Texas Take

Hillary Clinton's poll lead grows, as Donald Trump tried to stop the bleeding as his campaign hits a rough patch. Texas' controversial Voter ID law is going to be reined in for the November election, after an adverse federal court ruling, and a meltdown in the Dallas County Republican Party could be a sign of things to come in the rest of Texas. These and other intriguing highlights of the political week are explored in this week's Texas Take: The Podcast -- now the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State.

Hillary Clinton makes history as the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party, with a cheering send-off from the Democratic National Convention, as the general election campaign begins in earnest -- even before the convention was over as Republican nominee Donald Trump grabbed the limelight. And then there was the almost meet-up between U.S. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Jr. in Houston as Attorney General Ken Paxton stayed in the headlines. These and other intriguing highlights of the political week are explored in this week's Texas Take: The Podcast – now the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State.

Donald Trump accepts the Republican nomination after Ted Cruz united the GOP against himself amid high drama, and Tim Kaine becomes Hillary Clinton's running mate. Plus, a major ruling on Voter ID and new controversy over the disposal of fetal tissue head to the Legislature for answers. These and other highlights of the political week are explored in this week's Texas Take: The Podcast.

As the tragedy of the Dallas police ambush continued to unfold, a public debate erupted over the complicated issues involved: Relations between police and African-American communities, Second Amendment gun rights and new limits on gun purchases. That, plus new rules that will require burying or cremating aborted fetuses and Ted Cruz speaking at Donald Trump's GOP national convention without an endorsement are the top of this week's Texas Take: The Podcast.

Three years after the state Senate filibuster that made Wendy Davis famous, the Supreme Court strikes down the law she was fighting against. Mike and Scott enlighten on the issues and politics going forward, with insight from Chronicle reporter Brian Rosenthal and from Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor who gives an insider’s update on two polls showing that The Donald has just a single-digit lead over Hillary Clinton in Red State Texas – and what this and all the other political developments of the week will mean in coming months.

Mike and Scott discuss how President Obama takes a hit on immigration, how the University of Texas wins the right to continue to use race and ethnicity in its admissions process, how the cure for a broken foster care system could be expensive, how Democrats hope the “Trump effect” will let then make gains in legislative elections and Ken Paxton faces a political test on imminent domain. 

Mike and Scott discuss the emotional and political fallout from the Pulse massacre in Orlando, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's unfortunate auto-tweet, the unlikely discussion happening around "common sense" gun control, and Donald Trump's fund-raising trip to Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. 

Texas Take: The Podcast is a weekly discussion about the wonderfully wacky world of Texas politics by Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau Chief Mike Ward and Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, an acclaimed Texas political newsletter.

Featuring Austin Bureau Chief Mike Ward; Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, an acclaimed Texas political newsletter; and Austin Bureau Reporter Brian M. Rosenthal, this week's conversation is about the real reasons behind all the chatter about bathroom bills and severance packages paid to employees in some state departments.

The Lone Star State’s politicians are outspoken, colorful, humorous and sometimes maddening characters who exemplify the historical Bigger Than Life view that Texas has of itself, whether in Austin or on the national stage. That ensures that Texas politics is seldom boring, often amusing and never lacking in colorful intrigue and drama. The Houston Chronicle’s Austin Bureau covers all the action, from smoke-filled room to raucous filibuster, and each week we go behind the top headlines for an insider’s skinny on what’s really going on with insiders at the storied Pink Dome. Informative, relevant, entertaining and often hilarious. Direct from Austin, this is the “Texas Take.”

  The Lone Star State’s politicians are outspoken, colorful, humorous and sometimes maddening characters who exemplify the historical Bigger Than Life view that Texas has of itself, whether in Austin or on the national stage. That ensures that Texas politics is seldom boring, often amusing and never lacking in colorful intrigue and drama. The Houston Chronicle’s Austin Bureau covers all the action, from smoke-filled room to raucous filibuster, and each week we go behind the top headlines for an insider’s skinny on what’s really going on with insiders at the storied Pink Dome. Informative, relevant, entertaining and often hilarious. Direct from Austin, this is the “Texas Take.”

Join the conversation this week featuring Austin Bureau Chief Mike Ward; Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, an acclaimed Texas political newsletter; and Austin Bureau Reporters Brian M. Rosenthal and Andrea Zelinski.

So 'Come and Take It," folks, to borrow a phrase from Texas history.