So That Explains It

We've recently been covering the tort reform developments in the Texas Congress.  It looks like the big player again is "Texans for Lawsuit Reform" (TLR).  For those who don't know, TLR claims to be comprised of "small business owners, homemakers, and community volunteers."  Truth be told, TLR is one of the most affluent political action committees in Texas.  In the 2000 election cycle, TLR spent $1.4 million to pass tort reform. Now they're back, and they have spent over $5 million from January '09 to September 2010.  This likely explains some of the recent tort reform efforts that are underway. 

These days, TLR has been launching an all-out assault on injured plaintiffs.  If you still don't believe it, believe this: just last October, the right-leaning Dallas Morning News reported that TLR contributed almost $108,000 to then-GOP-challenger Cindy Burkett (who won).  TLR also doled out nearly $101,000 on Stefani Carter (who also won).  Finally, TLR spent a combined total of almost $150,000 on the campaign for GOP candidate Kenneth Sheets (again, who also won).  That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Despite its "salt of the earth" reputation, TLR is a massive corporate enterprise that wields enormous influence in Texas politics.  What does this mean for 2011?  We will have more later.