The latest Dan Patrick news from The Texas Tribune.
Karen Hughes, a communications advisor to Speaker Joe Straus, told our TribLive audience this morning that it was "a little undemocratic" of the newly formed Independent Conservative Republicans of Texas not to invite every Republican in the House and Senate to join. Full Story
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State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, is promoting a new group — the Independent Conservative Republicans of Texas — on conservative talk radio this morning. Full Story
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While the director of the Department of Public Safety and some state senators argue that X-ray machines and metal detectors are critical in the wake of a shooting at the Capitol, the Governor and others in the Legislature worry that a gamut of security hurdles would make the place unwelcoming to the public. Full Story
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Rose Vela is no stranger to challenging establishment-backed judicial candidates — and unlike most who run upstart campaigns, she wins. But this year she's taking on Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, the appointee of a governor with the most formidable political machine in recent Texas history. Full Story
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Today marks the start of the last full week before the March 2 primaries. Accordingly, the papers are spilling some serious ink on down-ballot races. Full Story
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It's not every campaign rally where volunteers checking your bag at the door ask if you're carrying a concealed weapon. Then again, not every rally features Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent, Dan Patrick, and hordes of tearful, exuberant realtors, homeschoolers, farmers, and like-minded Washington, D.C. haters. Full Story
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Cowboys fans now have a new option for what to do on Super-Bowl Sunday: hear Ted Nugent croon and Sarah Palin rally. Tony Romo won't be there. Full Story
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Thanks to sites like Facebook and Twitter, we know the elected officials who represent us better than ever — sometimes in weirdly intimate ways. You can find out that Dan Patrick had to put his dog down, that Wayne Christian is a fan of real estate wunderkind and reality TV star Chad Rogers, and that Bill White just finished listening to a book on tape. But woe to the pol who hasn't updated her status in a year. Full Story
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More than a week after they surfaced in the Republican gubernatorial primary debate, the politics of abortion are again heating up. Full Story
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How will Thursday's shooting change security guidelines at the Capitol? Full Story
A man entered Sen. Dan Patrick's office, then fired shots outside the Capitol. No injuries have been reported. Full Story
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It’s the end of the week. Productivity is down and the need for distraction is up. Luckily, a psychology professor has a tool that could easily fill a political junkie's afternoon. Full Story
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State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, will be hiking, not running, in 2010. Full Story
Stiles and Thevenot collaborate on the salaries paid to superintendents, and even compare them on price per student… Ramsey’s look at redistricting and next year’s elections… Aguilar’s report on jails, brought to you by the federal agency that’s in the ag business… Rapoport’s peek at the power behind Texas pre-kindergarten programs… Smith’s conversation with Dan Patrick, in three parts… Grissom’s narrative on a circular immigration and deportation route financed by two governments… Ramshaw finds doctors agreeing on public policy and split on strategy and tactics… Hu’s latest Stump Interrupted puts the camera on Farouk Shami… Hamilton’s story on two retired cops who are taking on cargo theft in Texas… And Kreighbaum and Stiles pop open the itineraries of your folks in Congress. The best of our best from December 12 to 18, 2009. Full Story
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The Republican state senator from Houston on whether he wants to run for statewide office in Texas. Full Story
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The state senator from Houston and radio talk show host explains why he's for Governor Perry in the Republican primary but not against Senator Hutchison. Full Story
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The full twenty minutes with the Republican state senator from Houston, who talks power, politics and why he loves life in the Lege. Full Story
The Republican state senator from Houston explains why the longstanding parliamentary tradition is "arbitrary" — and why his party should better exercise its power. Full Story
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Nearly 130,000 students attend Texas charter schools, but 40,000 more are waiting to get in. Full Story
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Forget what I said on this week's TribCast, parroting the chatter around the Capitol: The state senator from Houston is not considering a primary challenge to his fellow Republican, Comptroller of Public Accounts Susan Combs. Full Story