The Three-Party System

Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, has left the House, and would-be successors are lining up.
Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, has left the House, and would-be successors are lining up.

School vouchers were voted down 103-43 during a budget debate in the Texas House that repeatedly pitted a group of conservative Republicans against their colleagues from both parties.

Instead of establishment and populist Republicans banding together against the Democrats, the working coalition during this week’s budget debate combined the traditional Republicans and the Democrats against the populists.

The vote against vouchers — on an amendment by Abel Herrero, D-Robstown — would prevent any money from the Texas Education Agency’s budget being used to “pay for or support school vouchers of scholarships for private primary or secondary education.” Democrats voted unanimously in favor of it, as did a narrow 48-43 majority of Republicans.

The losers in that and other votes included a large contingent of freshmen, who were badly overmatched in a series of debates during the long debate. In most cases, the lessons came from more experienced Republicans, who questioned the new officeholders on amendments that would defund various programs and move the money into others, such as TRS-Care, the health insurance program for retired teachers and an account that assists volunteer firefighters.

The votes were uniformly lopsided. The House generally sided with Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, by a more than two-to-one margin. Pitts, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, started the debate by telling lawmakers what was and was not included in the $193.8 billion budget proposal.

The House also added an amendment that would open the door to negotiations for expanding Medicaid — something Gov. Rick Perry has said he doesn’t want to do. The first time it came up, the amendment was adopted 86-57, with 51 Democrats in favor and Republicans voting 35-57 against it. A few hours later, the House voted 93-54 to reconsider, and the author, Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, withdrew the amendment before it an up-or-down vote on the merits.

That might or might not be the end of that conversation. The Senate already passed a budget that includes a provision similar to the one added and then deleted by the House. That keeps the issue alive — but badly weakened — as negotiators from the two chambers reconcile the differences in their budgets. The Senate voted for it, and the provision was pulled from consideration before the House could vote against it; that leaves it undefeated, sort of, and on life support.

The Medicaid Expansion Merry-Go-Round

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, l, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Gov. Rick Perry at a Capitol press conference on Medicaid on April 1, 2013.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, l, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Gov. Rick Perry at a Capitol press conference on Medicaid on April 1, 2013.

Republicans who want to draw down billions in federal dollars to reform Medicaid and shore up the state's budget have been running in circles trying to find common ground between Gov. Rick Perry and the Obama administration and craft a “Texas solution.” And the party-line vote in the House on Thursday to reconsider legislative guidance on Medicaid expansion from the budget — even without an up-or-down vote on the substance — left the issue on life support. 

If Texas spends roughly $15 billion to expand Medicaid over the next ten years, the state could receive up to $100 billion from the federal government and insure an additional 2 million people. Local governments and hospitals, which currently foot the health bills for uninsured Texans, are putting tremendous pressure on state lawmakers to take that federal offer. And some fiscal conservatives say the state should leverage the opportunity for Medicaid expansion to reform the entire Medicaid program, and ultimately, cut state costs for the program down the line.

Perry, who remains firmly opposed to Medicaid expansion, said on Monday that it’s up to Kyle Janek, the state’s executive health commissioner, to start negotiations with the Obama administration on how to reform the state’s “broken” Medicaid program.

Janek has said that there are thousands of reform scenarios he could pursue, and he’s waiting for direction from the Legislature.

As the House flip-flop revealed, it is politically risky for anyone in the Legislature to make the first move, because Perry can — and presumably would — veto any legislation that would expand Medicaid. So far, Perry and his staff have not provided any guidance on what type of reform plan they would consider acceptable, except the pursuit of a no-strings attached block grant that would allow the state to redesign Medicaid without the intervention of the Obama administration. They haven't endorsed expansion of Medicaid even if the state were to receive a block grant for Medicaid.

That brings us back to square one: What is Texas going to do?

Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, and Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, this week disclosed details — albeit fuzzy ones — on a plan to subsidize private health plans for people potentially eligible for Medicaid expansion. And they’ve taken an idea from former executive health commissioner Tom Suehs to use new revenue collected from policies purchased through the health insurance exchange as the state’s match to draw down the federal expansion dollars.

“What we’re looking for is an absolute source of revenue that has some certainty to it,” said Zerwas. “This allows us to comfortably draw down the money from the federal government.”

The health insurance exchanges — think of them as online shopping sites for insurance — are intended to help the uninsured and near poor find subsidized coverage, since everyone will be required to purchase health insurance in 2014. But Williams and Zerwas assume that it will take a few years for most people to actually purchase coverage. That could mean revenue generated from taxes on those new policies may not be sufficient until a few years have passed. Williams suggested the state could wait a few years to implement the plan; Zerwas said the state could approve such a plan now, and pointed out the federal government has agreed to pay 100 percent of Medicaid expansion enrollees’ health care costs for the first three years.

The problem: They are still unsure whether their proposed plan would work.

“First of all, I’m not in too big a hurry about this,” Williams said. “I want a program that emphasizes the private market over public care, and that’s really what we’re trying to get fleshed out in this plan.”

Texas cannot draw down the federal expansion dollars to subsidize private plans without receiving a waiver from or an agreement with the federal government. So far, Arkansas’ agreement with the federal government is the only available model for what the administration is willing to agree to in exchange for allowing the state to subsidize private plans.

The federal government gave Arkansas permission to use Medicaid expansion dollars to subsidize private coverage on the condition that the state provide any Medicaid benefits the recipients are not offered by their private plans. It’s referred to as a “wraparound” benefits model, and in essence, still requires Arkansas to expand its existing Medicaid program by some amount.

“This seems like the worst of both worlds. I’m not interested in doing that,” said Williams of Arkansas’ plan.

Legally, Arkansas had no choice but to agree to a “wraparound” benefits models in order to use the financing to subsidize private plans, because federal law requires states to provide certain benefits through Medicaid. Even proponents of a no-strings-attached block grant recognize that in order for Texas to subsidize private coverage for Medicaid-eligible individuals without also providing “wraparound” benefits, the federal government would have to change the law or the state would have to require private insurers to cover everything that Medicaid offers.

Next week, Zerwas plans to offer a committee substitute for House Bill 3791, which would direct the Health and Human Services Commission to pursue negotiations with the feds to reform Medicaid and draw down expansion dollars. After the budget vote in the House, it is unclear how far Zerwas' legislation will go. Earlier in the week, Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, said his committee could consider the legislation as soon as Thursday.

“The way that I’ve always looked at this... has always been about how do we leverage our position, in order to draw down the full amount of funding that the federal government has dedicated to the states,” Zerwas said.

Proposal: Allow Private Mental Health Services in Jails

Christopher Ajayi, a psychiatric technician, makes his rounds at the Harris County Jail.
Christopher Ajayi, a psychiatric technician, makes his rounds at the Harris County Jail.

Legislators are considering a measure that would allow private companies to offer jail-based mental health restoration services to people accused of crimes who have been found incompetent to be tried.

“It sort of fills a niche there in the continuum of care for individuals that are unfit to stand trial,” state Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, told members of the House Corrections Committee this week during discussion about House Bill 2349.

The bill, which has a Senate companion by state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, sets out specific guidelines for a pilot program that would operate in select jails and allow mental health providers to help restore inmates to competency so that they can stand trial. Initially, the measure raised concern among mental health and criminal justice reform advocates, who are typically leery of private entities seeking to profit from providing services to the incarcerated. After discussion with the bills’ authors, advocates said, they are not opposing the proposal — but they’re not endorsing it just yet, either.

“County jails are not therapeutic settings, and I’m not so convinced that can be overcome,” Gyl Switzer, public policy director of Mental Health America of Texas, told the House committee. “But I’m open-minded.”

The bill follows a 2007 lawsuit filed against the Texas Department of State Health Services by Disability Rights Texas, a civil rights advocacy group, which argued that mentally ill inmates were being held far too long in jail awaiting space in state hospitals where that they could receive treatment that would make them competent for trial. Because of a shortage of beds in state psychiatric hospitals, it sometimes took months for inmates to receive treatment. A judge in that case ordered the state to make hospital beds available to incompetent inmates within 21 days of a decision on their need for competency treatment.

Currently, there are just two options for mentally ill inmates found incompetent to stand trial. They can wait in jail for space in a state psychiatric hospital, or, for some inmates charged with nonviolent misdemeanors, they can receive treatment in an outpatient restoration program. 

If lawmakers approve the jail-based treatment proposal, certain counties would be able to participate in a pilot program. Companies would be required to bid on contracts to provide services, and the measures set out specific standards for the provision of care inside jails.

Sheriffs across the state have complained about the increasing population of mentally ill inmates in their cells who present dangers to themselves, other inmates and staff. 

“I haven’t met a single sheriff who is happy to have people in their jail that suffer from mental health problems,” said Ana Yáñez-Correa, executive director of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.

Proposals to turn to private providers for another alternative for mental health care, she said, show the level of desperation among law enforcement officials. 

“It’s a cry out for help for something that has not been historically adequately addressed,” Yáñez-Correa told the committee.

State Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, a mental health professional who worked in the Dallas County Jail, said she was concerned that most jails do not have the appropriate clinical setting to provide treatment for mentally incompetent inmates.

In Dallas, she said, the county is working to build a facility specifically for mentally ill inmates. Most counties, though, don’t have the resources to do that.

“The main concern I would have is, I don’t think all our jails would accommodate a program like this,” Rose said. 

Kenneth Carabello, vice president of operations for Liberty Healthcare Corporation, said his company has provided competency restoration services in San Bernadino County, Calif., facilities for two years.

The program, he said, is meant for inmates who can be quickly restored to competency and don’t need the complex services a state hospital provides. In California, he said, the program has been successful and saves money because it is less expensive than state hospital treatment. Other states, including Colorado, are also considering adopting the jail-based restoration model, Carabello told the committee.

“It’s a positive for the system, certainly financially, but also I think for the defendant, the patient, in terms speeding up the trial,” Carabello said.

Newsreel: Medicaid Expansion, State Budget, CPRIT

This week in the Newsreel: Gov. Rick Perry says no again to Medicaid expansion, the Texas House starts debate on a new state budget and the Senate approves CPRIT reform legislation.

Inside Intelligence: About Those Tests...

The insiders are more or less in line with the Texas House when it comes to testing and high school graduation requirements in the state.

Most — 71 percent — would cut the number of required end-of-course tests to 5 from 15. A similar number would drop the so-called “4x4” requirements for high school graduation, instead allowing kids to win diplomas without taking college-prep courses like Algebra II.

More than four of five of the politics and government insiders said high schools should offer different paths to graduation for students who want to go to college or directly into the workforce. And three-quarters of the insiders would require students in state-funded private schools to take the same tests required of their counterparts in public schools.

The full set of verbatim comments to the questions is attached. Here is a sampling:

.

Should the Legislature lower the number of required standardized tests in high school from 15 to 5?

• "This seems to be too large of a reduction. The STAAR system has a lot of problems, but I fear this is too big a reaction in the other direction."

• "I struggle to understand why we need 5 standardized tests, much less 15."

• "The facts speak clearly; more testing does NOT equate to higher learning standards."

• "Number of test should be reduced, but so far it's all about the number. Shouldn't we be trying to figure out what needs to be tested and get the number that way? Right now, members of the Legislature seem to be guessing (like a lot of kids do on the test)."

• "Does it really matter how many tests we have if the students are not passing them?"

• "How many is not the issue. The problem is the state has forgotten why they gave the tests to start with. We must have accountability; it just shouldn't be the tail that wags the dog, and that is what it has become."

• "No. We have no other tool to determine whether or not kids are learning anything. However, we should take a close look at how the tests are administered -- how many 'proxy tests' the teachers are giving to get kids ready for the tests."

• "And they should up the standardized tests to lawmakers to 5. I'm far more concerned about their intellectual capacities than the 3rd graders at Mumford Elementary."

.

Should all students be required to finish a college preparatory curriculum (i.e. four years of science & math, including Algebra II or another math class) to get a high school diploma?

• "Large percentages of students will not go on to college, and trying to put all kids on this path partially explains the dropout problem. We need to offer different tracks for students with different abilities and goals."

• "Our focus needs to be on workforce readiness. Whether it means college, junior college, or technical training, we need to tailor it to the aptitude and interest of the student."

• "Not every student is college bound or even college material. When some high school graduates can't even put together an intelligible sentence, we don't need to fool ourselves into thinking they will all go to college."

• "STEM classes are a necessary aspect for a global economy. Efforts to dilute the school system should be viewed carefully."

• "I wonder if we would be having this 'not every kid needs to go to college' discussion if the student demographics in Texas were still majority White and not majority Hispanic. This Legislature is prepared to be the first in decades to tell our kids 'Let's go out there and shoot for the middle!'"

• "Students should have access to the curriculum, but they should not be required to take and finish it. Not everyone wants to go to college, and not everyone should go to college. To quote the late, great Judge Smails, 'The world needs ditch diggers too.'"

• "Many students are not and should not be college-bound"

• "Lord no. Teach to the kids skills."

• "Your mis-state the question. The 4x4 has been shown to be preparatory not only for 4 year colleges, but also for two year and technical colleges as well as most high paying, new jobs."

• "Yes we need that since math and science teach people to think critically. Critical thinking is a foreign concept to most people. And we must insist that US and World history be included in this"

• "There are hundreds of thousands of American manufacturing jobs available that cannot be filled without skilled labor. Not every kid should choose a four-year philosophy degree over a great career as a welder or C&C operator. We need to begin rewarding and valuing those that can build the future as much as we reward and value those that dream it."

• "Throughout America's history, students have been given an opportunity to 'change their minds' because they've had the proper education to do so. The dumbed-down curriculum isn't useful if the student changes his mind later."

• "This is a trick question. In high school I made all a's and b's except for d's in algebra and typing. It's a good thing I became a lawyer."

.

Should high schools offer separate pathways to graduation for college preparatory students and for career-track students?

• "Bring back vo-tech!!! On hot days, I lament the lost opportunity to take A/C repair."

• "What's wrong with shop class anyway?"

• "Career ready high school students will have a positive economic impact to local and state government. Most importantly, these students will start careers instead of being a burden on society."

• "Ten years down the road, I think we all know which kids will be on the college track and which ones will be steered to career (because college isn't for them). If anyone can say with a straight face that it won't happen, I've got tickets for a tour of the Alamo basement I'd like to sell you."

• "Yes, but it doesn't have to be completely separate tracks. You must leave room for students to change direction without losing years. Bottom line, there must be electives. A future engineer might do well to take a welding class, even if it isn't on the college prep track."

• "Teachers want to do this, because it would be easier for them, but it is a terrible idea that will result in broader divide in our society -- as Commissioner Williams has said, we already know who will be put in the 'career track.' We want our work force to be well educated in every sector. That should be the goal."

• "Do not call it a 'track'"

• "Yes, but a careful yes. The decision has to be the student's/student's family's decision. Otherwise, you're back to the blackbirds/bluebirds tracks of 40 years ago."

• "Absolutely.... tried to run that flag up the pole on the Perot Commission years ago, but the screaming wouldn't stop. All of the 'older' civilizations of the world figured out a long time ago that all brains are not equal. Trades are paying more than folks with college diplomas. We have continued what Carl Parker referred to as 'dumbing down.'"

.

Should students in state-funded private schools be required to take the same tests as those in public schools?

• "Isn't the whole point of non-public school options to provide alternatives and opportunities for innovation?"

• "Why are we debating this question? Any school receiving tax-payer dollars should be held to the Sam standards."

• "You take the state money, you should get the state 'strings.'"

• "I thought the point of the charter schools was to allow greater flexibility and get rid of bureaucratic mandates like inane tests. Seems like the kids graduating from these schools are prepared for college, whereas not all their counterparts in public schools are ready. Proof is in the pudding."

• "Yes! If the state is giving money they should face the SAME requirements! Good enough for kids in public school and is good enough for kids in private schools!"

• "Tests serve the same purpose regardless of whether a school is public, public charter, or private. Public money for private schools will turn out to be a huge mistake for children, parents and other taxpayers. Only private investors will come out on top. If the state's leadership didn't already know this, there would be no reason to exempt private schools from the accountability system."

• "Maybe not the same test but definitely the same standard. If a student is in a private school that focuses on math and science, their testing should be weighted as such, with less emphasis on writing or literature."

• "Public money and public accountability tests have no place in private schools."

• "Absolutely. I'm not interested in allowing my tax dollars to be used without knowing whether I'm getting the bang for my buck."

• "Private schools are educating students better than public schools. Why try fixing what's NOT broken?"

Our thanks to this week's participants: Gene Acuna, Cathie Adams, Brandon Aghamalian, Jenny Aghamalian, Clyde Alexander, George Allen, David Anthony, Jay Arnold, Charles Bailey, Tom Banning, Dave Beckwith, Andrew Biar, Allen Blakemore, Tom Blanton, Hugh Brady, Chris Britton, Andy Brown, David Cabrales, Raif Calvert, Lydia Camarillo, Kerry Cammack, Thure Cannon, Elna Christopher, Harold Cook, Beth Cubriel, Randy Cubriel, Curtis Culwell, Denise Davis, Hector De Leon, June Deadrick, Tom Duffy, David Dunn, Richard Dyer, Jeff Eller, Jack Erskine, Ryan Erwin, Jon Fisher, Tom Forbes, Wil Galloway, Norman Garza, Dominic Giarratani, Bruce Gibson, Stephanie Gibson, Kinnan Golemon, Jim Grace, John Greytok, Anthony Haley, Wayne Hamilton, Bill Hammond, Adam Haynes, Jim Henson, Ken Hodges, Richie Jackson, Jason Johnson, Mark Jones, Robert Jones, Lisa Kaufman, Richard Khouri, Tom Kleinworth, Sandy Kress, Nick Lampson, Pete Laney, Dick Lavine, Leslie Lemon, Myra Leo, Richard Levy, Ruben Longoria, Matt Mackowiak, Bryan Mayes, Scott McCown, Mike McKinney, Robert Miller, Bee Moorhead, Mike Moses, Steve Murdock, Keir Murray, Nelson Nease, Pat Nugent, Nef Partida, Gardner Pate, Tom Phillips, Wayne Pierce, Allen Place, Kraege Polan, Gary Polland, Jay Propes, Ted Melina Raab, Bill Ratliff, Patrick Reinhart, Jason Sabo, Andy Sansom, Jim Sartwelle, Stan Schlueter, Bruce Scott, Robert Scott, Bradford Shields, Ed Small, Martha Smiley, Todd Smith, Larry Soward, Dennis Speight, Jason Stanford, Bob Strauser, Colin Strother, Michael Quinn Sullivan, Sherry Sylvester, Russ Tidwell, Gerard Torres, Trey Trainor, Vicki Truitt, Darren Whitehurst, Seth Winick, Alex Winslow, Peck Young, Angelo Zottarelli.

The Calendar

Monday, April 8

  • Senate State Affairs, 9 a.m.
  • House Elections, 10 a.m.
  • Senate Administration, 11 a.m.
  • Senate Nominations, 11:30 a.m.
  • House Government Efficiency and Reform, 2 p.m.
  • House International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs, 2 p.m.
  • House Investments and Financial Services, 2 p.m.
  • House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence, 2 p.m.
  • House Land and Resource Management, 2 p.m.
  • House Pensions, 2 p.m.
  • House Technology, 2 p.m.
  • House Ways and Means, 2 p.m.
  • Senate Open Government, 2 p.m.
  • Senate Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Homeland Security, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 9

  • House Transportation, 8 a.m.
  • Senate Business and Commerce, 8 a.m.
  • Senate Government Organization, 8 a.m.
  • Senate Health and Human Services, 9 a.m.
  • Senate Jurisprudence, 1:30 p.m.
  • House Ways and Means, 2 p.m.

Wednesday, April 10

  • Senate Transportation, 7:30 a.m.
  • House Appropriations Subcommittee on Budget Transparency and Reform, 8 a.m.
  • Senate Intergovernmental Relations, 1:30 p.m.
  • Senate Veteran Affairs and Military Installations, 1:30 p.m.
  • House Corrections, 2 p.m.
 

The Week in the Rearview Mirror

Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia were shot to death in their home in Forney, two months after his assistant, Mark Hasse, was shot and killed in broad daylight. No arrests have been made in either case.

University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall Jr., who has pressured UT-Austin to be more transparent and accountable, is coming under fire for failing to disclose a long history of courtroom battles before he was appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate to the board. The Texas Tribune found at least six lawsuits that were not listed on Hall’s regent application as required. One of the lawsuits — a nasty business dispute with multiple appeals — featured Dallas trial lawyer Lisa Blue, who was on Hall’s team, plus a cameo appearance by Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who was on the other side.

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Michael Williams told senators that the state intends to move forward with developing an A through F public school accountability rating system that would take effect in 2014. Williams said that although he had the authority to make the transition without enacting legislation, he did not want to formally approve the change without an opportunity to answer legislators’ questions. He did do it, however, without following the recommendations of two Texas Education Agency advisory panels, which opposed the plan he’s putting in place. 

As the gun control debate swirls around issues like background checks and mental health, a new study reveals that gun running into Mexico remains a large-scale problem. In their report, “The Way of the Gun,” researchers at the University of San Diego’s Trans-Border Institute estimated that as many as 253,000 firearms were purchased in the United States from 2010 to 2012 for the sole purpose of being trafficked across the border into Mexico. The figure is nearly three times the amount (about 88,000 firearms) trafficked between 1997 and 1999, when the federal assault weapons ban was in place.

The Texas Senate unanimously approved a couple of bills to reform the beleaguered Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas amid continuing controversy over grant awards. Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said the legislation would put “an ironclad system of checks and balances” in place that would force transparency and accountability on the agency. Both measures will now go to the House. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said legislators would consider adding money to the budget to finance CPRIT when the two chambers hold a conference committee on the budget bill.

Cable television providers, who pay more than $200 million in annual sales taxes on top of local franchise fees their satellite TV competitors don't have to pay, are attempting to end a disparity they characterize as an unfair advantage for their business rivals. The break, if granted, wouldn't go directly to the companies, but to the customers to whom they pass along those costs. 

Despite the addition of 80,600 jobs, the Texas unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.8 percent in February, up one-tenth of a percent since January, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Even with the increase, the state’s unemployment rate is better than this time last year, when it was at 7.1 percent, and it continues to be well below the national unemployment rate of 7.7 percent. Since February 2012, Texas has added 347,200 private and 359,800 non-agriculture jobs. Of the non-agriculture jobs, 3.5 percent are considered part of the government sector.

Political People and their Moves

Ron Kirk, the former Dallas mayor and U.S. trade representative, will join the Gibson Dunn law firm, floating between its Dallas and Washington, DC, offices and “advising global clients.” 

Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, told Austin’s KXAN-TV that she will run for reelection in 2014 and not — as some Democrats have hoped and rumored — for statewide office. 

F. Scott McCown, the former state district judge who has headed the Center for Public Policy Priorities since 2002, will leave that post this summer and start teaching at the University of Texas law school next fall. He’ll be director of the Children’s Rights Clinic there, teaching law students how to represent kids in child protective service cases. 

Will Hailer, who has worked for Democrats in Minnesota and Virginia and on campaigns in those and other states, is the new executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. Bill Brannon, who has the job now, will become a senior advisor to the party, spending less time there and more time on campaigns.

Kenneth Evans was appointed president of Lamar University. He had been dean of the business school at the University of Oklahoma. He will succeed James Simmons, who is retiring in July.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed:

Oscar Garcia of Port Isabel as judge of the 357th judicial district court in Cameron County. Garcia is an attorney in private practice.

James Scott of Beaumont to the Jefferson and Orange County Board of Pilot Commissioners. Scott is vice president of Trans-Global Solutions.

Quotes of the Week

I’m ahead of everybody else because, basically, I’m a soldier.

Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, in an interview with the Associated Press two weeks before he and his wife were murdered in their home

Governor, I hope you will give up the swagger and get serious about expanding Medicaid in Texas.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, urging Gov. Rick Perry to change his mind

The federal government is much like an unscrupulous individual trying to convince a junior high kid to start smoking. They start by giving a few cigarettes and saying, 'Just try it,' and there's a bait and switch that's coming.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on why he opposes expanding Medicaid

I’m incredibly passionate about a well-made piece of equipment, whether it’s an automobile or a weapon.

Gov. Rick Perry, hoping to lure gunmakers to Texas

In a lot of ways, I think they are straddling the fence. And the old Iowa cowboy in me tells me, if you’re straddling the fence too long, you’re going to get hurt.

Conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats of Iowa on Republican leaders embracing gay marriage, in the Washington Post

I think the individuals in North Korea understand that Austin, Texas, is now a very important city in America, as do corporate CEOs and other people who are moving here in record numbers.

Gov. Perry to CBS News after North Korea included Austin on its list of nuclear missile targets