The Paranoid Style in Texas Politics
Willie Nelson, describing his idea of freedom, once said, Im from Texas, and one of the reasons I like Texas is because theres no one in control.
The truth of that observation was never more apparent than last month, when Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst came unhinged at the statehouse and began threatening to imprison members of the Texas media.
Dewhursts freak-out bears examination, because it was one of those wonderfully revealing moments that shows how frustrating it can be for Texas reporters trying to gather facts from state officials. His knee-jerk disdain for the states press corps also pulled back the curtain on the Texas governments increasingly antagonistic disrespect for the publics right to knowa disrespect that began when George W. Bush and his designated media ass-kicker, Karen Hughes, began plotting ways to permanently change the cultureand the coverageof the states political reporters.
Dewhursts gavel turned to limp roadhouse okra when he lost control of the Senate chamber, the clock and perhaps his mind in the waning minutes of the raucous statehouse debate over Senate Bill 5, the thinly disguised attempt to ban abortion in Texas that launched state Sen. Wendy Davis now-famous filibuster.
More at http://www.texasobserver.org/the-paranoid-style-in-texas-politics/ .