Best GOP Gun at Boot Hill

Joe Straus

Thanks and farewell to a true public servant: As the national and state Republican Party has moved steadily to the far, far right, Texas House Speaker (and stout Republican) Joe Straus did what he could to keep the Lege from running completely off the rails. His reward? Continual attacks from his right flank for saving his party and his state from political and moral outrages, whether it was bashing transgender Texans or just ignoring basic needs like public education. How long could he continue to endure the unprincipled backlash? The answer came in October, when Straus announced he would not run for re-election, stepping down at the end of 2018, anticipating “greater opportunity to express my own views and priorities.”