The TLSPM has been all over the Wallace Hall/UT Board of Regents mess lately. While it's true that they've been bungling the reporting by trying to focus on a non-existant A&M/UT-Austin angle they have been spending an inordinate amount of time on what is basically an internal argument over a Regent poking his nose where some don't want him to, the get Rick Perry angle is proving too hard for them to ignore.
It's easy to see why the TLSPM is after Perry, after all, this is a man who brushed aside the TLSPM during his last campaign for re-election, and won. Thus proving that they're no longer relevant in modern political debate. This has angered them, and it's led to some curious reporting in the case of Wallace Hall.
It's also opened up a blind spot. Let us consider the case of Transparency in State Agency Operations Select Committee member State Representative Naomi Gonzales. Ms. Gonzales, if you remember, was named to the Texas Monthly "worst" legislators list after getting behind the wheel of her car with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit. Ms. Gonzales then proceeded to strike another vehicle, which then hit a bicyclist. In the immediate aftermath of the accident first responders reported that she was dismissive of the injuries of the other parties.
All of this was OK because Ms. Gonzales made a tearful speech which earned her a standing ovation from Democrats, including Committee chair Rep. Carol Alvarado. For her transgressions Ms. Gonzales received a sentence of 15 days in jail and the voters decided, in the March primary, that she should no longer represent them.
This is not to say that Ms. Gonzales should not have been on the committee. That would be an Ad Hominem argument which has no place in the debate. What it does reflect is the broken string in the instrument of ethics in Texas politics.
After her wreck there was no serious move within the Texas Legislature to either censure or impeach Ms. Gonzales from office. There was no move to punish her at all. This is a woman who got drunk, showed no regard for the life and health of her fellow Texans, injured some of them, and then got a standing ovation for tearing up and giving a canned apology.
In contrast, the Transparency in State Agency Operations decided to vote to begin impeachment proceedings against Wallace Hall in a closed-door meeting, shielded from the public eye. Think about that for a moment.
Based on the evidence that I've seen, if Hall was guilty of anything it was a failure to work and play well with others. Perhaps he could have handled his investigation with more tact, could have worked with the board he was appointed to sit on. These actions reveal a weakness in professional skills but hardly seem like an impeachable offense. Given the discord in today's Texas political system however it makes perfect sense that his actions (which, by the way, seem to have uncovered evidence of financial irregularities) are treated as worse offenses then injuring non-members of the ruling class.
