House Speaker Joe Straus is moving quickly to squelch any talk that he won't be elected speaker again next session. After calls from Texas Tea Party leaders for a more conservative speaker, he released a letter of support this afternoon from other conservatives — including several members of the State Republican Executive Committee and various county GOP leaders — who say they want to "set the record straight." They write:

In recent days we have read with dismay critical comments of the Republican leadership of the Texas House — in particular Speaker Joe Straus — finding those criticisms to be based on half-truths ...

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