The Texas Legislature convenes next week. Better fasten your seat belts for this wild ride.

Republicans have complete control of the House and the Senate as well as all State officeholders. Democrats can sit on the side line and watch the fun. Of course, most of them will be fighting for programs as draconian budget cuts are required to balance the budget.

Me, I’m fascinated with how the Republicans will govern. In the not too distant past, Democrats had complete control of all state offices and the Legislature. They managed to lose that power in great part through fighting with each other and dividing internally.

Now, the Republicans seem to be following the same path. House Speaker Joe Strauss was elected in a reform movement last Session with the help of Democratic House members. Republicans across the state are now encouraging his defeat and urging their elected Representatives to elect a different Speaker. They consider Joe Strauss to be a “RINO”, a Republican in Name Only.

They are developing score cards and telling Members that their Speaker vote will be weighed in their score as they make endorsements for the next election.

It is interesting to watch from the sidelines. The Republicans must learn to govern with complete and absolute control while the Democrats have to learn how to fight harder and make a difference as a minority.

And, the bottom line is that everyone has to sit down and work to solve this state’s budget problems in the midst of all this animosity.

Much has been written about the Speaker’s race for the Texas House. I encourage you to follow that vote closely. It may be an indication of how the Legislature will work together with the new Republican super majority.

It seems that the resounding war cry is “now we’ve conquered Democrats, we’ll conquer each other.”

We’ll be pondering this and other questions as the Texas Legislature begins…….