Conservative Accomplishments of the 80th Legislature

Neeley bowing out as TEA chief July 1
State Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley, whose tenure was marked by a new state test, a massive influx of students displaced by hurricanes and a rollout of the nation's biggest teacher merit pay plan, announced her resignation Wednesday after losing the support of Gov. Rick Perry.

Texas' Education Commissioner to Resign
State Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley will resign July 1 at the behest of Gov. Rick Perry, ending her tenure as head of the Texas Education Agency at 3 1/2 years.

King of Roads Known for Giving Little Ground
State Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson is proud that he can still work a bulldozer, a skill he learned early on the ranch and in the gas fields. Others would say he still drives it at meetings, committee hearings and town hall gatherings.

In Texas, Obama Says He Wants Guantanamo Bay Closed
Barack Obama told a Texas crowd on Sunday that he wants the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainee facility closed - a step the Bush administration is considering.

Bloomberg Is a Wild Card for the Nation
He no longer brags about his dating exploits or shows off his impolitic side. He has largely reined in his temper with reporters and loosened his manner with voters. But Michael R. Bloomberg, New York's once- improbable mayor, would still be a highly unlikely presidential contender.

Republican Fred Thompson Aims For Blogger - In - Chief
If Republican Fred Thompson enters the presidential race next month as expected, the actor and former senator will be aiming to add another title to a crowded resume -- blogger-in-chief.

Fighting the Good Fight
The senators who voted yesterday to cut off debate on the immigration bill did the nation no good deed. We're particularly disappointed that Texas Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn sided with the bunch who effectively killed it.

Make the Immigration Bill another "Miers Moment" for President Bush
Conservatives need to make this another "Miers Moment" for George W. Bush. Just as we did to stop the risible Supreme Court nomination of Hapless Harriett, conservatives must band together to stop the new Senate illegal immigration "reform" bill. Let us all stand, respectfully, in President Bush's path with our right hands raised signaling "halt." We've done it before. We can do it again.

Hutchison Refuses to Back Immigration Bill
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who has been pressured heavily by the White House and Republican leadership to support a sweeping immigration overhaul, announced Thursday that she will vote against reviving the bill when it returns to the Senate floor next week. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, also said he will oppose bringing up a bill he deems "deeply flawed."

Immigration Bill Advances in Senate
The Senate resurrected the immigration bill that could legalize millions of unlawful immigrants Tuesday, but the delicate compromise faces the same threats that derailed it earlier this month.

Immigration Bill Faces Rough Road
The White House says it has the votes to resurrect the immigration bill on the Senate floor today, though enough senators said they may change their minds in other votes later this week to leave the bill's ultimate fate in doubt.

Sen. Hutchison Votes Against Immigration Bill, Urges New Effort
U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) today voted against S. 1639, the immigration reform bill, in a cloture vote to end debate, which failed 46-53.

Statement on Bipartisan Rejection of Flawed Immigration Bill Reiterates Support for Renewed Effort to Secure the Border & Fix Broken Immigration System
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the top Republican on the Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee, made a statement regarding the bipartisan vote rejecting the flawed immigration reform bill.

The Queen and Free Speech
by Fred Thompson
Last week, I was fortunate enough to spend some time in London. Being there, I couldn't help but think how much America owes to British culture and traditions. Even our past disagreements, like that "taxation without representation" thing, had their roots in British thought. The American Revolution can, in fact, be traced directly back to ideas set forth by the great British thinkers such as John Locke and Adam Smith.

TFR Releases Scorecard, Names 'Taxpayer Heroes'
By Michael Quinn Sullivan
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility is pleased to present the "House edition" of our scorecard of the 80th Session of the Texas Legislature (the Senate edition will be released next month).

It Didn't Work
by Gary Bauer
The Senate's "grand compromise" bill on comprehensive immigration reform has failed! The deeply flawed bill fell 14 votes short of the 60 necessary to end debate and move ahead to a full vote. The lopsided vote means that in the last two days, 18 senators who originally supported the bill-six Democrats and 12 Republicans-ultimately changed their minds and voted against it. In a press conference after the vote, a dejected President Bush said, "A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn't find common ground. It didn't work." All indications are that this vote puts an end to efforts to reform immigration this year, and possibly until after the 2008 election.

Justices Limit Use of Race in School Policies
With competing blocs of justices claiming the mantle of Brown vs. Board of Education, a bitterly divided Supreme Court declared Thursday that public school systems can't seek to achieve or maintain integration through measures that take explicit account of a student's race.

The Other Thing Reagan Said in Berlin
Western leaders searching for a long-term strategy to defend our civilization from fundamentalist Islam ought to reread the speech President Reagan delivered at the Berlin Wall 20 years ago this month.

Venable: Legislators Hid Behind Reagan
Though Ronald Reagan's name is invoked often in the Texas Legislature, precious few legislators champion Reagan's vision.

GOP Preps for Talk Radio Confrontation
House Republican lawmakers are preparing to fight anticipated Democratic efforts to regulate talk radio by reviving rules requiring stations to balance conservative hosts such as Rush Limbaugh with liberals such as Al Franken.

High Court Upholds Dismissal of Indictment Against DeLay
The state's highest criminal court today affirmed the 2005 dismissal of a felony indictment against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and two associates.

Democrats Hope to Replicate Success in Dallas Here
Democrats in Harris County have been eyeing Dallas County since last November, when their counterparts recaptured every countywide seat. The locals hope to mirror that success here.