August 5, 2013 6:30 AM

In Texas, all speech is free...as long as you're a Conservative White Christian

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

(apologies to Keith Olbermann)

TX State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R- Southlake)

After spending their first special session watching State Sen Wendy Davis’ (D) marathon filibuster and their second passing the abortion restrictions Davis was fighting against, the Texas legislature is back for a third session. Now, they need to handle the transportation measure that was the motivation for the original special session, before they got sidetracked with anti-abortion legislation. Unfortunately for the state’s taxpayers, the extra time will cost them an additional $2.4 million. But one lawmaker has an idea for who should foot part of that bill: Davis herself. State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he thinks Davis should be on the hook for the cost of the extra lawmaking sessions…. “I am upset at the cost,” Capriglione said. “I think we need to remember why we are having this extra special session. One state senator, in an effort to capture national attention, forced this special session. I firmly believe that Sen. Wendy Davis should reimburse the taxpayers for the entire cost of the second special session. I am sure that she has raised enough money at her Washington, D.C., fundraiser to cover the cost.”

It’s refreshing to know that at least one Texas Republican recognizes the cost of free (anti-American, Liberal, Left-wing) speech. ‘Course, Capriglione conveniently forgot to mention (if he ever even acknowledged it to begin with) the role that Republicans played in the cost of another special session. If they’d passed the transportation bill and left abortion restrictions for another time, they would have save Texas taxpayers that $2.4 million. Then again, it’s only partisan profligacy when Democrats do it, right?

What Capriglione’s chosen to blow right by is that Davis was simply using the rules of the Texas Senate to her advantage- the same rights Republicans would be demanding for themselves if they were in the minority. If Republicans really want to save money (and stifle free speech), it’s within their power to change the rules. Instead of demanding that Davis pay for exercising her rights under the rules as they’re written, Republicans like Capriglione should put up or shut up. If they want to prove their bona fides as fiscal Conservatives, they should lose the hypocrisy and their expensive anti-women, anti-minority agenda and work on making the Lone Star State a better place for ALL Texans. Outlawing abortion and disenfranchising the poor and minorities do nothing to create jobs. Those things do make it easier for Republicans to win elections…like Republicans in Texas need help in that department. Most Texans would vote for a ham sandwich if it had an “R” behind its name.

If Capriglione wants to hold someone responsible for the $2.4 million spent on the special session, he should blame Governor Pander McCrazy. The Republican abortion ban didn’t pass during the regular session; Rick Perry was the one who called the legislature back into session. Senators had debated the abortion ban, it didn’t pass in time, and that should have been the end of it. Hey, that’s the way legislating is sometimes; you don’t always get what you want…and sometimes not even what you need. Gov. Goodhair, who evidently has God on speed dial, decided that the godly and righteous thing to do was to spend as much taxpayer money as possible to keep women from having the right to control their bodies.

The worst part about Capriglione’s “proposal” is that it cheapens free speech. When you deem it appropriate to hold the losing side liable for costs incurred in a legitimate debate, you’re simply trying to squash dissent. For a Republican (And aren’t they supposed to be all about freedom and liberty?) to attempt to reserve the 1st Amendment for the majority party is as reprehensible as it is anti-democratic.

Republicans tend to view themselves as morally superior and ordained by God. With a penchant for playing fast and loose with the truth, they’re more often than not just plain wrong. They’re just arrogant enough to hold Democrats responsible for problems that by all rights should be laid at their feet. In Capriglione’s case, he’s too busy trying to keep up appearances and burnish his Right-wing street creed to do the job he was elected to do. ‘Course, that would require vision and leadership, something most Texas Republicans wouldn’t recognize if they showed up with a pair of kneepads and a tube of Astroglide.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on August 5, 2013 6:30 AM.

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