COMMENTARY -- As the session becomes but a memory, a few words are in order about the disappointing performance of the Senate's presiding officer, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
His denials notwithstanding, most in the Capitol now believe that Dewhurst conspired with Sen. Tommy Williams to trick the other senators on the first day of the session. Williams surprised his colleagues by proposing a new rule mandating the Senate take up voter ID, a bill that Democrats otherwise had the votes to block.
The Williams play ultimately led to a session-killing filibuster in the House, by a handful of Democrats. But if Dewhurst was blindsided by Williams as he said, why did he reward him with one of the most important chairmanships at his disposal – Senate Administration?
Perhaps it was because of his upcoming wedding in June and the preparations were distracting. But Dewhurst's erraticism, lack of concentration and inability to keep a schedule were the talk of almost every senator. He was rarely in the chair. By most reports, he was inconsistent and dismissive in his dealings with Speaker Joe Straus. He surprised and blindsided the House by not sending more than 400 bills in those critical final days.
A few House Democrats pulled off a filibuster. But it was Dewhurst that made it all but impossible to properly process and review over 400 bills.
But quirkiness is not fatal in Texas politics.
The problem in this session is the long list of good government bills Dewhurst derailed.
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Dewhurst and Williams
News 8's Harvey Kronberg examines what may have conspired between Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Tommy Williams.
 
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Despite claiming to support the conservative notion of allowing parents to pay to enroll their kids in CHIP, he sent it to a committee where the chairman refused to hear it. A popular constitutional amendment would have permitted the Legislature to bring itself back into session to override Dewhurst's veto.
Guess what? That bill was handed off to a senator that then opposed it. Guess what? It died.
Freed of Tom Craddick's iron fist, the House sent a bill to the Senate that would have prevented corporate and union dollars in election campaigns – a fix to the 2002 Tom DeLay inspired TAB and TRMPAC scandals. The same fate ensued for this bill, it was diverted to a senator who opposed it and it died.
This is just a fraction of the list.
I don't know what is in Dewhurst's future, but he is a talented man capable of doing well in politics. But in this five-month Legislature, he did not do right by his state or the Texas Senate.
