Is The Texas Legislature Self-Destructive?

By Henry Flores, Ph.D.

You know I generally just study elections, concluding something about the electorate, how the campaign was run, why voters voted the way they did, the relation between the election structure and how voters vote and so forth.

Think of the Texas Legislature as a big La-Z-Boy.

Bueno, observing the current Texas legislative session has compelled me to move beyond my usual scholarly pursuits and try and draw some conclusions about how our revered and honored law makers have been performing the task we gave them in the last general election.  We elected those guys in Austin last November and they have been diligently trying to write us backward into history and provide the national audience with an example of what a fine collection of furniture should look like because that’s about all these individuals have amounted to, a bunch of furniture.

What is it that they are doing that leads me to this ground breaking conclusion?  Pues, let me give you several examples and then you tell me what you think.

75mph in the slow lane.

One Texas House member, I’m going to refrain from using names or party affiliation so as not to embarrass someone or be accused of being biased, has submitted legislation to increase the speed limit on Texas highways to 75 miles an hour.  I mean, have you driven in the fast lane of the major highways recently? We are already doing 80 miles an hour, easily.  How fast do you think we will drive if we increase the speed limit? Plus, the vato wants to do away with the day/night differentia.  With the amount of drinking that’s done in this state, the increased speed limit will be a real joy particularly on Friday and Saturday nights.

Everyone gets an A.

The second example of good legislation is the effort to allow students to carry guns on university or college campuses.  I think this is narrow-minded.  I think he needs to include the right to bear arms to all faculty and staff as well.  You must allow faculty and staff an equal chance to shoot back if a student draws down on them.  I wonder if universities will adopt financial aid for gun ownership or even scholarships for gun owners who qualify based on new entrance exam standards?  Anyway, it seems that this member, as they like to call themselves, appears to wish for Texans to return to the days of the wild west or something when disputes were settled in the streets shooting it out.

Se habla English.

Finally, actually there are more examples floating around committees, one member has introduced legislation to make English the official language of Texas.  Shucks, I was hoping we could continue speaking Lower Slobovanian on the congressional chamber floor.  What does he think is the official language of the state?   On this note I agree with the late, great Carlos Guerra.  What we need is for one of our Latino legislators to submit a bill making Spanish the official language of the state and scare the ____ out of these guys.  I mean, “com’n guys!”

I don’t know whether it’s all the chemicals that are finding their way into our state’s drinking water or maybe they’ve been stopping at one of the many watering holes on 6^th Street before they go to work that is causing our venerable legislature to try and enact legislation that absolutely makes not sense.  Not only do the above examples make no sense they will be detrimental to the state economically, socially, and politically in the long run.