I’m hearing more and more radio ads for GOP incumbents in the Texas legislature proclaiming they were elected after tuition breaks for illegal immigrants were approved more than a decade ago. Their “true conservative” primary challengers have accused them of “coddling illegals.”
While it makes some sense to defend yourself by saying “that was passed before I was elected,” the question should be asked: Was there ever a serious effort to overturn that law after it was passed? The answer, as far as I can tell, is no. In fact, in 2010, the Dallas Morning News reported the number of illegal immigrants getting the tuition break was on the rise.
No matter your opinion of the law, it seems disingenuous to many that some politicians would suggest they’re against it but act as if being elected after it was passed puts them in a position where they’re helpless to change it.
Around the state and the nation, everyone’s buzzing about the Facebook IPO this morning. Mark Zuckerberg is set to “remotely” ring the opening bell on Wall Street today. I heard a Slate reporter on NPR yesterday who said that while he can’t invest in Facebook (because he covers the company) he would not even if he could. He said tech companies are simply too risky. As embedded as Facebook has become in all our lives, I wonder how long it will be before someone comes up with something even cooler and people abandon it for the new, better social network.
That frustrated performance by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on the radio in Houston this week continues to get attention. As I’ve noted here, it’s been years since the last time Dewhurst really sounded angry in public. Many see it as a sign that he’s feeling the heat and his campaign’s internal polling may show that he’s for sure headed for runoff with Ted Cruz. Dewhurst, Cruz, former ESPN analyst Craig James and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert are all running for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Other notes:
The Tea Party does indeed seem to be energized, but the DMN’s lead editorial today blasts the movement for having no solutions.
Mike Ward at the Statesman reports this morning that the prison system has been ordered to release details on the stock and supply of execution drugs.
With the University of Texas embroiled in controversy over a rumored push to get rid of the UT Austin President, the Texas Tribune’s Reeve Hamilton and Morgan Smith offer up this profile of the Board of Regents Chairman Gene Powell.
What else should I be covering? Let me know.
