The state’s leaders are as anxious as everyone else to talk about vaccines and a Texas without the coronavirus. But this is going to take time, and while they’re hopeful, they are planning for more months of pandemic.
Ross Ramsey
Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: Texas elections are over. Now it’s time to govern.
The seasons change in the political world, too. We’re in that periodic move from electioneering to governing. The Washington version is noisy. The Texas version is a bit quieter, but it’s underway.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: Muted holidays in Texas, as pandemic threatens and vaccines raise hopes
Vaccines and antibody therapies raise hopes of combatting the coronavirus. But as the holiday season begins, the pandemic is setting new records in Texas for caseloads, hospitalizations and deaths.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: Trust the voters and congratulate the winners, or bear the consequences
Tearing down confidence in the election process takes everything else along with it, from winners and losers to the government itself.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: Two threats to local Texans, and two different responses from Texas government
A spike in violent crime in Dallas is getting an aggressive response from Austin, with state police on their way to help. In the state’s COVID-19 hot spots, local attempts to slow the spread are running into resistance from the Capitol.
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Health care
Analysis: In a recession, turning to sin might save the Texas budget
The pandemic-induced recession punched a hole in the Texas budget that lawmakers will try to patch when their session starts in January. And a hole in the state’s finances almost always starts a conversation about how to raise money. This time, marijuana and casinos are in the spotlight.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Analysis: Impeachment is a political option in Washington. In Texas, not so much.
Texas lawmakers rarely resort to impeachment proceedings, even when elected officials like Attorney General Ken Paxton are accused of misusing their public offices.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: Texans in many border counties voted for Donald Trump — and then for Democrats
Trump flipped a couple of historically Democratic counties on the Texas border this year. But in many cases, his showing didn’t benefit the other Republicans on the ticket.
Posted in
State Government
Analysis: Texas Republicans and Allen West, their nettlesome party animal
Republican officeholders couldn’t have had a better election in Texas this year, but they’ve still got noisy and loud critics — inside their own political party.
Posted in
State Government
Analysis: In Texas, a seasonal shift away from election politics
The seasonal change in Texas politics and government always seems fast, and it’s upon us again. Lawmakers, elected last Tuesday, start filing legislation Monday, even as they fill campaign accounts in advance of the legislative session that starts in January.
