Edwards Explains ...
Houston Democrats: Representative Edwards Explains His Vote on HB3
Kudos to Lyn over at HoustonDemocrats for getting to the bottom of Al Edwards' mysterious string of votes:
Representative Edwards took my phone call this afternoon and was very gracious in his explanation of his vote for HB3. And he had a very good reason. The conference committee will not include any members that voted against the bill. In order to ensure that the Democratic Party has a voice in crafting the final version of the bill, Mr. Edwards and the Democratic leadership decided one Democrate would have to vote for for the bill, since voting against it would not have prevented its passage. In addition, he feels that a positive aspect of the bill is the broadening of the tax base to include business that currently are exempt from the franchise tax.
Fine and well, Representative Edwards. But we're still keeping a wary eye on some of these votes. Exactly how many conference committees are we shooting for? HB2 & HB3 are two pretty hefty negotiations, so I'm curious of two things still:
Yet, I'm willing to fight fair here and wait to see the outcome of the final passage (and the votes on same) before letting the veins pop.
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Politics-20051 Comments
Those who talked with Rep. Edwards were mislead. I quote below from a seasoned Austin legislative observer of 30+ years, Ed Martin:
"Be under no illusion, Al's vote for HB3 and his previous white lights
gave no one a seat at the table, and it gave none of us a "voice,"
because the House leaders listen to only the corporate owners, the
right-wing think tanks, and the same masters that brought us Tom DeLay."
Those of you who think our Party should not direct criticism to those who claim our Party as their base and pledge their fidelity to our principles and then break ranks from our resistance movement are unwittingly not getting the point of our need to be a party of opposition. Edwards patently sold out and it is particularly galling that he hold a seat on the DNC as well as warms a seat in the legislature in our name. Resistance and opposition only works with discipline and solidarity; it does not work when our own break ranks and join those committed to bringing down our democracy.