Churchy Chicken: Why the Religious Right Won’t Stop Talking About Chick-fil-A
At a meeting of Texas social conservatives, all anyone wanted to talk about (and eat) was Chick-fil-A
Articles by Christopher Hooks
The Texas Death Penalty Machine Has Become Increasingly Grotesque
There’s something dishonest in the state’s bureaucratic approach to killing its own citizens.
Video Games and Godless Hearts: The Texas Gun Debate Is at a Depressing Dead End
What politicians like Matt Schaefer are really saying is that no number of victims is worth the discomfort of a fairly small number of gun owners.
‘Mistakes Were Made’: It Remains to Be Seen if Greg Abbott’s Passive-Voice Apology Represents a Change of Heart
The governor has apologized (sort of) for an ill-timed fund-raising letter calling on supporters to ”defend” Texas from immigrants.
The Speaker and the Creeper: Everything You Need to Know About the Craziest Texas Political Scandal in Years
House Speaker Dennis Bonnen offers a masterclass in how to lose friends and alienate your allies in just a few easy steps.
Did House Speaker Dennis Bonnen Really Try to Bribe Michael Quinn Sullivan? An Investigation.
MQS isn't the most trustworthy person in Texas politics, but Bonnen has done a poor job offering an alternative narrative about what transpired.
Texas Might Kill Obamacare, But State Leaders Don’t Seem to Have a Plan for What’s Next
In the event that millions lose their health insurance and protections for preexisting conditions disappear, the state has no real backup plan.
Should Beto O’Rourke Drop Out?
His fundraising is bad, his poll numbers are worse, and some Texans still think he should run for Senate.
Even Trump Wouldn’t Follow Advice from Ted Cruz and Chip Roy to Ignore the Supreme Court
Congressman Roy and Senator Cruz urged Trump to print the census with a citizenship question despite a Supreme Court ruling. That would’ve been a dangerous precedent.
The Cruelty at the Border Is Increasingly Pointless
As the Trump administration ratchets up its dehumanization of migrants, we Americans stand to lose our moral center.
Julián Castro Turns on Beto O’Rourke, and Why That’s Good for Elizabeth Warren
The debate had the feel, at times, of an episode of Survivor—the little guys teaming up to clear their ranks before the real fight begins.
2019: The Best and Worst Legislators
They called it the kumbaya session, but we still found plenty of scoundrels and statesmen.
How Texas’ Powerful Police Union Went to War Against Criminal Justice Reform
In one of the worst legislative sessions for criminal justice reform in years, bipartisan legislation got caught between an ugly fight between the police lobby and prominent Democrats.
There’s a Grand Bargain on Property Taxes and Education Funding. But What Is It, Exactly?
The governor, lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the House announced a deal on property taxes and school finance. It sounds good, but offered awfully little in the way of specifics.
Seventh Time’s the Charm: Despite Repeated Bungling, the Lege Manages to Pass an Update to the Sandra Bland Act
Let us count the ways legislators passed, killed, and then resurrected what was a popular, bipartisan way to limit arrests for minor infractions.
Jonathan Stickland and the Case of the Special Session That Wasn’t
Stickland and his band of merry pranksters could have pushed the Legislature into a special session by killing a popular bill to increase mental health services for kids.
Inside the Story of How Democrats Killed a Law That Could Have Saved Sandra Bland
In a fit of idiocy and confusion, Democrats in the Legislature not once, but twice derailed bipartisan legislation prohibiting police from making arrests for minor infractions.
The Loudest and Least Effective Legislator Has Actually Passed a Bill
But don’t think that means Representative Jonathan Stickland is all grown up. He’s still more or less the lib-baiting troll he’s always been.
Why the Sales Tax Swap Died a Painful Death
Here died Greg Abbott’s burden-shifting plan, orphaned and alone.
An Afternoon With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Texas Anti-Vaccine Movement
Kennedy’s presentation to vaccine activists at the Capitol was a master class in how to turn fears toward a dangerous cause.
The Paid Sick Leave Fight is All About Whose Interests Matter Most at the Legislature
In a dispute between cities and the state, employees and employers, you can probably guess who has the upper hand.
If You’re Looking for Dan Patrick This Legislative Session, You Might Find Him on Fox News
Once upon a time, the Texas Senate was Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s whole world. His turbulent 2014 campaign for the post was a radical change in Texas politics, the tea party revolution taking the throne. In his inauguration speech he proclaimed that his arrival marked “a new day…
Attacks on the Dallas DA Signal Trouble for the Criminal Justice Reform Movement
Big-city prosecutors are now driving the conversation around mass incarceration, and some lawmakers and law enforcement officials just can’t abide that.
Best & Worst Legislators in Real Time: Senator Bob Hall
If you’re going to traffick in conspiracy theories, at least be nice about it.
The Governor Wants to Replace Property Taxes With ‘Consumption’ Taxes. That’s a Terrible Idea.
Many Texans think their property taxes are too high. But the highly regressive sales tax would put even more of a burden on those who can least afford it.
Showdown at the J.W. Marriott: What the Bonnen-McNutt Tussle Signals about the Political Wars to Come
In the pantheon of lawmaker-involved squabbles, what happened at the J.W. Marriott hotel in Austin on Wednesday night probably doesn’t rank higher (lower?) than the time Borris Miles whipped out a gun at a party, or the time Bob Bullock pulled a gun on…
Border Brinkmanship and the Texas Economy
The Texas Senate has tacitly endorsed President Trump’s threat to shut down the border if necessary—a dangerous move for the economy and the president’s political future.
‘My Stretch of Texas Ground’ Is the Very Bad Movie We Didn’t Know We Needed
“Two men, both alpha males, from vastly different cultures, are about to collide. . . HARD.”
Texas Has Been Just a Prop for Trump From the Beginning
Our state is accustomed to deference from Republican administrations—deference it has earned. Why are our Republican leaders letting him create our narrative?
Why Aren’t Texas Politicians Standing Up for Texas Landowners?
That viral video of a Colorado senator berating Ted Cruz makes one wonder if there’s a double standard at work.
Can an International Hotline Help Stop the Cartels?
The U.S. Border Patrol and the governor of Tamaulipas are looking for a few good anonymous tips—and hoping it doesn't all backfire.
Sand Is Choking Lake LBJ, But a Battle Looms Over Its Removal
Developers are pitted against landowners over a solution that keeps the peace and preserves the lake.
George P. Bush’s Last Stand at the Alamo
A plan to fix the Alamo site could have propelled the political scion to glory. Instead it’s become his biggest battle.
Odessa Stinks! (Literally.)
In recent months the West Texas oil town has smelled, in one resident’s words, like ”a dog’s anal gland.” And no one is 100 percent sure why.
Odessa Stinks! (Literally.)
In recent months the West Texas oil town has smelled, in one resident’s words, like “a dog’s anal gland.” And no one is 100 percent sure why.
Inside a Lifelong Obsession With the Kennedy Assassination
The recent release of JFK files is probably the last significant injection of new information into the psychic landscape in which assassination theorists like Mark North have resided for the past 54 years.
The Search for a Saint in San Angelo
San Angelo makes its case for María de Jesús de Ágreda to the Vatican.
The Battle For El Paso’s South Side
With the south side of El Paso up for grabs, everyone seems to have an idea about what the city’s future should look like.
Changing the Conversation
San Antonio’s new mayor isn’t interested in the old battles between left and right.
Final Cut
When Texas’s film incentives program comes up for renewal, politicians and movie bizzers give performances that Matthew McConaughey would envy.
Scenes from a Divided State
On the weekend Donald Trump became the forty-fifth president of the United States, everyone called for unity—so long as the other side would just agree with them.
When the Alt-right Meets the Aggies
Richard Spencer, the Dallas man who coined the term “alt-right,” spoke at A&M. It was a scene.
Is the Best Offense a Good Defense Lawyer?
A look at the race for district attorney in Nueces County.
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Trash Talk
The scion of one of Laredo’s first families wants to build a mammoth landfill on his ranch. But the opposition is fierce and vocal—and backed by none other than his uncle and his cousin.
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The Other Border War
Why is the federal government claiming thousands of acres of riverfront property from a bunch of North Texas landowners?
Will the Real Smithville Bank Robber Please Stand Up?
An Austin artist's youthful experience as a bank robber was—kind of, sort of—the inspiration for a recent movie. But the real story of her life is even stranger than what made it onto the screen.
Lights! Camera! Ambiguity!
A Texas documentarian tries to see how far he can bend the truth.