Burnt Orange Report

The Repubs seem to be shortsighted on everything from the environment to the national budget to Iraq. Why would Perry be any different?

My vote for the biggest dumbass of them all is Rep. Grusendorf (R- Arlington)-- the man who has stubbornly led the Republican leadership into this mess by insisting on killing a system that benefits over 85% of school districts, including his own.

Talk about a strategic nightmare.

What are the possibilities that they get this thing done during this session? Pretty damn slim. I know another special session seems like a bad idea, but I think there will be a lot of political pressure from the wealthier districts to get something done soon. Not that it matters, my understanding is that no change would impact schoolchildren until Fall '05. Is that right?

I was recruited to participate in a market research focus group discussion last week in Houston about capping the property appraisal at 3%. The moderator- whom I've seen doing political analysis on one of the cable channels-- also asked our one-word impressions of RIck Perry, Tom Craddick, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and John Cornyn. There was also a review the president's press conference and we were equipped with "perceptometers" rating his statements. This 28 member group overwhelmingly rejected the 3% cap. When the group began the group was split 15-13 against. When it was over and the group had more information, the margin increased to 17-11 against capping the appraised amount to provide "tax relief" to Texans. They really tried to convince the group with ridiculous arguments like "local control is bad-- trust the state legislature (!!???)", "all taxes are bad", old people were going to be taxed out of their homes". I don't know the sponsor of the study but it was an expensive one-- each of us received $100 for 2 & 1/2 hours + moderator expenses etc. My impression was that this study was going to be repeated in several other Texas cities. Anyone have any information?

I was recruited to participate in a market research focus group discussion last week in Houston about capping the property appraisal at 3%. The moderator- whom I've seen doing political analysis on one of the cable channels-- also asked our one-word impressions of RIck Perry, Tom Craddick, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and John Cornyn. There was also a review the president's press conference and we were equipped with "perceptometers" rating his statements. This 28 member group overwhelmingly rejected the 3% cap. When the group began the group was split 15-13 against. When it was over and the group had more information, the margin increased to 17-11 against capping the appraised amount to provide "tax relief" to Texans. They really tried to convince the group with ridiculous arguments like "local control is bad-- trust the state legislature (!!???)", "all taxes are bad", old people were going to be taxed out of their homes". I don't know the sponsor of the study but it was an expensive one-- each of us received $100 for 2 & 1/2 hours + moderator expenses etc. My impression was that this study was going to be repeated in several other Texas cities. Anyone have any information?

I think a major part of the problem here is that the Republican majority, plus our Governor, are really anti-government libertarians at heart. They could care less about whether public education survives, the important thing to them is to cut our already miserably low tax burden. As with many things our elected officials do these days, this is all just a great show, creating the appearance of activity.