Texas folds 'em

Last month, during the big dust-up about the anti-TSA bill in Texas that would have made TSA groping illegal, I wrote up a quick piece about the bill. In that post, I said this:

I didn't think the bill would ever become law, but I didn't think it would be because the Texas legislature would roll over at the first hint of resistance from the federal government.

Yesterday, it died for reasons that I did expect. Stop Austin Scanners, again, has the story:

This morning, HB 41/SB 29 died by parliamentary procedure, by failing to get sufficient votes to suspend the Texas Constitution to allow 2nd and 3rd readings on the same day.

[...] The Texas Constitution prohibits 2nd and 3rd readings on the same day unless 4/5th of the 150 member body consents to suspend the Constitution to pass the bill.

This would  not have happened if Governor Rick Perry had not waited to call the bill before the 11th hour, and House Speaker Joe Straus (both Republicans) not violated House rules by not bringing HB 41 for its first vote last Friday, June 24th after a quorum had been established and no other business but HB 41 was scheduled.  Speaker Straus later called HB 41 nothing more than a “publicity stunt” and the refused to acknowledge the Senate messenger yesterday.

Had Straus allowed the messenger deliver SB 29 at the time it was presented, the bill’s 2nd reading could have been completed yesterday, leaving open today for a constitutionally proper 3rd reading.  Instead, in a politically vulgar move, the Speaker manipulated the proceedings to force Representative Simpson to subvert the constitution he most fervently seeks to uphold by calling for its suspension to achieve final passage of SB 29.

Liberty died, not by force, but quietly choked out by political chicanery. Of the people, by the people, and for the people, indeed.