The End of the Dewhurst Era--Will the Senate strip the powers of the next lite guv?
With the primary defeat of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a 12 year era comes to an end in the Texas Senate. However, there's already heavy buzz that, whoever succeeds him, they will be one of the least powerful lieutenant governors Texas has ever seen.
On paper, the governor is the most powerful elected official in Texas. But when it comes to the legislative process, the guv is at best an absentee landlord, and more realistically an occasional visitor. It's the lieutenant governor, in the dual role as president of the Senate, that really rules the roost. But, post-Dewhurst, the powers of that office may be radically curtailed by the members. The thinking is pretty simple: As it stands, the Senate isn't that fond of either major party candidate to fill the post.
If Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, becomes the state's first Democratic Lieutenant Governor since Bob Bullock in 1999, then she'll be governing over a majority Republican chamber – conceivably even a Republican super-majority. They are extremely unlikely to give a Democrat the upper hand in the session.
However, on the other side, there are is enough of a bipartisan caucus of the sane that has no desire to see Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, run rough shod over the chamber's operation. While he may have beaten Dewhurst (seen by many as the monotone voice of institutional Republicans), it was scarcely a surprise, or really much of an upset. Patrick was merely picking clean the bones of a career effectively ended when Dewhurst botched his 2012 US Senate run and let Ted Cruz win, and that was truly devastated by his mishandling of the 2012 abortion debate (to quote "The Ballard of Heisenberg", "This homie's already dead, he just doesn't know it yet."
Moreover, there are enough old machine Republicans who dislike and distrust Patrick, and enough Tea Partiers who think he is a simply a band wagon hopper.
More at http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-06-05/the-end-of-the-dewhurst-era/ .
[font color=green]I can't remember the last time that I posted a thread from the Austin Chronicle.[/font] 