According to CBS on Tuesday, the fight over a bathroom bill in Texas is a battle between moderates and the “far right.” Before labeling conservatives as fringe-y types, This Morning reporter David Begnaud hyped, “You got one estimate that says Texas could lose five and a half billion dollars if these bathroom bills become the laws.”
Using a pejorative label, he insisted, “Look, the fight here reflects what's appears to be going on with the GOP nationally in that you have got moderate Texas Republicans who are in a full out fight with the far right-leaning members of their own party.
A transcript is below:
CBS This Morning
7/18/17
7:14:43 toCHARLIE ROSE: Texas lawmakers are heading into again special meeting to consider restrictions on what bathroom transgender people can use. Fourteen Dallas-based businesses signed a letter to fight the proposed legislation. American and Southwest airlines, along with AT&T, are some of the companies that argue it would hurt their ability to attract new businesses and jobs. David Begnaud is outside the Texas state capital in Austin. David, good morning.
DAVID BEGNAUD: Charlie, good morning. You got one estimate that says Texas could lose five and a half billion dollars if these bathroom bills become the laws. Look, the fight here reflects what's appears to be going on with the GOP nationally in that you have got moderate Texas Republicans who are in a full out fight with the far right-leaning members of their own party. When it comes to the issue of transgender people using public bathrooms in Texas, the state’s Republican governor has voiced conservative party line.
GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT: We need a law that protects the privacy of our children in our public schools.
BEGNAUD: Just like two months ago in the regular session, the governor's agenda is facing push back on multiple fronts. Saturday, transgender woman Ashley Smith posted this photo with the governor like how will the potty police know I'm transgender if the governor doesn't?” It's also pitting Republican lawmakers over each other.
JONATHAN TILOVE (Austin-American Statesman chief political writer): The party is divided over whether this is a deeply important moral issue or just a fake, no purpose except to rally the base.
BEGNAUD: Conservative state representative Ron Simmons introduced H.B. 46. It could impact transgender bathroom use in school districts.
RON SIMMONS (R-TX): I need to know that I can have the same expectation of privacy no matter where I am in the state of Texas if I’m using one of these facilities.
BEGNAUD: But the Republican State House Speaker has voiced his concern for these so-called bathroom bills. He was quoted in the New Yorker saying he was “disgusted by all of this.”
JOE STRAUS (TX State Representative House Speaker): It's absurd that bathroom bills have taken on greater urgency that fixing our school finance system.
UNIDENTIFIED: He is pushing back against the will of the governor and lieutenant governor. So, it's a concern.
PROTESTER: This is not our fight!
BEGNAUD: Last year, protests and threats of boycotts erupted over a similar measure in North Carolina, which lawmakers were forced to roll back. More than a dozen Texas based CEOs have now signed an open letter that the legislation would hurt business, investments and jobs. Those sentiments were echoed in a full-page ad taken out by IBM on Friday.
UNIDENTIFIED IBM REP: We have trans employees and we have families with trans children who are not feeling safe.
BEGNAUD: By the way, IBM has 10,000 employees in the state of Texas. Bianna, as for that representative I mentioned in our piece. I asked him, “How many people did you talk to before you drafted this legislation?”And he thought about it for a second and he said, “I visited with myself. It was an idea that I had,” end quote. And then he admitted, “We probably all could have done better at that.”
