The job of leading the minority party in the Texas House has long consisted, at best, of harm reduction and something like emergency room triage. At worst, it amounts to frantically herding several dozen cats—many of whom can be coaxed out of their homes by the GOP House speaker’s saucers of warm milk.
Since 2009, Dems have largely wielded their collective power to elevate their preferred Republican to the House speakership as a means to minimize damage and maximize some semblance of influence. That was once again the case in the 89th legislative session—though the net worth of that strategy seems to be ever diminishing.
Amid a barefisted Republican brawl for the speaker’s gavel, Democrats helped elect Lubbock state Representative Dustin Burrows as the leader of the lower chamber, going into a monumental session centered around the governor’s push for private school vouchers. Along with a new speaker, there were hordes of newly elected hardline conservatives entering the 150-member House who were eager to upend the establishment and push the agenda of the far right.
