Oh, for those who need a little trip down memory lane: Remember after the last session of the Texas House and that scandal, the one that cost Dennis Bonnen his Speakership? Remember the OTHER participant who was involved, who is still around, the one that provided the ‘Hit list’ of 10 GOP members that Bonnen wanted Empower Texans to go after in implicit exchange for floor media credentials? I’ve linked a refresher article on the scandal, but the question is this: How did ‘Hit list’ provider Dustin Burrows fare vs. the 10 rather senior GOP members on that ‘hit list’ in terms of committee assignments?
Dustin Burrows: Calendars (CHAIR), Corrections, Land & Resource Management’
HIT LIST’ MEMBERS
Steve Allison: Public Education, Public
Health Trent Ashby: Appropriations, Transportation
Ernest Bailes: Agriculture & Livestock, Corrections
Travis Clardy: Culture, Recreation & Tourism, Elections
Drew Darby: Energy Resources, Licensing & Administrative Procedures
Kyle Kacal: Environmental Regulation, Natural Resources
Stan Lambert: Business & Industry, Defense & Veterans’ Affairs
Tan Parker: Higher Education, Pensions, Investments & Financial Services (Vice Chair)
John Raney: Appropriations, Higher Education
Phil Stephenson; County Affairs, Pensions, Investments & Financial Services
So, the 10 senior member ended up with only a minor vice-chair and 2 Appropriations slots between them, while Burrows gets the VERY powerful Calendars Chair. I guess getting caught assisting a questionable quid pro quo is actually a way to ADVANCE your political career in the Austin swamp, while the targets of that quid pro quo STILL take a beating.
Realize: 9 of the 10 (except for Tan Parker, whose inclusion likely was some sort of personal animosity) would be legitimate primary targets, if folks wanted a more conservative Texas House. The issue of the scandal was not the targets involved; it was the clearly unethical approach leadership took to target them. And Burrows had been part of that- and pays not real price for it.
Texas Legislative Watch 