The Texas House is in the Balance

Another election cycle, another loss of seats for Republicans in the Texas House. Once again, the Texas House is in the balance.

Currently, Republicans hold an eight vote majority in the Texas House and thus control the major committee chair positions. If five seats change in this year's election, the Texas House will be held be the Democrat Party which means a new Speaker and a new agenda.

If the Democrats take control of the Texas House, the new Speaker will be Representative Sylvester Turner, a long-time Representative from Houston. While a new Speakership will be refreshing for many Republicans like Jim Keffer, Delwin Jones, Tommy Merritt, Byron Cook, and Charlie Geren, the agenda that will be upheld through the Democrat leadership will not be refreshing for the Republican base.

This is not the same Democrat Party of our parents' generation. The Democrat Party, as it currently stands, no longer stands up for taxpayer interests. The Democrat Party, even in Texas, supports increasing government control and spending on our daily lives. They oppose laws such as the voter ID bill that will promote integrity in our elections. The elected officials of the Democratic Party are rabid pro-choice. The rural Democrats and common sense Democrats that opposed a state-wide income tax in Texas twenty years ago have been long-purged in the Democrat Primary or by Republican victories in the last twenty years.

The Democrat Party in the Texas House will govern to the left of center, increasing government spending, social spending, and therefore taxes on the citizens of Texas. Texas was rated as having the best economy in the country during the current economic downturn. With Democrats in charge of the appropriations and tax process, that may change in Texas.

Mark Twain once said, "No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session." This will definitely be true if the current form of the Democrat Party takes control of the Texas House.