https://www.texastribune.org/2017/06/08/...to-abbott/

I'm thinking even the conservatives will agree with me on this one. The Texas legislature just pushed through a bill which rolls the clock back on some regulatory relief injected into the Texas beer industry in 2013, all while providing “carve-out” provisions that financially benefit three global beer giants.

So now the small, independent craft brewers in Texas (and there are a lot of them here now) have to pay a lot of money to distributors — just for “delivering” a product that’s already sitting in cold storage a few feet from where it was brewed. In some cases they don't ever distribute their beers - they're only available at the brewery itself.

Lo and behold, Houston beer distibutor John Nau (Silver Eagle Distributors) gave $2.4 million in political donations the past year including $1.4 million to Governor Abbott, and is his campaign treasurer.

(06-09-2017 09:34 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  https://www.texastribune.org/2017/06/08/...to-abbott/

I'm thinking even the conservatives will agree with me on this one. The Texas legislature just pushed through a bill which rolls the clock back on some regulatory relief injected into the Texas beer industry in 2013, all while providing “carve-out” provisions that financially benefit three global beer giants.

So now the small, independent craft brewers in Texas (and there are a lot of them here now) have to pay a lot of money to distributors — just for “delivering” a product that’s already sitting in cold storage a few feet from where it was brewed. In some cases they don't ever distribute their beers - they're only available at the brewery itself.

Lo and behold, Houston beer distibutor John Nau (Silver Eagle Distributors) gave $2.4 million in political donations the past year including $1.4 million to Governor Abbott, and is his campaign treasurer.

Irrelevant at this point, because Abbott has yet to act on the bill. You seem to leave out that the tea party republicans were against it, and almost all of the democrats are for it. Perhaps if you start calling out the democrats, bills like this would fail to get past the legislature in the first place.

This is an example of how establishment Republicans have made me no longer a Republican.

They use the language of small government and individual freedom to mask predatory corporate shilling. Tea Partiers have a right to be angry.

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You think Abbott will veto this bill? If he does, I will give him credit. Most established Democrats and Republicans were for this bill, probably because their pockets are also being lined by the distributors. Some Democrats were against it too. But the article clearly shows the people getting the most money from the big distributors are high ranking Republicans, probably because they're the ones with the most power in Texas.

(06-09-2017 09:42 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  You think Abbott will veto this bill? If he does, I will give him credit. Most established Democrats and Republicans were for this bill, probably because their pockets are also being lined by the distributors. Some Democrats were against it too. But the article clearly shows the people getting the most money from the big distributors are high ranking Republicans, probably because they're the ones with the most power in Texas.

You have to call out everyone who is doing it. It doesnt matter that the republicans have the power in Texas right now, because it is perfectly clear that this bill would get passed if the democrats were in power.

The only person you called out is the only person in the process who hasnt acted on it yet. Its perfectly legit to put pressure on him not to sign it, but it was equally legit to put pressure on the legislature as well.

Establishment dems and republicans are, in many cases, one in the same. Republicans have been voting those guys out over the past few cycles. Democrats have not.

NC has a similar law. Craft brewers have been trying to get the legislature to change the law. The latest attempt was earlier this year but the change was pulled from the bill. Now Charlotte's two largest breweries are suing the state saying the current law is unconstitutional.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/new...tends.html