Try, Try Again
What to know: Efforts to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying failed in the last legislative special session.
The TPPF take: TPPF is forming a coalition with other groups to renew efforts to ban this practice.
“Cities, counties, school districts, and taxpayer-funded associations across Texas spend millions of public dollars hiring lobbyists and political operatives to influence the Texas Legislature,” says TPPF’s Mandy Drogin. “The result is self-interested government entities preserving their own power, blocking spending discipline, shielding waste, and protecting education profiteers.”
For more on taxpayer-funded lobbying, click here.
Wine Moms Save America
What to know: Who will save America, Salon asks? Wine moms, like Renee Good.
The TPPF take: The left is seeking martyrs to help fuel an anti-Trump uprising.
“Elected officials on the left are whipping up hysteria not just to fundraise and fend off primary challenges from their even more extreme flanks, but to provoke confrontations that could produce martyrs,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “Martyrs, as history shows, are powerful accelerants for political violence. They rally the base and demonize opponents — with the two main strategic objectives being to pressure administrations to retreat while costing Republicans in the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential contest.”
For more on political violence, click here.
Reading is Fundamental!
What to know: How did Mississippi dramatically improve its test scores and educational outcomes? By focusing on reading.
The TPPF take: Reading proficiency is key to all other aspects of education.
“What starts as poor literacy begins to damage students’ psyches, as they are discouraged from the demanding task of wrestling with the text as something that might illuminate or even challenge them,” says TPPF’s Matthew McCormick. “Instead, they are rewarded for the simple task of perpetual engagement with the politics of resentment. Students who can’t read is one thing; students who can’t read but are confident in their ability to ‘analyze’ text and are inoculated against texts that might edify them are a danger to society.”
For more on literacy, click here.