Budget warriors
So while the House is locked down on electricity rates, the Senate is long gone, having passed the budget. There were the usual squabbles over CHIP and tax cuts, but nothing like the throwdown between Sens. Whitmire and Patrick. Our man Bob Garrett witnessed it all. For a sneak peak at his story on the Houstonians imbroglio, read on the jump:
By ROBERT T. GARRETT
Austin Bureau
rtgarrett@dallasnews.com
AUSTIN — When Houston voters tossed a radio talk-show host into the clubby Senate last year, everyone knew a volcano was building.
It finally blew Thursday. And boy, was it hot and ugly.
Sen. Dan Patrick, the freshman Republican who has challenged Senate traditions, ticked off Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat who is the Senate’s “dean” with 24 years of service, with a couple of club infractions.
First, Mr. Patrick, who rode anti-tax sentiments into office, said he and his staff easily could find $2.9 billion in cuts to the state budget. And he waved a three-page list, which he said he planned to distribute to the media.
Mr. Whitmire said he should have given it to budget writers and noted that Mr. Patrick’s fellow senators, not the media, vote on the budget.
Mr. Patrick, who has a talk show in Dallas and Houston, responded, “This member of the press has a vote.”
Mr. Whitmire shot back, “Are you a member of the press out here, or are you a senator?”
And Mr. Patrick countered, “Are you an attorney, or are you a senator?”
Mr. Whitmire: “You need to share your Senate work if you’re serious about it.”
The two men explained what set off the acrimonious exchange.
Mr. Whitmire said it was a finger-wagging “lecture” that Mr. Patrick gave Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston. Mr. Gallegos is recovering from a liver transplant. But he returned to the Senate to vote on the budget.
Mr. Whitmire said to Mr. Patrick: “You got my attention because you blasted my best friend a while ago.”
Mr. Patrick said a remark by Mr. Gallegos, claiming that last year’s property-tax cuts mainly favor the rich at the expense spending to help poor Texans, made him angry.
“They’re not all rich,” Mr. Patrick said. “Somebody needs to stand up for middle-class Texans.”