Y’all-itics: July 10, 2023

Hours after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan announced an agreement on property taxes, Patrick took our call to explain what made the deal. And what did not. The final version of this legislation included something new.

GUEST

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, (R) Texas

Y’all-itics: July 9, 2023

It has been another momentous term for the U.S. Supreme Court, full of bombshell decisions, from “gutting” affirmative action in college admissions, to upholding the Voting Rights Act. The high court has always made important and controversial decisions... one of the nation’s premiere constitutional law experts, Professor Stephen Vladeck from the University of Texas at Austin, says what makes this court stand out is how it is conducting its business.

** The Jasons recorded this interview hours before the SCOTUS ruling that struck down President Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt and their decision in the case involving a Colorado website designer and LGBTQ rights

GUEST

Stephen Vladeck, University of Texas School of Law

Texans pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation. And despite big promises, Texas Republicans still haven’t delivered relief to property owners. Can they finally agree on anything during the second special session now underway in Austin? The Jasons turn to the political insider’s insider to find out. And Scott Braddock, the editor of the Quorum Report, explains why property tax relief has become a “legislative Vietnam.”

GUEST

Scott Braddock, Quorum Report editor

www.quorumreport.com

Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is required to attend his own trial. But will he testify? What will his defense be? The Texas Senate laid out 29-pages of rules by which the Paxton impeachment trial will happen. Travis County GOP chairman and veteran political consultant Matt Mackowiak shares what he expects to happen next.

Guest:

Matt Mackowiak

Travis County GOP Chairman and veteran political consultant

A third political party is challenging two decades of Republican dominance in Texas. Former Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former Republican New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman argue the two-party system has created a one-party monopoly that deprives voters of choices and solutions. And they've come to Texas to drum up support for their new Forward Party. 

Guests

Andrew Yang

Forward Party Founder/Former Candidate for President

https://home.forwardparty.com

Christine Todd Whitman

Former NJ Governor

After the deadly 2021 winter blackouts that left millions of Texans in a deep freeze for days, lawmakers have now had two sessions to remedy the state's flawed power grid. In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons are joined by two experts who say recently passed "fixes" haven't made the grid more reliable, but that it could have been worse. 

Guests

Doug Lewin

Founder, Stoic Energy

Author, The Texas Energy and Power Newsletter

https://douglewin.substack.com/

Professor Ed Hirs

Energy Fellow, University of Houston

Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin have resumes and personas as big as Texas. These two legal icons will now prosecute the impeachment case against suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Their selection shows how serious House Republicans are in removing Paxton from office. But can even the best attorneys get the jury in this case – the state’s 31 senators – to put aside their next re-election and weigh the evidence in this case? This is their first extended interview together since they took the case.

Guest: 

Dick DeGuerin, Attorney

Rusty Hardin, Attorney

How serious is the Republican-led case against Attorney General Ken Paxton? He said all of it is “easily disproved”. But you’re about to hear all of the evidence collected by investigators from the Texas House General Investigating Committee – as told to lawmakers just before they voted to send up the articles of impeachment.

GUEST: 

The General Investigating Committee from the Texas House of Representatives.

You never know what to expect in the final week of a legislative session in Texas. But 2023? Wow. The Jasons have been in Austin all week, witnessing this drama, chaos and legislative two stepping in person. Joining them for a cold brew and hot topics are two veteran political journalists, KVUE’s Ashley Goudeau and the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Bud Kennedy.

GUESTS

Ashley Goudeau, KVUE Anchor/Reporter

 Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star Telegram

LOCATION: Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden

Despite months of warnings, anxiety and political battles, Title 42 appears to have ended with a whimper, not the expected bang. The pandemic-era health policy that allowed authorities to quickly expel migrants, even asylum seekers, is no longer in place. And the predicted migrant surge and chaos along our southern border simply has not happened. In fact, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says the number of illegal crossings has dropped by more than half. And in this episode of Y’all-itics, we explore why. The Jasons sit down for a cold one with Laura Collins, Director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative. That’s a fancy way of saying she’s an expert on immigration and the economics surrounding it, and she recently took part in a white paper about smart border policy for the 21st century. Collins says Title 42 was bad for humanitarian and enforcement reasons and tells us why its demise means we’re “back to normal” along our southern border. And she explains how a refugee crisis in the western hemisphere makes this much more than an American problem.

Guest:

Laura Collins, Director/Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative

Location:

George W. Bush Presidential Center