For anyone who watched the Texas Senate on Tuesday, you saw Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth).
But you were also treated to the sight of a woman in white on the dais standing to the left of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) and any other Republican Senator acting as chair.
Dressed in white you might have thought she was a shoulder angel, giving the Senate President the honest advice on how to handle the rules.
Unfortunately, this angel would have been better dressed in red and standing on the Senate President's right.
Salon probably sums it up best:
For at least an hour, it was great theater. State parliamentarian Karina Davis spent a lot of time looking like gymnast McKayla Maroney, whispering sideways into Dewhurst’s ear and seeming not terribly impressed.This year's Ron Wilson Award for Rule Enforcement is presented to Senate Parliamentarian Karina Davis for her complete railroading of the rules. You may remember when former Rep. Ron Wilson was installed by former Speaker Tom Craddick as House Parliamentarian in order to hold onto power at any cost.
Her performance last night proved she's not a parliamentarian, but a political hack. Damn the rules, full speed ahead! Any honest parliamentarian would have correctly interpreted the rules even to the dislike of the Republicans.
Talking about Planned Parenthood's budget in relation to an abortion bill is completely germane to a bill that would restrict abortion. Strike 1. Talking about the sonogram bill that passed last session and is law and the additional burden placed on women if SB5 were to become law is completely germane to the bill. Strike 2. Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin) never yielded the floor to Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls), therefore Estes motion was out of order. Strike 3. Karina Davis...you're out.
What's not germane is Karina Davis remaining parliamentarian when she clearly doesn't know the rules.
I could not agree more. There were parliamentary errors throughout, but especially at the end. The Parliamentarian should be an employee of the body, and not the presiding officer. This would remove at least some of the political maneuvering, versus legitimate use of the rules (by both sides), to accomplish goals.
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