Sine Die, Die, Die, DIE!

140 Days of cruelty, corruption, and corporate handouts is finally over.

The 89th Texas Legislature is over, but the damage will echo for years. This session was 100% about control. Control over classrooms, bodies, ballots, and truth itself. In 140 days, Republican lawmakers pushed through some of the most cynical, cruel, and corrupt legislation we’ve seen in modern Texas history, and they did it with a smile.

Don’t let them pretend otherwise. Don’t let them say it was about “parents’ rights” or “border security” or “fiscal responsibility.” It was about power. It was about erasing opposition. And they think we’ll move on.

We won’t.

They passed plenty of garbage. But there’s the silver lining. They put it all in writing.

So, as they strut home to take credit for gutting public schools and bullying kids, we’re going to do something radical, and that’s pay attention. Because we’ve got receipts, and come November 2026 (and every fight before then), we plan to use them.

And the worst bill to pass this session?

The $1 billion giveaway to the wealthy.

Approximately 21% of children under 5 years old in Texas live in poverty. Texas is #14 in America for the highest poverty rates, with a poverty rate of 13.7%. Our poverty rate is well above the national average.

Did Republicans do anything this session to alleviate the suffering of so many Texans, especially Texas children?

No, their biggest focus this year was their voucher scheme, which is a handout to the wealthy, and with a pricetag of $1 billion in taxpayer dollars. With no income eligibility cap, affluent households can access these funds, potentially diverting resources from public schools that serve the majority of Texas students.

The program’s implementation is scheduled for the 2026–2027 school year, with an initial funding cap of $1 billion. However, projections estimate that costs could escalate to $4.5 billion annually by 2030, raising concerns about the long-term financial impact on the state’s education budget.

In San Antonio, the $10,000 voucher would fully cover base tuition at only about 56% of local private schools, with some institutions charging over $34,000 annually. The Legislative Budget Board made clear that approximately 85% of vouchers would be allocated to students already attending private schools.

75% of Texas’ school-age children are students of color. And when you look at the poverty rates for children based on racial demographics, it becomes evident that this voucher scam wasn’t just about a handout to the wealthy, but also about racial segregation.

Every single Republican in the Senate voted in favor of this. Nearly every Republican in the House also voted for it, with a few exceptions. Not one Democrat voted on it.

Republicans don’t vote on policy, though. They vote on misinformation.

A friend in Irving, who has been door-knocking for the local runoff elections, said this weekend:

To all the voters who claim to be Republicans but not MAGA, I want to ask them?

“Are you pro-public schools?” —Yes

“Are you pro-choice?” —Yes

“Do you want dark money out of our elections?”—Yes

Then you are a f*****g Democrat, start voting that way.

I’ve started sifting through the announcements of who’s going to be running for office in 2026 (I’ll have that posted in the next few days), but I’ve come across something very bizarre. There are several Republicans who will be running for the Texas House who claim to be “for working people” and “anti-corruption.”

Um, what?

Republicans haven’t been for working people since they busted the unions, killed the minimum wage, and handed your tax dollars to the oil lobby.

They haven’t been “anti-corruption” since before they learned how to spell campaign finance loophole.

These folks can slap on whatever labels they want, but the receipts don’t lie. Every time they had a chance this session to stand up for working families, protect kids, or defend democracy, they voted the other way. Not just this session, but every session. Session after session.

Republicans are the party of Reaganomics. Be wary of the grifter now claiming to be a Republican for the everyday man. They’ve spent the last 40 years bending over for billionaires and waiting for it to trickle down to them, now they’re about everyday Texans? I’m not buying it.

Here are the 3,500+ bills the Texas Legislature passed this session. I challenge anyone to find one measure Republicans did to help working Texans this session. Spoiler: they didn’t. Instead, Republicans’ biggest focus was corporate subsidies, billionaire handouts, and harming the most marginalized among us.

The Lone Star Left Report Card.

I have decided to publish a scorecard this summer. Since other report cards and scorecards focus on education, healthcare, the environment, and LGBTQ+ issues, I am planning my report card to show which legislators voted as if they care about the working class, and which ones got on their knees and asked billionaires to put it in their mouths.

The Legislature’s beholdenness to the wealthy, ruling class is something that has consistently flown under the radar, and I plan to put a big, huge spotlight on it.

I don’t have a specific publication date yet. But it will be before the summer is over.

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in a class war.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, let me spell it out plain. WE ARE IN A CLASS WAR. We have been for a long time. And with what Republicans are doing in DC right now, shredding food assistance, slashing taxes for the ultra-wealthy, criminalizing poverty, the assault is only accelerating. But the ground war? That started here in Texas years ago.

Most Republicans in the Texas Legislature are millionaires. Some are literal billionaires. The rest? Career lackeys for oil tycoons, payday lenders, and charter school vultures. They don’t legislate for working people because they’ve never been working people. They legislate for the people who fly private and drink water out of silver bottles, while children in East Texas can’t even drink from their taps.

What you see happening at the federal level? It already happened here. Texas was the blueprint. That’s why our poverty rate is so high. That’s why one in five Texas children lives below the poverty line. That’s why so many students show up to school hungry. Because here, policy is written not to serve the people, but to serve the ruling class, to ensure they’ve got jet fuel for the yacht and a fresh Fendi for the fundraiser.

And no, I don’t expect Republican voters to wake up anytime soon. Their entire worldview is manufactured in a billionaire-built propaganda factory. Texas is blanketed in disinformation networks designed to keep people voting against themselves, because God forbid they realize it’s not drag queens or immigrants taking their paychecks, it’s the boardrooms and billionaires their party worships.

But here’s who we can reach. The non-voters. The working-class Texans who’ve checked out because they’ve been lied to, ignored, or steamrolled every election cycle. Many of them are Democrats, or would be if they believed it mattered. That’s who we talk to now. That’s who we fight for. And if you’re reading this, I hope that’s you too.

FDR’s Second Bill of Rights

When I say we need a new direction. I’m pointing straight back to FDR’s Second Bill of Rights, a bold vision for economic justice that’s never been fulfilled. He said every American should have:

• The right to a proper job.

• The right to earn enough to provide food and clothing, and a decent home.

• The right to education.

• The right to medical care.

• The right to protection from economic fears, of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment.

• The right to live in a system free from corporate domination.

That’s what I believe in. It’s what the Texas Progressive Caucus fights for. And whether folks know it or not, it’s what the vast majority of Texans, across race, age, and region, actually want when you ask them without the noise of party politics. That vision? It’s long overdue.

What comes next?

If you only started following me during this legislative session, welcome. You picked a hell of a time to show up. But the session is over now. Sine Die has finally come. And that means one thing. Election season is here.

Here’s what you can expect next:

We’ll break down voting data, real Texas numbers, not national pundit bullshit.

We’ll talk about candidates. Who’s running, who’s worth backing, and who’s full of it. Honestly, I’m most excited about this. New candidates fighting hard for Texas values always get me fired up.

We’ll cover policy. Public education, housing, healthcare, labor, environment, democracy reform, and how all of it ties to class struggle. At the end of the day, I’m a total policy nerd and love sharing my ideas and research with y’all.

And yes, we’ll keep talking about the billionaire handouts, the lobbyists, and the lies. Because the session may be over, but the fight never is.

Texas is a state with a population of approximately 30 million people. We deserve a politics that reflects us, not just the few who fund campaigns behind closed doors.

Rumors and redistricting? Expect us.

Now, let me end with something I’m hearing from some very plugged-in sources.

Word is, Republican internal polling is tanking. And not just a little. Voters are pissed about the voucher scam, about the THC ban, about corruption and the constant culture war distractions. Republicans in swing districts are sweating. And they should be.

So what’s the rumored response?

Apparently, Governor Abbott is considering calling a special session to ram through mid-decade redistricting. Yes, redistricting before 2030, specifically to stop Democrats from gaining ground in 2026. That would be a constitutional and political outrage, and if they try it, it will spark a massive backlash.

I pray this is just a rumor, but never put anything past a Republican.

If they try to steal the map, they should expect us. On the streets, in the courts, and at the ballot box. Because this isn’t just about lines on a map, it’s about who gets to have a voice in this state. And we’re not giving up ours without a fight.

• June 3: The beginning of the 2026 election season.

• Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.

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