Chad’s Morning Brief: The Republican Primary Field Expands, May the End of the Line For Most Legislation in Austin, and Other Top Stories

Here is your Morning Brief for May 5, 2015.

The Republican Field Expands

Yesterday two candidates announced that they would be running for President. Today, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will announce he is running as well. The Republican field has officially grown according to FOX News and it has become even more diverse.

The two new candidates enter a quickly expanding GOP field as Democrats get off to a relatively slow start, with another Republican -- former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- set to make his announcement on Tuesday. Together, Carson and Fiorina add to the diversity on the Republican side; Fiorina is the first, and possibly only, female Republican in the race, while Carson is the first black candidate of either party to enter the campaign.

Carson formally launched his campaign in his hometown of Detroit on Monday.

"I'm Ben Carson, and I'm a candidate for president of the United States," Carson said, after being introduced with a series of musical acts.

In his soft-spoken tone, Carson blasted big government -- and the Affordable Care Act -- while also acknowledging his history of controversial comments. He described his candor, however, as an asset.

Carly Fiorina took to Twitter to announce her campaign. As FOX points out, the Republican field is very diverse compared to the Democrats.

The two candidates join senators Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz as members of a GOP field that is shaping up to be younger and more diverse than in recent years. Cruz and Rubio are both Cuban-Americans. The field reflects a growing diversity in professional backgrounds as well, with two doctors and a businesswoman now in the mix.

By contrast, the field of declared and potential Democratic candidates includes mostly white, current and former government officials. However, the front-runner, Hillary Clinton, would be the first female U.S. president if elected -- something that is a centerpiece of her political brand.

Fiorina has been blunt in recent weeks in saying that her entry into the race minimizes the effectiveness of Clinton playing the "gender card." Still, Clinton unquestionably leads the Democratic primary race, which currently consists of just two candidates. By contrast, recent polling shows Fiorina at the very back of the Republican primary field. A Fox News poll released last week showed Carson with 6 percent, and Rubio leading with 13 percent.

Fiorina could still gain ground on the heels of her announcement. And in a video accompanying the announcement, she again took aim at Clinton's candidacy.

I don't think Carson or Fiorina have a shot at being President, but I do think they can help with the messaging.They will both have a campaign of ideas that can have great influence over the party.

End of the Line?

Ross Ramsey of the Texas Tribune wrote an excellent article detailing how May is basically the end of the line for most legislation in Austin.

Chances for legislation are getting worse and worse. It is true that nothing is really dead as long as the Legislature is still in town. If it’s important enough to the right people, they can almost always find a way to put something back on track.

Lawmakers will move heaven and earth and many of their dearest rules to pass a state budget if they need to. They won’t do that to tweak a craft beer regulation.

But a second axiom is ultimately more reliable: The legislative process is designed not to pass bills but to kill them. Most legislation fails somewhere before the finish line.

As of the end of the last day of April, lawmakers had filed 6,466 bills and joint resolutions (proposed constitutional amendments). And 1,000 bills had been approved in their chamber of origin. A grand total of 28 had been approved by both the House and Senate, and some of those were approved in different versions that still need to be reconciled.

That’s not a final picture, or a particularly unusual one: Lots will happen in this final month.

Lots will not happen, too. During the 2013 legislative session, lawmakers passed 24 percent of the 5,868 bills they filed, and they passed 10 of the 193 joint resolutions they proposed. That’s 5 percent.

On May 31, the last Sunday of the session, the House won’t be allowed to do anything but vote on the conference committee reports that result when senators and House members work out their different versions of bills. The week before that will be a steady drumbeat of deadlines on Senate bills.

The budget, campus carry, and open carry along with fracking will all be addressed. However other pieces of conservative legislation will be left to die. That is when the blame game will happen. This isn't new though as it happens in every session.

Other Must Read Links:

Terror in Texas

Ben Carson Launches 2016 Bid

Carly Fiorina Launches 2016 Bid

Editorial Slams Abbott

Gender ID Topic Too Tough for Texas? 

Antagonist-in-Chief 

Santorum Supports Bruce Jenner 

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard on our KFYO YouTube page after the show and online at kfyo.com.