Texas Tidbits: Steaks, Tantrums, And Highway Trolls
When the steak is rare but the self-awareness is rarer.
Texas Tidbits is a collection of quick snapshots of the most interesting, outrageous, and important political stories across the Lone Star State. Each edition will feature several short stories highlighting the issues shaping Texas today.
Get Ready To Vote Local
Texas municipal elections are right around the corner, and while they don’t get the same national spotlight as state or federal races, they have just as much, if not more, impact on your daily life. From city council and school board to mayors and local propositions, these elections shape everything from how your neighborhood develops to how your kids’ schools are funded.
I’ll soon release a list of recommendations for major races in cities and counties across the state, so stay tuned.
Make sure you’re registered, know your polling location, and start brushing up on who’s on your ballot. Local change begins with local votes.
Joanne Shofner’s (R-HD11) Priorities Are As Misguided As Her Geography
While families in East Texas are struggling with poverty, underfunded schools, and limited access to healthcare, State Rep. Joanne Shofner of Nacogdoches has decided that her top legislative priority is... renaming a stretch of highway in Austin after Donald Trump.
Yes, you read that right. Instead of working to address the 18.5% poverty rate in her own district, five points higher than the already unacceptable state average, Shofner filed HB5503 to name part of I-35 in Travis County the President Donald J. Trump Highway. Because nothing says “serving East Texas,” like trying to own the libs 200 miles away.
Shofner could be filing bills to create jobs, increase access to higher education, or address the fact that income and educational attainment in her district lag far behind those in most of Texas. But no, she’s more interested in MAGA cosplay and trolling blue cities.
These aren’t serious people. And more than that, they’re not good people either. When voters elect lawmakers who care more about performative culture war stunts than doing what’s right for the people they represent, this is what you get.
The folks who voted for Shofner should be asking themselves why their representative is busy picking fights in Austin while ignoring the real needs in her backyard.
Have You Ever Seen A Grown Man Act Like This Before?
Brian Harrison (R-HD10) had a full-blown meltdown in a House Appropriations Subcommittee meeting this week, raging against the machine (and the chair, the rules, and reality) over the fact that previous subcommittee meetings weren’t livestreamed.
Never mind that this wasn’t a final vote. This subcommittee made recommendations to the full committee, which must still be reviewed and voted on. Never mind that Harrison never raised a single objection about transparency during the meetings. And never mind that the House rules give some flexibility for subcommittee recordings depending on logistical limitations.
Harrison waited until the cameras were rolling to discover his moral outrage suddenly.
This wasn’t a principled stand. It was a meltdown. He interrupted. He shouted. He challenged the chair. He demanded rulings, ignored rulings, and launched into repetitive, bad-faith arguments like he was trying to win an Oscar for Best Performance in a Procedural Temper Tantrum.
Harrison isn’t just unprofessional. He’s unhinged. It wasn’t the behavior of a serious legislator. It wasn’t even the behavior of a fully functioning adult.
Watching Harrison bark over his colleagues like a man possessed wasn’t “accountability in action.” It was like watching a guy get kicked out of a Chili’s for yelling about a coupon.
And let’s be honest: it’s very possible the meetings weren’t livestreamed because the last public meeting ended with Harrison going full white grievance mode on Black state employees, making racist insinuations that brought people to tears. That’s not transparency. That’s trauma. And the committee may have just wanted to prevent another public disaster.
In the end, the recommendations passed 6–1. No one seconded Harrison’s motion. No one joined his rant. The only thing left was the awkward silence of a room full of adults watching one man spiral into theatrical irrelevance.
There’s a difference between fighting for transparency and throwing a fit because the spotlight isn’t on you.
And Brian? You didn’t just miss the mark. You missed adulthood entirely.
High Steaks, Low Priorities
While one in every four Texas children is going hungry and food insecurity continues to plague the state at staggering levels, House Republicans spent Monday grilling $50 tomahawk steaks at the Capitol and arguing over which cut of beef should be crowned the official state steak.
Yes, really.
Speaker Burrows proudly hosted a “High Steaks” cook-off between the House’s preferred tomahawk ribeye and the Senate’s strip steak, complete with taste tests and photo ops. And to ensure the symbolism wasn’t lost on anyone, they’re even pushing HCR101 to officially designate the tomahawk ribeye as the state’s sacred slab of meat.
It’s worth noting: one tomahawk steak runs about $40 at Walmart, assuming you can even find one, and that’s for a single meal. Lord, help the Texas families try to stretch their grocery budgets and feed three or four kids. They, for sure, aren’t eating tomahawk ribeye.
Instead of addressing food deserts, expanding access to school lunches, or tackling the root causes of food insecurity, Republican lawmakers would rather host a beef pageant.
Once Again, Texas Public Policy Foundation Aligns With White Supremacists
During a recent committee hearing on HJR 16, a bill that would lay the groundwork for deporting US citizens, Ana-Maria Ramos (D-HD102) caught a witness in a stunning admission: the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) had invited someone to testify who had been scheduled to speak at a neo-Nazi rally.
That’s not hyperbole. The witness, currently a fellow at TPPF, admitted on the record that she was slated to speak at a July event hosted by the True Texas Project, an organization long known for its white nationalist ties.
The Texas Tribune confirmed that this rally was centered on the so-called “Great Replacement Theory,” a white supremacist conspiracy that claims immigrants and people of color are intentionally replacing white Americans.
The witness tried to distance herself in real time, saying he backed out after learning about the event. But anyone paying attention knows what the True Texas Project is. Their history of racism and extremism isn’t subtle. They’ve proudly platformed hate for years.
This is who TPPF is aligning with. And it’s not the first time.
A witness with ties to a known white nationalist group testified in favor of a bill designed to strip due process and deport Americans. The modern far-right isn’t dog-whistling anymore. They’re using megaphones.
The More Things Change
The Texas Attorney General’s Office is once again grabbing headlines, announcing a string of arrests related to allegedly illegal abortions at unlicensed clinics in the Houston area. Charges include practicing medicine without a license and unlawful performance of an abortion.
As a historian, I’ve read records from more than 100 years ago of people being tried in Texas courtrooms for providing abortions for women with nowhere else to turn. The language may have changed, and the laws may be newer, but what about the playbook? It’s old.
Circa 1897:
Circa 1957:
This isn’t about keeping people safe. If it were, we’d have expanded reproductive healthcare access, robust sex ed, and contraception readily available.
The real tragedy isn’t just the criminal charges. It’s the centuries-long war on bodily autonomy that created this situation.
Casar Keeps Showing Up
While most of Texas’s congressional delegation was busy chasing headlines or hiding from constituents, progressive champion Greg Casar was doing what he does best: showing up and fighting for the people.
Yesterday, Casar joined forces with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders at a rally focused on fighting the oligarchy. The event was all about pushing back against corporate greed, concentrated wealth, and the billionaire class (especially Elon Musk) rigging the system against working Americans.
Casar brought fire, demanding a country that prioritizes people over profit. This is a reminder that while Texas may look red on the map, bold progressives are fighting like hell to change the script.
Stay alert, stay engaged, and stay ready. The municipal elections are coming fast, and the stakes (whether high, medium rare, or just plain absurd) are real.
More soon.
June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.
June 3: The beginning of the 2026 election season.
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
LoneStarLeft is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Follow me on Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram.
This was a fun one, Michelle! I read most of it aloud to my husband and we really appreciated the laughs it evoked. Thank you!
My MAGA mayor and MY MAGA City Councilman, besides being incumbents, have plastered their signs in all the usual place.......big bright bold. in contrast my un-MAGA mayoral candidate and city council candidate are practically invisible.
BTW i live in a city of 1.5m so the the fact we Dems do nothing in muni elections is pathetic. We conventionally tell ourselves its a non-partisan election. Meanwhile MAGA candidates run like they are running for Gov or Prez
Its called unilateral disarmament and another reason why the county chair, ED and a whole lot of EC's should resign....they aren't doing anything anyway so why stand on the neck of change in FTW.
Heh Crystal and the gang....MAGA are MAGA morning noon and nite.....Dems are Dems a week before an election. Leadership could change that.