Congress

For the 16th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the Democratic U.S. Congressman from Houston about why his party got slaughtered on Election Day, whether Nancy Pelosi should continue in a leadership role, why the Obama administration has been forced to play defense and what health care reform should look like going forward.

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During his TribLive interview Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, was asked if — in light of his party's Election Day disemboweling — he would support outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi's bid for minority leader.

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His resounding defeat was only one of Election Day’s many hits to the solar plexus of the state Democratic Party. But the loss of the powerful and politically talented U.S. congressman from Waco engenders the most speculation. What's next for Chet Edwards?

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Today, five years after Tom DeLay’s fall from power, his trial on the money laundering and conspiracy charges that forced his resignation as U.S. House majority leader is finally slated to begin. What's at stake, other than voyeuristic curiosity about whether a former congressman will go to prison?

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At stake in next Tuesday's elections are powerful committee chairmanships in the U.S. House of Representatives, a few of which will likely go to members of the Texas delegation if the GOP does as predicted and wins back the majority. We've built an interactive chart that takes a closer look at which of our Republican congressmen are poised to wield the gavel — Smith? Hall? Hensarling? Burgess? Barton? — and how public policy could be impacted here and elsewhere.

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President Bill Clinton stops in San Antonio late Thursday to rally with U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, who's facing a tough re-election challenge from Republican Francisco "Quico" Canseco.

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For the 14th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the Republican congressman from Lewisville on the problems with federal health care reform, what's wrong with the way Barack Obama and the Democrats got it passed and how he'll lead the charge to repeal it — if his party takes back control of the U.S. House.

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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, concerned more this cycle about keeping incumbents in office than winning new seats, is honoring its promise to make its presence felt in CD-23, hitting GOP challenger Francisco "Quico" Canseco as he attempts to oust U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio.

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The latest in the ad wars between Bill Flores and U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, is a spot from the GOP challenger featuring U.S. Sen. John McCain.

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Our topics this week include the renewed debate over concealed handguns on campus, the advantages of not debating or talking to the press and the hotly contested battle between Congressman Chet Edwards and Republican Bill Flores in CD-17.

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The CD-17 congressman touts his record of creating and protecting jobs in two spots airing in select media markets.

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A new ad from the Bill Flores campaign spotlights incumbent Democrat Chet Edwards' "False" PolitiFact rating.

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Bill Flores is the latest in a line of Republicans to try to dislodge U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, from the country’s most Republican district held by a Democrat. But this time, he swears, it’s going to come out differently. The pundit class thinks he may be right.

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The American Future Fund is the second national group to enter the CD-17 race with a TV ad against U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards.

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U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, released a new ad today letting voters know he's so conservative that he says 'no' to President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but yes to protecting gun rights.

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U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, says his failure to report millions in stock transactions on financial disclosure reports from 2008 and 2009 resulted from a clerical error made by his accountant.

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Republican Bill Flores released his second television ad today in his race to unseat incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.

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As U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, goes, so go the Democrats? In a hyper-partisan year, with control of the U.S. House up for grabs, all eyes are on Congressional District 17, the most Republican district in America held by a Democrat. Pundits think Edwards may finally get beat: Were he to survive, a D.C. analyst says, it would be "one of the greatest Houdini acts ever seen in Texas politics." But the 10-term incumbent has seen awful political environments before. “The Washington Generals have a better record against Harlem Globetrotters than the [National Republican Congressional Committee] does in predicting my defeat," he says.

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Bob Richter, public editor of the San Antonio paper, responds to the GOP House candidate's charges of biased coverage.

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The rules of the Texas Senate are designed to create an orderly process that respects the rights of individual members. They have lasted this long because they do the job well and consider the need for compromise in the legislative operation. Trampling the rights of the minority is never a good idea — and yet it has happened over and over again. An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics.

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