NEWSMAKER
Inside Texas Politics began with the Republican spending spree. The majority GOP Congress passed a $1.3 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill. The type of spending Republicans vehemently opposed during President Barack Obama's eight years. U.S. Congressman Michael Burgess (R-Dist. 26) discussed why the GOP supported the huge spending bill. He also talked about his plans to reduce deaths from opioid overdoes. Rep. Burgess joined host Jason Whitely and Bud Kennedy of the Star-Telegram.
STATEWIDE
Law enforcement deserves a salute for its tireless effort in stopping the Austin bombings. They identified and tracked down killer Mark Anthony Conditt from Pflugerville. However, many people, especially minority groups, are asking why wouldn’t any official call 23-year-old Conditt a terrorist? Texas Tribune reporter Alana Rocha, in for Ross Ramsey, explained why Austin’s police chief, the governor, and Austin's mayor didn’t call Conditt a terrorist. Alana also discussed what’s driving the continued explosive growth in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She joined host Jason Whitely.
MY VOICE, MY OPINION
Dallas Democrats just finished a bruising primary. This week’s My Voice, My Opinion contributor Ed Gray, from the Commish Radio Show, wondered if the primary would predict the party’s future.
NEWSMAKER 2
Republicans are hoping to hang on to U.S. Representative Joe Barton's seat after he leaves Congress. Ron Wright and Jake Ellzey, the top two vote-getters, will meet in a May run-off. We proposed having a debate between the two, but Ron Wright turned us down. Ellzey joined host Jason Whitely to discuss how he plans to win in May.
FLASHPOINT
Thousands of students marched across the country this weekend to raise attention to gun violence. The First Amendment and the Second Amendment often collide on this issue. The two amendments certainly did in this week’s Flashpoint. From the right, Mark Davis from 660AM The Answer. And from the left, Rich Hancock from VirtualNewsCenter.com.
ROUNDTABLE
Reporters Roundtable puts the headlines in perspective each week. Bud and Ross returned along with Berna Dean Steptoe, WFAA’s political producer. They discussed Texas comptroller Glenn Hegar’s warning to legislators that the state’s credit rating could be in jeopardy, candidate for HD6 Lillian Salerno lashing out at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for supporting her opponent Colin Allred, and whether U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s connection to the Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal will hurt his re-election chances.
