The House voted 72-71, with Craddick casting the tie-breaking vote, to keep the voucher amendment in the TEA Sunset Bill intact.
According to Quorum Report, SB 422 still has 80 amendments to go through and has survived at least one point of order while another was being offered by Rep. Jim "Cupcakes" Dunnam.
The voucher plan would help some at risk kids, approximately 5% from each district, but do nothing to fix the schools that the kids are being taken out of.
Rep. Kent Grusendorf says we have "a problem" with some of our schools. How about trying to solve the problem instead of just taking a few kids out of the schools and giving a big "fuck you" to the rest of the students. We should be trying to help all of Texas' children receive a better education.
Everytime someone says we should raise teacher pay or spend more money on schools, some Republican nutjob says we need to quit teaching evolution and we need to force kids to pray to Jesus. That's been going on for 30 years, so it's no surprise really that Texas is ranked 32nd in education.
All kids deserve a good education and a shot at a good life. Vouchers don't do anything for all students, just some of them.
UPDATE: The TEA Sunset bill was brought down on a point of order by Rep. Jim "Cupcakes" Dunnam, D-Waco. What was the culprit? Bad bill analysis, what else could it be in a Phil King bill.
Carter Casteel rocks my socks off.
I am so proud of Bob Hunter. Has a district with three Christian universities (the buckle of the historic Bible Belt), and is excitedly speaking out against vouchers -- because it's bad policy and bad for his district.
We could use some more old fashioned Chrisians like him. (And less like Phil King who loudly carries his Bible out of church -- the better to lure his prey . . . )
All I've got to say is that Senfronia is my she-ro! I think I'm in love.
Since I might actually have some free time over the next few days I'll try to post some pictures of the now-famous mic-grab on the ol' site.
way to go carter casteel, we love you to death...big ol' props to hochberg, turner & griggs...also, did anyone else see that near fistfight between geren & grusendorf? had to bring in sergeants to make sure everyone went back to their seats
carter darling, i'll show you my box anytime.
Dead but can return remember who elected Cradddick.
PS I take Geren in about 2 seconds
What a fun night! Fronia almost ripping the front mic off, Geren and Grusendorf exchanging fighting words, and Carter Casteel rocking the entire House Chamber.
I am tired of people saying that the bill went down on a point of order. While, technically, that is true, that point of order would not have been sustained by the speaker if the majority of the House members had not voted to tack on Geren's amendments and change the purpose of the bill. The members killed the bill, and to say it was a point of order seems to suggest that it was not the will of the majority of the body.
Geanie "I'll Pretend I'm Not Old Enough to Know What the G.I. Bill Was For" Morrison deserves the Meandering Mendacity award for her stunning comparison of vouchers to the G.I. Bill. I'd have rather seen Hunter clean her clock than Genen clean Grusendork's.
The phony comparison of private-school vouchers to the G.I. Bill was first put forward by the voucher lobby in 1997 and picked up by Rick Perry, who famously told a closed-door meeting of voucher lobbyists in December of that year that they should ignore "what I say publicly -- I'm for vouchers, folks." (check out the front-page Houston Chronicle story on this from Feb. 4, 1998.)
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Go Carter we love you and your box