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July 17, 2017      6:19 PM

SB: Patrick meets Straus on the Speaker's preferred battlefield

Public education dominates the narrative for now, but the legislative combatants should not underestimate Patrick’s ability to undermine the speaker in the lower chamber

Throughout his ascendancy at the Texas Capitol, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has proven time and again the ability to adapt to the political environment. Unlike many in the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party from which he derives his support, Patrick comes to government to govern, not to protest.

Last week as Patrick rolled out his education plans, we saw him adapt because the environment had indeed changed ahead of the special session set to start tomorrow.

Speaker Joe Straus has all year invited Patrick to a debate about public education – the issue that represents Straus’ surest political footing with his members – and Patrick has finally shifted his rhetoric accordingly. The Speaker reset the landscape in recent weeks by focusing on public education and publicizing his concerns about suicides among transgender Texans as a consequence of passing restrictions on public restrooms based on gender.

Patrick quickly learned in his first session as a senator, back in 2007 when he entered government as a protester, that he wouldn’t get everything he wanted all at once.

By Scott Braddock

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