Interesting story in the Quorum Report by Harvey Kronberg. HK: Special session drumbeat and collateral damage Chest beating is fun but lots of unintended casualties on both sides. With the primaries over, one would think the silly season would go into hiatus until the fall elections. But that was then, this is now and there appears to be no penalty for silliness—especially where the border is concerned. So today’s drumbeat is a call by Tea Party types for Governor Rick Perry to call a special session on immigration and the border. One political calculation is that no rhetorical excess is off limits and it is an issue that will “inform” the summer campaign season and potentially drive turnout in the fall. Now, let’s not cast too wide a net. For some the border situation is legitimately worrisome. But as the orchestrated drum beat increases it is abundantly clear that this is show business and, at the very least, Republican presidential primary politics is also part of the game. Although this is Texas -- which means anything can happen -- the odds of a special session lead by a lame duck governor and Lt. Governor (with few arrows left in their quivers) and slews of lawmakers set to exit the stage are….damned close to zero. First, there is the small truth that there is little the Legislature or the state of Texas can do, especially to the hordes of children fleeing Central America. But that is a substantive issue and very little of the chest beating going on right now has anything to do with substance. This is show business. It is generally a bad idea for Governors to call special sessions unless driven to do so by a court driven mandate or unfinished legislative business. They are costly and unpredictable and can quickly turn into quicksand. Even a Governor and Lt. Governor at the peak of their powers can lose control. It is an even worse idea to do so with no clear policy destination in mind. Bringing 181 lawmakers together to promote posturing on all sides of the issue solves no problems and would create nothing but bad media as the general helplessness of the Legislature would be on full display. But there are other reasons a special session is a bad idea. There would be enormous pressure to put much of Republican platform on the Call --something candidate Greg Abbott wants nothing to do with. If there is such a thing as a swing voter in Texas, having the Lege in rhetorical overdrive could likely change the campaign narrative. Republicans are counting on a low Hispanic turnout in the midterm November election. An in your face racially and ethnically charged special session might actually goose the very voters one side would prefer remain sedated. It could be a gift for Davis and Van de Putte. An unintended consequence would be that a special session would resolve the constitutional conundrum of how to properly convene the House to pass a bill of impeachment against UT Regent Wallace Hall. But the real fun comes with the TV cameras. The finger pointing and the blame game would hit new heights as lawmakers struggle to rhetorically outdo each other but flounder to come up with anything more significant than increasing spending for border law enforcement – something that does not require a session. So far, we have heard much wailing and seen much gnashing of teeth, but no serious proposals other than, “Don’t stand there, do something.” The whole melodrama is a win for Ted Cruz supporters because they get to complain that Rick Perry is either unable or unwilling to take any measure necessary to deal with the “crisis”. In the meantime, it’s a win-win for the inflamed. They get credit for demanding a session and they suffer no penalties when clearer minds refuse them. Ironically, it could also be a win for Democrats who need all the help they can get to drive their narrative. By Harvey Kronberg Copyright June 18, 2014, Harvey Kronberg, quorumreport, All rights are reserved (h/t Rep. Patricia Fincher Harless)
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 04:43:05 +0000
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