I got yer small government, listening to the people, right here...

(Wherein Amfortas quotes Ted Cruz...)

“You and I both know that the ‘Big Government crowd’ isn’t just the Left, it also includes some on the Right. An excess of power and government is always, always, always, a fundamental threat to liberty.” 
- Ted Cruz, Messiah.

(http://www.texasobserver.org/committee-hears-bill-to-allow-ken-paxton-to-toss-local-ballot-initiatives/)

It was entirely predictable.
As soon as the Voters in a few cities began passing referendums outlawing Fracking in Their towns, it was a good bet that this day would come.
As soon as other cities passed other referendums that raised the minimum wage in those places, it became inevitable that this day would come.
Now, a couple of Tea Party Politicians...who ran campaigns touting their love of the Constitution, of the Republic and of the People...these guys have decided that the People cannot be trusted, after all.

This is a direct quote from Mr Paxton's campaign site:
”“In recent years, the US Constitution has been under assault from liberals that seek to centralize power, expand government, and disregard the rights and privileges that the Constitution seeks to protect; this document empowers citizens and limits the government's power and authority.”
--and here's a quote from Phil King's page(philking.com/about):
”Local control and limited government must be the first resort and not the last.”

...and yet here they are, in power, attempting to subvert the Will of the People.
Can't trust the People of those cities, let alone of this state, to make “the right decisions”, I guess.
Texas Referendum and Initiative Laws are already weak, limited to Home Rule Cities...It's difficult to get past the hurdles. Texas has no Statewide R&I Law, the Masters in Austin having saw fit to keep that power from the People, at least twice, save for Amendments to the Texas Constitution.

Let me take a minute to head off the usual suspects:
Them:”But we're not a Democracy, we're a Republic”.
Me:” We are both...we democratically elect our representatives in the various levels of government(except Michigan, who have fallen into a sort of Imperial Consulate System in recent years...also under Republican Hegemony.),...we also have a long, long history of more Direct Democracy, from the New England Town Hall, beginning circa 1630, to the Post-Civil War Progressive Movement, uniting against the abusive Crop/Lien System, and a Two Party stranglehold on Power, enabled(then, as now) by Big Business.

Rep. Phil King(R. Weatherford) and Mr Paxton are attempting to subvert that history, and those Rights and Privileges. They are not alone. The newly minted Governor also seems to have sudden issues with Local Control, which used to be a Third Rail of the Right. Joining them in the Capitol were the Real Constituency: the Texas Oil & Gas Association(now run by Todd Staples,lol), Texas Association of Builders, the Texas Restaurant Association and the Texas Association of Business.
I can guarantee that they will be listened to...which is exactly why Texas needs I & R...not just in big cities, but statewide....because Our Employees are deep in the pockets of wealth and power.

(Please see:(www.ethics.state.tx.us/php/filer.php?acct=00036483COH) for Rep. King's particular record of pocket warming)



“We need an Attorney General who will stand up for the US Constitution and the individual liberties it protects, and that is why I'm running for Attorney General.”
From (kenpaxton.com/issues)