What a year in politics; what’s next?

Approximately 15 of the 150 House members on hand for the opening of the legislative session in 2005 won’t be back in 2007. If Iraq indeed achieves democracy, it may want to use something other than the Texas of recent years as a role model.

Among the few big things that Gov. Rick Perry, Senate presiding officer Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Tom Craddick have agreed on in recent years was drawing new congressional districts, plus some budgets.

Solving the state’s over-reliance on property taxes to finance schools is another matter.

Now they head into the new year with Perry having named his own study panel to devise a plan to revise the tax system. Perry chose to head up the group former Democratic Comptroller John Sharp—who lost races for lieutenant governor first to Perry in 1998 and then to Dewhurst in 2002.

Appointing the panel itself was a slap in the face to the Legislature, and choosing the guy to head it who’d said some mean things about Dewhurst in 2002 seemed a direct thumbing of the gubernatorial nose at Dewhurst.

The lieutenant governor responded several weeks later by naming his own panel of senators to study the matter— including school finance, which Perry told the Sharp-headed body to ignore. The second line of Dewhurst’s press release might have advised Perry, “Strong letter follows.”

Speaker Craddick at first agreed the House would participate in a joint study, but changed his mind and said he’d wait to see what Perry’s committee proposes. Perry may have forgotten, or chosen to ignore, the fact that any tax restructuring will have to get past the Legislature. The governor has proven he can lead negatively, by having the Legislature balance its budget in 2003 solely with cuts, after he said he’d veto any new taxes. But it’s something else to lead positively.

That said, many onlookers view the study committee as simply a way to buy time, in the wake of a Supreme Court order to fix the property tax, until he can get past state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn in the GOP primary March 7.

Perry, Craddick, Dewhurst and Strayhorn are the Republican officials most involved in Texas‚ fiscal affairs. But their trust in each other is minimal, and their relationship is such that if any one of the four was hit by a truck, the other three might collectively be able to produce a teardrop.

The congressional redistricting scenario executed at the behest of U. S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, with the help of all four of the folks mentioned above, indeed resulted in Republicans taking over the Texas House and then getting a half-dozen more Texas congressmen.

But funneling the corporate money into the 2002 elections to get it done also resulted in a stack of ironies, including DeLay’s indictment on money-laundering and conspiracy charges.

Another irony, that put “former” in front of DeLay’s majority leader title, is that DeLay had to step aside because of Republican rules he helped write requiring indictees to step aside at least temporarily from congressional leadership positions.

Yet another irony is DeLay’s attorney’s success in pushing aside the first judge assigned to the case, Democrat Bob Perkins of Austin, on grounds he might be too partisan.

But that victory was tempered when DeLay’s hope for a speedy trial, so he could get his leadership job back, was dashed. Replacement Judge Pat Priest of San Antonio, also a Democrat, postponed the trial until an appeal is completed on his ruling to dismiss DeLay’s conspiracy indictment.

So the man seeking a quick trial finds it will likely be weeks, if not months, before the matter is heard.

Approximately 15 of the 150 House members on hand for the opening of the legislative session in 2005 won’t be back in 2007.

And there are spirited challenges of several GOP legislators in primary races—some for throwing in with Democrats to push for more money for schools, and some for failing to do so.

Education officials and many concerned parents pray 2006 will alter the political landscape, with Texans choosing lawmakers who will push to spend significantly more money on the education and health care of Texas kids.

But if enough Texans like how things are now, or don’t care enough to show up and vote, there may not be much change at all. Contact McNeely at dmcneely@austin.rr.com

or 512/458-2963