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Gov. Greg Abbott puts on a friendly face as he tries to win over support for vouchers during an event at the Texas Capitol.
The concerns that fed that resistance — namely, that vouchers siphon money away from public schools to fund private education for the children of wealthy Texans — haven't changed. That's especially true in small towns where school districts are hurting for cash to keep campuses open.
Yet, Gov. Greg Abbott just won't give up.
On Monday, lawmakers began a special session ordered by the Republican governor to push through the voucher plan he spent months touting on a statewide tour. After winning a third term, Abbott seemed to think he had political capital to spare. Even so, his proposal died an ugly death in the Texas House, where Dems and rural representatives from his own party — predictably — balked.
“If we do not win in that first special session, we will have another special special session and we’ll come back again,” Abbott threatened last month when he called the current session. “And then if we don’t win that time, I think it’s time to send this to the voters themselves.”
Here's the problem: Abbott's come up with nothing to sweeten the pot for Dems or Republicans representing rural districts. Zero, zippo, zilch, jack shit.
Sure, the governor's scowled and talked tough — and he continues to call vouchers "education savings accounts" in an attempt to make folks forget what they really are. But that's not enough.
Beyond that, the legislative environment has grown even more dicey than in the regular session. Over the past few days, House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Texas Senate, have engaged in open verbal warfare, including Patrick's ludicrous demand that Phelan resign. That's not going to help.
"Even if you set aside the hostilities between Patrick and Phelan that have come out over the past several days, the prospect for vouchers in the Texas Legislature seem pretty dim," said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Some sort of voucher package is likely to get swift approval in the GOP-controlled Senate, which Patrick rules with an iron fist. However, the proposals coming out of the Senate Education Committee so far are unlikely to gain support in the House because they don't include significant long-term spending on public education — and that's what's needed to sway opponents.
"What we've seen so far just doesn't address the historic concerns of Democrats and rural Republicans that we've seen over the past 15 or so years," Jillson said. "You'd have to pony up considerably more to convince rural Republicans that their schools aren't losing in the short term and the long term."
What's clear is that Abbott's strategy of trying to bully lawmakers into swallowing his shit sandwich hasn't worked. Unless he's prepared to come up with a major compromise — something he's so far shown no willingness to do — he can call all the special sessions he wants and end up with nothing to show.
Abbott's big, bad threat to put vouchers to a public vote is also a probable loser, according to Jillson. For one, it's a huge undertaking to get measures onto the statewide ballot. Second, it's unlikely the majority of Texas voters are any more enthusiastic than their elected representatives about Abbott's plan.
"I think Abbott, as a lot of politicians do, overestimated his own popularity and thought that the public was listening as he traveled around the state [extolling vouchers]," Jillson said. "In reality, people weren't."
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