in El Paso trading jabs over the idea of more physical barriers along the international boundary with Mexico. Meantime, there’s building frustration at the Texas Capitol with the…

Ep127: The property tax throwdown begins, plus Beto O’Rourke on Oprah’s couch

Feb 7 • 61 min

The property tax throwdown begins, plus Beto O’Rourke on Oprah’s couchFrustrations boiled over during a marathon hearing on property taxes in the Texas Senate when Chairman Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, clashed with local officials. Gov. Greg Abbott laid…

Ep126: Abbott unveils a tax plan, secretary of state rolls back a voter list, and Cornyn gets a head start on re-election

Feb 1 • 48 min

Texas Secretary of State David Whitley continues to take heat for the way his office rolled out a list of suspected noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls. As it turns out, many of the people on the list are citizens, but that didn’t keep President Trump…

Ep125: The Shutdown Showdown and a Meltdown in the Texas Senate

Jan 24 • 51 min

The shutdown in Washington has become emotional as senators shout and Sen. Ted Cruz takes the brunt of the criticism from those who argue he has trivialized shutdowns in the past. Back in Austin, tensions in the Texas Senate between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick…

Ep124: Castro is in, Beto is in a funk, and Abbott promises the moon this session

Jan 17 • 27 min

With solid commitments to funding public education Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick were inaugurated, again, as the top elected officeholders in Texas. Former San Antonio Mayor and HUD Secretary Julián Castro launched his campaign for president…

Ep123: Dan Patrick skips beginning of legislative session to help Trump sell wall

Jan 11 • 41 min

Sparking rumors that he is joining the Trump administration, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick skipped town on the first day of the legislative session this week to join the president in the White House. Meanwhile, the session got underway with the election of a…

Ep122: As 2018 comes to a close, is Texas politically different?

Dec 20, 2018 • 45 min

The ascendancy of Texas Democrats in 2018 - knocking off Republicans in legislative races and making statewide races more competitive than they’ve been in decades - will no doubt set the tone for 2019 Legislature. At this time two years ago,…

Ep121: Castro moves toward a run for the White House and Beto gets the biggest celebrity dollars

Dec 14, 2018 • 32 min

Now that much of the national conversation about politics has moved to the 2020 race for the White House, former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro is inching toward entering the race. Join the conversation featuring Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum…

Ep120: Bush 41 Laid to Rest in Texas

Dec 7, 2018 • 41 min

The nation paused this week to pay tribute to former President George Herbert Walker Bush, who was laid to rest at his presidential library on the campus at Texas A&M University in College Station. Meantime, the Republican Party of Texas was…

Ep119: Paxton Sues San Antonio Over Sanctuary Cities Law and Beto Has a Change of Heart

Nov 30, 2018 • 41 min

exas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday announced his office is suing the City of San Antonio over alleged violations of the state’s ban on so-called “sanctuary cities.” The move comes ahead of the next legislative session when lawmakers are…

Ep118: A new presumptive Texas House Speaker and an outbreak of decency

Nov 16, 2018 • 37 min

The race for Texas House Speaker was declared over this week by Rep. Dennis Bonnen, who provided a list of 109 pledges to his candidacy. He only needed 76 votes of House members to get the job, but Republicans and Democrats came together in a unique…

Ep117: The election is over, but what does it all mean?

Nov 8, 2018 • 33 min

The historic 2018 Texas election is in the books and even though some of the dust has yet to settle — the vote counting continues in a few races — there is plenty to be said for what it all means. The race between Sen. Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke was…

Ep116: What’s Scarier? Halloween or the campaigns?

Nov 1, 2018 • 27 min

President Trump this week ratcheted up his rhetoric on illegal immigration, threatening to send as many as 15,000 troops to the US-Mexico border in response to a caravan of people traveling north from Central America. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has fully…

Ep115: Trump comes to Texas as Senate race surpasses $100M milestone

Oct 26, 2018 • 32 min

President Donald Trump arrived in Houston this week to a warm welcome at a rally in support of Sen. Ted Cruz as Texas’ junior senator fends off a spirited and well-funded challenge by Rep. Beto O’Rourke. Plus, Ryan Poppe has an in-depth report on…

Ep114: Is a vote for Cruz a vote for Trump?

Oct 18, 2018 • 32 min

Sen. Ted Cruz is getting backup from President Trump on Monday when he comes to Houston to rally for the senator fending off a challenge from Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke. Trump’s theme at campaign rallies around the nation has been that a vote for…

Ep113: Critics say “Come on, Ted.” And the polls show he’s coming on.

Oct 11, 2018 • 33 min

Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Beto O’Rourke are making their final arguments to voters across the Great State in the home stretch of the U.S. Senate campaign. Richard Linklater, the renowned Austin filmmaker, has now directed TV ads for an anti-Cruz PAC in…

Ep112: Cruz Teams With Donald Trump Jr, O’Rourke Teams with Willie Nelson

Oct 4, 2018 • 40 min

The star power is now coming out in the Texas US Senate race as Sen. Ted Cruz and challenger Rep. Beto O’Rourke look to offer voters a dramatic contrast. Sen. Cruz welcomed First Son Donald Trump Jr. to Wichita Falls, O’Rourke welcomed Texas icon…

Ep111: It’s Round Two for Ted and Beto

Sep 27, 2018 • 40 min

Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Beto O’Rourke are set to clash in their second debate this weekend in Houston. On the show, we break down the first debate in Dallas and offer a preview of how the Senate candidates may throw down in Houston Sunday night. …

Ep 110: Willie Nelson doesn’t care what you think of his politics

Sep 20, 2018 • 44 min

Willie Nelson took a lot of heat this week for his upcoming concert to fundraiser for Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke, but he doesn’t seem to care. Meantime, O’Rourke’s trailing Sen. Ted Cruz in one new poll this week and leading him in…

Ep 109: The Mission to Rescue Ted Cruz

Sep 14, 2018 • 39 min

Republicans are sounding the alarm that Sen. Ted Cruz could be in real danger of losing his reelection bid to Rep. Beto O’Rourke. That’s why Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reportedly went to the White House earlier this year to ask that President Trump come…

Ep108: Showing the #@%* up in the Cruz and O’Rourke race; plus Dan Patrick’s jet-fueled campaign kickoff

Sep 6, 2018 • 38 min

Now that Labor Day weekend has come and gone, the campaigns for statewide office in Texas kick into high gear. Sen. Ted Cruz keeps doing all he can to define Rep. Beto O’Rourke, his Democratic challenger, as “too liberal” and “too vulgar”…

Ep107: Trump to Head to Texas, But Does it Help or Hurt Cruz?

Aug 31, 2018 • 42 min

Trump to Head to Texas, But Does it Help or Hurt Cruz? The race between Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Beto O’Rourke is heating up this week as President Trump promised to campaign for Cruz in October. The venue? “The biggest stadium in Texas we can…

Ep106: O’Rourke and Cruz Clash Over What it Means to Be American

Aug 24, 2018 • 45 min

Beto O’Rourke and Ted Cruz clash over the controversy surrounding protests by NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to draw attention to shootings of African-Americans by law enforcement. Meantime, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says…

Ep105: What-a-mistake in the Senate race, Abbott’s staff rolls in dough, and where is Valdez’s gun?

Aug 16, 2018 • 47 min

What a show this week as Ted Cruz’s campaign really stepped in it when it comes to an iconic burger chain. The state started awarding letter grades for public schools. And a gun belonging to the Democratic nominee for governor went missing. Yes, you…

Ep 104: Cruz cozies up to Trump, a Russian invite and ‘Easy Rider’ Abbott

Aug 9, 2018 • 26 min

Plus: Bail reform, a new DACA showdown and ‘Winning for Texas’ as campaign season rachets up

Ep 103: A red wave, heroin and support for abortion rights

Aug 3, 2018 • 48 min

Plus ‘indictment’ cake, GOP in-fighting and a passel of summer polls

Ep102: Medical marijuana, debate talk and Russian spies, it’s all Texas; plus, a growing political storm over DACA, family reunification and gun control

Jul 26, 2018 • 39 min

A growing push to expand the availability of medical marijuana is taking place in conservative rural Texas, of all places, and the effects of the ongoing drive are likely to show up in the legislative session next year. Voters in Oklahoma…

Ep101: Will this be the year of ‘reverse coattails’ in Texas? Plus, as Texas-size campaign totals come in, Trump sets off another storm in The Swamp

Jul 20, 2018 • 36 min

Money, and lots of it, is flowing into several top-ballot races in Texas, even as some top statewide candidates are having trouble raising much of anything. Consider that incumbent Republican Greg Abbott has $29 million in the bank, while…

Ep100: Big money for Beto and herding angry cats; Plus, a fight over paid sick leave, a $2.8 billion bonus on our 100th episode

Jul 12, 2018 • 32 min

Call this the week of fights. U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, is raking in loads of campaign cash in his bid to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, raising more than all the other Democrats running for statewide…

SPECIAL EVENT: Ask Texas Take (almost) anything

Jul 6, 2018 • 1 min

On Thursday, July 12 at 2PM, join the Texas Take hosts Mike Ward of the Houston Chronicle, Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report and Texas Public Radio’s Ryan Poppe for a Facebook Live Q&A followed by the recording of Ep100. Get your…

Ep99: A fight over sex ed, special elections galore, and more

Jun 29, 2018 • 31 min

This week’s hodgepodge of Texas political news includes Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s legal troubles and his fight with the Fort Worth School District over sex ed curriculum. There are also special elections playing out across the state to…

SPECIAL EDITION: Texas Democratic Party Convention

Jun 23, 2018 • 40 min

The Texas Democratic Party met in Fort Worth this weekend to hammer out their platform and celebrate their slate of candidates for the fall. The crowd in the convention hall was on their feet for big Democratic stars like Beto O’Rourke and Julian…

SPECIAL EDITION: Texas GOP Convention

Jun 16, 2018 • 39 min

A fight over party chair, saluting President Trump; The inside skinny, direct from the GOP state convention in San Antonio Two years ago, nobody wanted to talk about The Donald, even as he was winning his takeover bid of the Republican Party. At this…

Ep98: Were Texans sightseeing in boats as Hurricane Harvey blew in? Plus, presidential pardons, LGBTQ politics and a basketball shoot off

Jun 7, 2018 • 29 min

President Trump thinks Texas sightseers were the reason that thousands of Coast Guard rescues, but chagrined Houston officials have another thought: Next storm, we’ll push Trump out into Galveston Bay in a small boat to watch the storm blow in….

Ep97: Ted Cruz, Jimmy Kimmel and a Blobfish

Jun 1, 2018 • 42 min

In a week dominated by school safety concerns, a basketball challenge lightens things up

Ep96: Dan Patrick blames school shootings on a ‘culture of violence’ as Lupe Valdez explains her $12,000 in unpaid property bills, the fall campaigns heat up

May 24, 2018 • 26 min

As state officials began looking for solutions to curb school shootings like the tragedy at Santa Fe High School that left 10 people dead and 13 people wounded, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blamed the “culture of violence” prevalent in the United States as a…

Ep95: Santa Fe school shooting spurs new gun-safety debate; plus, Gov. Greg Abbott promises quick action to protect schools, as Dan Patrick warns about Fake News

May 18, 2018 • 42 min

The school shooting in Santa Fe that left 10 dead and 10 injured has state officials lining up to offer possible solutions to prevent another such tragedy, so Texas students can be safe in their classes. Gov. Greg Abbott says he will be leading a…

Ep94: Greg Abbott after ‘liberal’ Lupe Valdez; plus, before the runoff election, Texas GOP governor ramps up his attac

May 10, 2018 • 26 min

The Democratic runoff for governor is a week away, but incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has already declared war on the candidate he wants to run against. In a new website, Greg The Guv is blasting away at Lupe…

Ep93: Was Gov. Abbott trolled by the Russians on Jade Helm? Plus, the NRA show comes to Dallas, Blake Farenthold tells Abbott to pound salt and more

May 3, 2018 • 43 min

As the National Rifle Association opened its annual meeting in Dallas, the former CIA director says that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott got trolled by the Russians in his Jade Helm response three years ago. Say what? According to Michael…

Ep92: Texas throwdowns starring Blake Fahrenthold, HISD and Congress; plus, shade gets thrown at low minority college rates and media stars Diamond and Silk

Apr 27, 2018 • 36 min

Call this the week of the throwdowns. It started with a raucous Houston Independent School District board meeting over controversial plans involving several school campuses, in the nation’s seventh-largest district, where cops were…

Ep91: Will Texans get a chance to roll the dice at casinos? Plus, discussion about a possible expansion of medical marijuana and Barbara Bush remembrances

Apr 19, 2018 • 38 min

Andrew White, the Democrat running a long-shot campaign to become Texas’ next governor, thinks Texans should get the chance to roll the dice for improved schools. Literally. Under his plan, casino gambling in the Lone Star State would be…

Ep90: A silver tsunami and warnings about Chinese spies in Texas, plus; National Guard troops head back to Texas’ border with Mexico, as Washington politics go wild again

Apr 12, 2018 • 25 min

New forecasts are predicting that a mushrooming population of senior Texans, and a shortage of doctors to care for them, could produce a ”silver tsunami” in coming years. This, in a state targeted for years by complaints that it was not…

Ep89: GOP Gov. Abbott picks Democrat Valdez as runoff victor? Plus; border security an issue again, NAFTA changes and Ted Cruz as the ‘unity’ candidate

Apr 5, 2018 • 36 min

Gov. Greg Abbott surprised Democrats with a tweet where he acknowledged for the first time that former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez would be the party’s nominee to face him next November. “The next 7 months will be a battle between…

Ep88: Jeb Bush says his kids actually love him, plus; a fight over the census, opoids, Bollywood and Mars also on the dance card

Mar 30, 2018 • 28 min

Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who was Donald Trump’s favorite punching bag during the 2016 GOP presidential primary, is at it again with the orange-haired guy who is now POTUS. In a speech at Yale University (he graduated from…

Ep87: A psychopath, secret cameras and frozen yogurt; plus, political debate intensifies as runoffs, general election fights come closer

Mar 23, 2018 • 45 min

In a week dominated by news about the Austin bombings, Texas politics gave up a few surprise headlines to make things interesting. The bombings came to an end after the suspect, a jobless, 23-year-old college dropout, blew himself up as…

Ep86: ‘You can’t be a liberal man’ becomes new GOP ditty; Plus, tariffs, Trump and a West Texas woman with 46 grandkids

Mar 9, 2018 • 35 min

With the primary election now in the rear-view mirror, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is amusing himself with a short song, “You Can’t Be a Liberal Man,” that pokes at his Democratic general election opponent, U.S. Rep….

Ep85: Record early voting, nasty campaigns and deer semen donations

Mar 2, 2018 • 36 min

The Texas primary season is nearly over as early voting closes Friday and election day is Tuesday. All across the state, Texans have been turning out in record numbers for a non-presidential election, with huge enthusiasm on the Democratic…

Ep84: P is for Primary, U is for Unpleasantness

Feb 22, 2018 • 31 min

Early voting has started in Texas’ spring primary elections, and Democratic turnout is reported to be at record levels. Republicans, on the other hand, seem focused on attacking each other in several high-profile contests. Gov. Abbott is campaigning…

Ep83: ‘Liberal’ the GOP stink bomb in primary races; plus, bathrooms, heartburn over mail ballots and complaints over ‘crappy articles’

Feb 8, 2018 • 39 min

Forget that civilized political discourse thing that you may think elections are all about. Texas’ Republican primaries are beginning to look more like a full-on street fight. It’s a state where GOP leaders pride themselves as being conservative with…

Ep82: ‘I agree with President Trump’ new GOP mantra: As primary election draws closer, president’s popularity drives kudos in Texas

Feb 2, 2018 • 37 min

Not so long ago, a lot of Texas Republicans were running for cover from President Trump. Now, with The Donald’s approval ratings high in Texas on the even of the March 6 primary, many are running to embrace him. “I agree with President Trump” seems to…

Ep81: Harvey relief versus DACA, as sparks fly over toll roads: Plus, as primary season gets serious, the political rhetoric becomes a blow torch

Jan 25, 2018 • 33 min

After a three-day shutdown of the federal government, Congress is back at working trying to resolve the issue that triggered it: What to do with The Dreamers, the undocumented immigrants that were brought to this country by their parents. Texas U.S….

Ep80: Tax talk stirs the election debate, cuts and no new hikes: Plus, as state costs from Harvey, foster care, special education continue to grow

Jan 19, 2018 • 31 min

Within hours after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott rolled out his plan put the brakes on skyrocketing property taxes in Texas, to GOP cheering, Democrats and a variety of other groups were shooting at it right and left. Lupe Valdez, at an Austin forum a…

Ep79: President Trump uses another expletive, but Dan Patrick calls him ‘greatest’: Plus, DACA, state border-security funding, Astros’ Series win become bookmarks in a busy political week

Jan 12, 2018 • 41 min

As the elbowing among dozens of little-known Texas candidates in both parties intensifies as they scramble to get attention just eight weeks before the election, President Trump is again stealing the limelight with an explosive remark featuring an…

Ep78: Ted Cruz touts tax cuts and throws shade on Washington Democrats

Jan 4, 2018 • 48 min

As U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz touts the Republican-pushed tax cuts recently approved in Washington, he predicts that Texans will see more in their paychecks by next month. A prophecy, he calls it, that will refute the claims of Democrats who opposed the cuts….

Ep77: Tax cuts, cuts, cuts signed into law as Washington politicians jockey for credit In Austin; plus, brawling begins for what promises to be some raucous March primaries

Dec 22, 2017 • 44 min

Tax cuts, cuts, cuts, as President Trump loves to say, were approved by Congress to great Republican jubilation, and predictions by Democrats that the bill could be a GOP Waterloo. Hmmm. The two parties had much the same stance just a few years ago…

Ep76: ‘F-tards,’ jail bait and ‘cowardly RINOs’ as sex dominates the political debate in Washington and Texas

Dec 14, 2017 • 43 min

Sex continues to dominate politics in Texas and Washington. U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold of Corpus Christi becomes the latest casualty of the sex-harassment scandal in Washington, even as new allegations surface that he crudely treated staffers and was…

Ep75: Candidates line up in droves to run for office: Plus, busy filing period for Dems, GOP makes for excitement in 2018 elections

Dec 8, 2017 • 43 min

Texas Democrats have eight — count ‘em, eight — candidates running for governor in the spring 2018 primary. Eleven candidates, seven Republicans and four Democrats, have signed on to replace Ted Poe in Congress. Outspoken Republican Agriculture…

Ep74: Joe Barton, sex pics and Sid Miller’s ‘Jesus Shot’; Plus those hated toll roads and a wild political filing season

Nov 30, 2017 • 40 min

Amid continuing revelations about lurid details from his last, and demands from fellow Republicans to step aside, U.S. Rep. Joe Barton decides not to seek another term. He becomes the first casualty of the national uproar over sexual harassment. …

Ep73: Roy Moore, communist Democrats and the alt-left press as political rancor intensifies in Washington and Austin

Nov 16, 2017 • 47 min

In Texas and Washington, politics seems to be getting uglier and uglier. Take, for instance, the U.S. Senate campaign of Alabama justice and conservative icon Roy Moore, who has been accused of groping and trying to date young girls years ago….

Ep72: Tragic church shooting renews gun-control debate

Nov 9, 2017 • 40 min

Plus: Piers Morgan goes after Ken Paxton, Ted Nugent and more

Ep71: Is Congress gonna cut taxes for Average Texans, or what? Plus; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gets a GOP opponent, and the Astros win the World series

Nov 2, 2017 • 37 min

Politicians in Washington are arguing over how to cut taxes, and Texans are suggesting they should quit all the talking and just get it done. Let’s not make this another drawn-out debate by Republicans where nothing happens in the end, like the…

Ep70: Straus retires, Patrick says it ain’t personal, and frustration mounts about Harvey recovery

Oct 27, 2017 • 36 min

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus delivered a stunner this week when he announced he will retire from his job as presiding officer. Unlike other top Texas Republicans who retired, he’s not expected anytime soon on Dancing with the Stars….

Ep69: A week of ‘asinine, insensitive and insane’; plus the Ted Cruz-Bernie Sanders show on socialist and right-wing views, and the bathroom bill

Oct 19, 2017 • 33 min

The President started it all, with some Trump-speak about how some former presidents didn’t call the families of dead soldiers to express condolences. After he walked those comments back, Energy Secretary Perry, a veteran himself, called the public…

Ep68: Fighting over Harvey aid and a bathroom bill; plus, Ted Cruz, impeachment and medical marijuana

Oct 12, 2017 • 42 min

An angry Gov. Greg Abbott takes on fellow Republicans in the U.S. House for getting “rolled” by not demanding that Texas gets an additional $18 billion now in Hurricane Harvey relief funding. And former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon says he’s fixin’…

Ep67: Fierce new debate over gun control, cutting taxes: Plus, Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to ‘terminate’ gerrymandering, of all things

Oct 5, 2017 • 40 min

The worst shooting massacre in modern U.S. history sparks an intense new debate over gun control, including a ban on “bump stocks” that can make rifles function like an automatic weapon. Gov. Greg Abbott shuts down complaints in Houston about the pace…

Ep66: Amazon and bathrooms, ‘taking a knee’ cap a fractious week; Plus, Texas’ political entertainment features a Greg Abbott-Sylvester Turner spat, as the 2018 campaign begins

Sep 29, 2017 • 39 min

If you thought (or hoped) the mention of the controversial “bathroom bill” would never come up again, think again. In competing to snare the location of Amazon’s second headquarters, a mega-big get for whichever city the online retail…

Ep65: Confederate statues in The Woodlands, Satan and a ‘dictator’

Sep 21, 2017 • 38 min

AUSTIN — There are weeks when no one seems happy, especially when public officials are giving them such good reasons to be grouchy. Take Gordy Bunch, who heads The Woodlands township board, suggested at a community meeting that the Confederate…

Ep64: Harvey and Irma and Greg and Miss Texas

Sep 17, 2017 • 39 min

Political shots abound as recovery begins in earnest, with Trump still a target for his comment about Neo-Nazis

John Sharp takes on Harvey, as Irma moves in on Florida; Plus, sideshows by Jeff Sessions, Ken Paxton and his ‘pistol packing mama’

Sep 7, 2017 • 50 min

Just when Texans were getting past their hurricane fears from the destructive Harvey, a stronger Irma was bearing down on Florida — and Jose and Katia were churning away in tropical waters with no threat to the Gulf Coast. As the cleanup in…

Ep62: Hurricanes Harvey and Dan come ashore, with political chemotherapy; Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, Joe Straus, Lyle Larson, Mark Cuban co-star in the drama

Aug 24, 2017 • 42 min

As Hurricane Harvey approached landfall, gale-force political winds continued to howl in Austin as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick continued criticizing House Speaker Joe Straus over the death of property-tax reform in the special legislative session. In a…

Ep61: Listen: A new Civil War in the Republican party, and revisiting the real one

Aug 17, 2017 • 35 min

Gov. Abbott blasts House Speaker Joe Straus after half of Abbott’s must-pass issues died in the special session

Ep60: The special session draws to a close, plus Beto O’Rourke and ‘soda pop’ politics

Aug 11, 2017 • 39 min

As the special legislative session heads to its finale, Gov. Greg Abbott will be getting a few of his 20 must-pass priorities on his desk. A few. Maybe six, perhaps seven. On Friday, after weeks of political bickering and gamesmanship, the House and…

Ep59: With just over a week left, no bills yet on Gov. Abbott’s desk

Aug 4, 2017 • 39 min

While Texas’ Senate approved all of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priority bills in just seven days, the House is taking a more deliberative approach, debating the issues in more detail and tweaking many of the issues Abbott wanted them to address in ways that…

Ep58: Fight over Texas bathrooms quickly flushes through state Senate

Jul 27, 2017 • 37 min

As Texas’ special legislative session enters its second week, it just keeps getting more and more special. So special, in fact, that the fight over bathrooms has now become a fight pitting Big Business against their usual Republican friends.

Ep57: Dan Patrick declares open warfare on Republican Texas House leadership

Jul 21, 2017 • 28 min

Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau Chief Mike Ward is once again on assignment in Washington, DC. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of material being offered up by Texas’ elected leadership. As always, we’ve got the lowdown on…

Ep56: If you don’t have an actual opponent, feel free to make one up

Jul 14, 2017 • 34 min

[Mike Ward is on special assignment, traveling to Washington this week so Scott tackled the podcast duties solo today.] It’s official: Governor Greg Abbott announced his re-election campaign just after 3 p.m. today in San Antonio, where he also…

Ep55: Pushing the reset button on Texas’ special session

Jul 5, 2017 • 38 min

Fresh off the long holiday weekend, it appears the reset button has been pushed on the upcoming special session of the Texas Legislature. Mike Ward is on assignment this week so Quorum Report Editor Scott Braddock welcomed journalist Erica Grieder to…

Ep54: Is Dan Patrick really the conservative North Star of Texas politics? Plus, Austin’s mayor applauds Lege action on school finance … no, wait, forget that

Jun 29, 2017 • 33 min

Is Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick really the Conservative North Star of Texas Politics? That’s what a confidant, Houston Sen. Paul Bettencourt, told a group of pastors, explaining that the Senate’s presiding officer “doesn’t change. He doesn’t move. Every…

Ep53: Driving past a bad car wreck with serious injuries, without stopping? Plus, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn pushes for Obamacare repeal, faces pushback from Texas colleague Ted Cruz

Jun 22, 2017 • 60 min

If the Texas political fight of the week was most recently in Austin, it’s now moved to Washington. U.S. Senate. John Cornyn of Texas has pushed ahead on a GOP Senate plan to dump Obamacare, and Democrats have all jumped ship, saying it was hatched in…

Ep52: House Speaker compares special session agenda to a pile of manure: With unusual bluntness, Joe Straus takes on fellow Republicans Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick

Jun 15, 2017 • 31 min

House Speaker Joe Straus seems sick and tired of it all. After months of critical swipes from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at him and his legislative chamber, and a week after Gov. Greg Abbott said lawmakers will be lazy if they don’t pass all 20 of his…

Ep51: Abbott says Lege ‘lazy’ if they don’t pass his special session agenda: Crack not likely to draw applause from lawmakers still recovering from a fractious 140-day regular session

Jun 8, 2017 • 38 min

On July 18, the Texas Legislature will be back to finish its business — and then some. And if they don’t pass all 20 items that Gov. Greg Abbott has put on the agenda for a special session, then they’ll just be lazy. In an interview on a…

Ep50: Legislature adjourns amid accusations, protests and death threats: Plus, Gov. Abbott takes charge of special agenda, Lt. Gov. Patrick pushes bathroom bill, property-tax reform

Jun 1, 2017 • 34 min

As House Speaker Joe Straus gaveled his chamber to adjournment, he acknowledged that the end of the 140-day legislative session had been, well, a bit exciting. And he wished members the best until he sees them again, “which, like you, I hope won’t be…

Ep49: Final Lege firefight erupts over bathrooms, property-tax cuts

May 25, 2017 • 27 min

Lunch shaming, disabled children and burning puppies take center stage

Ep48: High-stakes showdown between the Texas Senate and House: Plus, Patrick demands House pass his priority bills; Straus says his chamber sets own agenda

May 19, 2017 • 28 min

High-drama is marking the final days of the Texas Legislature, starring House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Straus started the week off by penning a letter to Patrick suggesting that the chambers should work together to pass “two…

Ep47: Republican Civil War erupts in the Texas House, with late-night drama: Plus, hundreds of bills left dead as first casualties of leadership challenge by Freedom Caucus members

May 12, 2017 • 32 min

So, those reps used a procedural maneuver to kill all 120 bills on the calendar they had been denied. And then they started a talkathon to keep hundreds of other bills from being voted on. By the time the political theater ended at midnight Thursday,…

Ep46: Banning ‘sanctuary cities’ and crying sounds as bills die: Plus, a throwdown over beauticians and U.S,-made steel, and a rare Senate apology

May 5, 2017 • 34 min

Republican-supported legislation banning so-called “sanctuary cities”’ proved controversial to the very end, as the Texas Senate played out the final drama before approving and sending to the governor a House version that includes a “show your papers”…

Ep45: Sanctuary cities sparks a Texas-style House showdown: Plus, Fights over “Buffet Bill,” charter schools, pensions give Lege a busy last month

Apr 28, 2017 • 27 min

Unpleasantness was the order of the day as the Texas House passed Senate Bill 6, the controversial legislation to ban sanctuary cities in the Lone Star State. Democrats opposed to the bill angrily argued with Republicans who supported it, like two…

Ep44: Budgets, bathrooms and Warren Buffett

Apr 21, 2017 • 40 min

Legislature enters its last month with big issues contentious, unresolved

Ep43: Texas House flushes Senate’s ‘bathroom bill,’ offers alternative

Apr 13, 2017 • 37 min

The Texas House has come up with its own, much different of the “bathroom bill” that the Senate passed as one of its priorities. Instead of using a birth certificate to determine which Texans could use which restroom, the House has decided to prohibit…

Ep42: Dan Patrick wanted a House vote on vouchers, and he got it. As the House moves ahead with its version of the budget, it soundly rejects ‘school choice’

Apr 6, 2017 • 36 min

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he wanted a House vote on “school choice,” vouchers to opponents. He got one. The result was an overwhelming smackdown of the concept that Patrick and the Senate tagged as a top priority. As the House moved ahead to adopt its…

Ep41: A weekly trifecta with Paxton, bathrooms and vouchers. Plus, as political tensions mount at the Texas Legislature, the entertainment level grows

Mar 31, 2017 • 40 min

As Texas’ legislative session passes its midpoint, name-calling and unpleasantness seem to be the order of the day under Pink Dome. Attorney General Ken Paxton got bad news, as a judge in his home county of Colin County decides to move his…

Ep40: Not ‘Dancing With The Stars,’ but former Gov. Rick Perry at it again. Plus, the now-U.S. energy secretary weighs into Texas A&M election flap, as tensions boil in the Legislature

Mar 23, 2017 • 38 min

Just when many Texans thought Rick Perry had moved on past making headlines, he’s b-a-a-a-a-c-k. Perry took time out from his new job as U.S. energy secretary, safeguarding the nation’s nuclear stockpiles, to blast the election of Texas A&M…

Ep39: Battle lines form between the House and Senate on budget, bathrooms. Plus, as tensions flare, both legislative chambers appear to dig in for a fight on several fronts

Mar 17, 2017 • 38 min

The growing fight between the Senate and the House is appearing like an ugly divorce in the making. After House Speaker Joe Straus suggested the Senate needed to step up its pace in writing its version of the the state’s spending blueprint, the…

Ep38: Bathroom politics flood the Texas Capitol. Plus, SB 6 opponent: Wrong ‘If you know what’s between someone’s legs’

Mar 9, 2017 • 31 min

As bathroom politics continue to dominate the debate in Austin, a showdown appears to be nearing between the state Senate and the House over privacy in the stalls and transgender rights. Before the Senate State Affairs Committee approved Senate…

Ep#37: Immigration, foster care are volatile mix in Texas House. Plus, bathroom bill, prison time for rogue votes, school choice heat up crazy week

Mar 2, 2017 • 34 min

As immigration and foster care collided in the Texas House, the state Senate was arguing over whether to send rogue lawmakers to prison. This is a wild political season in Texas, for sure, and the debate over legislation to fix the state’s…

Ep36: Can you pee with the LGBT? Lots of bathroom humor at the Texas Capitol, plus immigration issues and the Convention of States

Feb 22, 2017 • 37 min

The fight at the State Capitol over bathrooms is getting a bit personal. Thanks to a video from the American Civil Liberties Union opposing Senate Bill 6, the controversial measure limiting who can use which loo, the new watchword has become:…

Ep35: Greg Abbott versus The World: taking on pre-K programs, bathrooms, the Constitution and pro football

Feb 17, 2017 • 30 min

In just a week, Gov. Greg Abbott seems to be taking on all comers. First, in an interview on Fox News, Abbott blasted the National Football League for, as he put it, trying to make Texas “come to heel” on enacting a so-called bathroom bill that will…

Ep34: Week of throwdowns over sanctuary cities, bathrooms, even the KKK. Plus, partisan tensions grow in Austin, Washington as Abbott promises to punish, and as Trump targets a Texas senator.

Feb 9, 2017 • 38 min

Call it the week of the throwdowns. First came Gov. Greg Abbott, blasting away at Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez and the “liberal Austin city” that he blames for allowing a wrong-headed “sanctuary city” policy to take hold, a policy he wants to…

Ep33: Arguing and fighting spread on the budget, ‘sanctuary cities’ and bathrooms. Plus, John Cornyn sticks up for Ted Cruz against Al Franken, the former SNL comedian

Feb 2, 2017 • 40 min

The arguing and fighting of Washington has come to Austin. Gov. Greg Abbott’s State of the State speech, where he gently lectured the House and Senate to approve more money for Pre-K and child-protection programs, has some lawmakers rolling their eyes…