Loud and clear: CHIP/legal immigrants
Don't mess with Texas? How about, Don't Mess With Dawnna.
Rep. Dukes, D-Austin, knew exactly what she was doing when she told the huge knot of state reps crowding around her last night that she refused to let Linda Harper Brown yank her anti-immigrant (that's right, i said it) amendment from consideration.
(And you know those guys normally wouldn't want to vote on that with their DESKMATE's voting machine, much less their own.)
She was forcing the House to take a stand, send a message, go on record on the idea of immigrants vs. illegal immigrants.
I mean, I haven't tracked her down today yet to ask her this. Because, I don't know, it's OBVIOUS what she was doing.
Clearly, she was mad as H-E-double-L at Linda Harper Brown for trying to knock non-citizen kids off the CHIP rolls (legal immigrants - illegal imms can't get CHIP) --- not to mention the slew of anti-immigrant (that's right, I said it) bills that would penalize the legal children of illegal immigrants.
Her decision to stick to her guns and force them to vote, on the record, on the amendment was classic human theater. What she did was force the House members to basically go on record that they didn't want to mess with children who are in this country legally.
She also forced a handful of members to go on record, publicly, that they actually have a problem with legal immigrants, too. Yeah. I said it.
As of this afternoon, the journal shows six of them who voted to save LHB's amendment from the block.
Notably absent from that list is LHB herself.
But two of her BFFs are on it:
- Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Houston, who got backup from LHB during her tortuous and short-lived run in the driver's seat of Jessica's Law.
- Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, who signed her name with LHB to a much-ballyhooed letter endorsing fellow Rep. Charlie Geren's primary opponent and, together, they were subjected to some wrist-slapping by fellow lawmakers for breaching House etiquette.
Debbie, Jodie and Linda all fought hard against the tax bill last year. Along with former Rep. Bill Keffer, God rest his term-in-office.
The others: Reps. Corbin Van Arsdale (huh?), Beverly Woolley (huh?), Dan Gattis, and Jim Jackson.