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The Texas Blue
Advancing Progressive Ideas

Josh Berthume's blog

The Value of Getting Along

While it's been getting more play on cable news than in print, there are few who pay attention to politics that haven't heard about the press conference yesterday after a House Democratic Caucus meeting. Cindy Sheehan and several protesters shouted down Rahm Emmanuel as he began to address reporters on Capitol Hill, laying bare a growing divide that some wish weren't quite so public.

Thursday morning Roundup

I'm still waiting to see if Craddick is done. Pitts is going to tell everyone he's managed to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and scrounged enough votes together, and that now he will be Speaker and McCall will get some sort of shiny committee appointment(s), or possibly a pony.

It's the Pitts

In a final update on the Speaker's race for today, it seems as if some sort of deal has been struck. Rather than Pitts endorsing early bird McCall, it seems as if the opposite will happen and a voting bloc consolidation will occur as a result. Statesman has the story.

Texas Democrats Move On Up in Congress

As the Democrats take over Congress, there are some members from Texas who will be wielding some of the newly-obtained power or are in a position to make some moves this session.

News Roundup: Actually Wednesday Morning

Today is when the Democrats roll into town, and tomorrow they take over Congress. However, the first 100 hours legislative blitz doesn't begin until next Tuesday, for various reasons. Democrats plan on getting some laws together on 9/11 Commission recommendations that never got any play, raising the minimum wage, stem cell research, and prescription / Medicare drug price negotiation regulations.

Midday News Roundup: Tuesday, for reals

All over the state, county governments are being sworn in. This includes Dallas County, where the government flipped from Republican to Democrat. In case you hadn't heard. I think the self-awareness displayed by the party representatives in that article is refreshing - obviously nothing about Democratic advances can be taken for granted, and they seem ready to approach the challenges inherent to actual governance responsibly.

Feature: Who's Blue?

I wanted to take a moment to highlight Who's Blue? - a feature of this project that we're excited about, but what it actually is may not be clear. Who's Blue? is a podcast that we produce once a week, an interview with a leader in the Democratic party. This week's interview features a conversation with State Representative Mark Strama.

A Strategic Retreat to Ways and Means

Paul Burka discussed what he's heard as Craddick's Plan B on his blog yesterday, and the Republican version of musical legislative seats makes sense - if Craddick can't keep the Speakership, then some shucking and jiving ensures the status quo is maintained when Craddick throws his support to a kinder, gentler Republican (Keffer) or not (King), and in return gets to chair Ways and Means.

Happy New Year, and Welcome

I am pleased to welcome you both to 2007 and to The Texas Blue.

2006 was a long year with many victories and some requisite defeats. There was also a seemingly unending string of things to discuss concerning Texas politics, so much so that a few of us decided we needed a centralized place to have those discussions - about big ideas, where we're going, and where we'd like to be.

News Roundup, New Year's Eve edition

This isn't really unexpected, but Craig Watkins fired some people ahead of taking over as Dallas District Attorney tomorrow. No man is an island, and a District Attorney is usually driven to surround himself with team players, especially after the office changes political affiliation. An exception to the party rule occurred in my own Denton County, when Paul Johnson got rid of 25 people after his primary win over Republican incumbent D.A. Bruce Isaacks.

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