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On Monday, the 85th Texas Legislative session came to a dramatic close: Protests erupted at the Capitol, a Republican lawmaker called Immigration and Customs Enforcement from the floor to deport a group of alleged undocumented immigrants, and House representatives exchanged alleged threats of violence.

The states Legislature meets for only one 140-day session every two years, so its final days are often fast-paced and tense. But the antics this week shouldnt overshadow the fact that the Texas Legislature churns out bills with reliable efficiency. As stagnation and White House scandals continue to hamper policy efforts in Washington, Texas example shows how conservative lawmakers can get a lot of their agenda done, at least at the state level.

Texas is one of 25 states where Republicans have a so-called trifecta of control over the House, the Senate, and the governors mansion. By the end of the whirlwind session, Gov. Greg Abbott had more than 1,200 bills sitting on his desk, awaiting his signature, many advancing conservative causes that can set the tone for other states.

I think we saw the center of gravity moving to the right, James Henson, director of The Texas Politics Project, explained. I think from a national perspective theres no way to look at what happens in the Texas Legislature and not see it as kind of an avatar of conservatism in the country.

So lets take a look at what they did.

The 85th was a session primarily driven by the social agendas of conservative lawmakers, like border security and documentation, abortion, gun licenses, and whether transgender Texans should be able to use the restroom associated with their gender identity.

Senate Bill 4 is probably the most infamous bill signed by Gov. Abbott, and its now one of the harshest immigration laws in the country. Starting in September, the law will allow police to inquire about the immigration status of people they lawfully detain, as well as ban immigrant sanctuary jurisdictions statewide, and levy fines and jail time on local officials who fail to comply with federal authorities and immigration agents.

Texas also pushed through new restrictions on abortion. Senate Bill 8 requires every health care facility or clinic to bury or cremate fetal remains from abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Providers are also now banned from a common form of second-term abortion termed dilation and evacuation but provocatively called dismemberment by supporters of the bill.

The Supreme Court struck down Texas last attempt at a sweeping abortion law. In 2013, House Bill 2 required abortion clinics to meet costly, hospital-level standards and caused half the abortion clinics in the state to close down. This years abortion bill concentrates on the fetus, not the clinic, but it is likely to face legal challenges too.

Conservatives successfully got a religious freedom bill through to Abbotts desk, which would allow publicly funded adoption agencies to reject would-be parents whose lifestyles they dont like. Christian groups will now be able to legally keep Muslim, Jewish, unmarried, and LGBT couples from adopting.

At a time when the Trump administration and Republicans in D.C. are struggling despite their majority to execute on much of anything, Texas Republicans are a model of legislative efficiency, passing some of the most conservative bills in the country. Thats thanks in part to a culture of caving to the will of the core electorate they need for re-election.

The conservative wing that is again oriented toward a relatively small Republican primary electorate put the elected officials, particularly less ideologically driven legislators, on the spot and forced votes on issues that a lot of people had hoped to avoid, and that includes some of these issues like the more controversial abortion measures, Henson said.

The result? Moderate Texas Republicans think twice about going against party leadership, and legislation that might seem unimaginable at the national level lands on the Governors desk.

Politicians on the Democratic side of the aisle have little to do but protest. Democratic Sen. Jose Rodriguez of El Paso described the 85th session as one of the toughest in recent memory, as rhetoric and policies filtered down from the Trump administration, which rolled into Washington just as the session began. That said, Rodriguez contends D.C. lawmakers have been less effective than Texas Republicans because of Trumps style of leadership.

I think its no secret that Trumps administration has been disorganized from Day One, he said. I mean, the fact that he hasnt even filled a lot of the positions in the State Department and the other major federal agencies tells you that the government is not able to function at the normal level that it does. Whereas in Texas, remember, the Republican Party has been in control now for over 20 years, and its pretty much the same people of the same stripe that continue governing the state.

Conservatives in Texas didnt get everything they hoped for, including a voucher program in a school finance bill, property tax relief, and Texas very own contentious version of a bathroom bill that would require transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding to their biological sex, not their gender identity.

But they still have a chance. Not every bill that misses the end of the regular session remains dead. Gov. Abbott can call lawmakers back to Austin for as many special legislative sessions as he pleases, and there has been speculation that the bathroom bill could catch a second wind soon. On that final, theatrical day in session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told senators as they adjourned, Normally, I would say Ill see you in 18 months, God willing! But well see you a little sooner than that.

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Texas Republicans pass 1200 bills, show DC how one-party rule works - VICE News

I have no tolerance for bullies, no matter what side of the political fence theyre on.

Photo courtesy of the Krasner campaign.

Now that Philadelphias district attorney race has been set and we know that its going to be a battle between Republican Beth Grossman and Democrat Larry Krasner, I have a confession to make.

I dont care if I never hear the word progressive again.

Seriously.

In fact, Im so tired of that word right now, if Flo the Progressive Insurance lady walked up to me, she might catch these hands.

A few weeks ago, in anticipation of writing this column, I asked folks on my Facebook page their definition of progressive. Most of them said that it meant some form of moving forward, of not staying put.

But to me, thanks to the last two election cycles, progressive has come to mean person that Im eventually going to have to block on Twitter because Im tired of being called names for explaining how government actually works to them.

Now, I know that every progressive who read that last sentence has already decided that Im an evil Trump supporter/sellout/hater/idiot/shape-shifter (yes, Ive been called that; no, I dont know how Mystique from the X-Men fits in here), so let me clarify.

I have no problem with progressive ideas. In fact, I think that progressive ideas make the world a better place.

Medicaid for all? Yep. Sign me up.

The Childrens Health Insurance Program? Hell yeah!

Making sure that the air and water arent rendered unfit to drink? Let me grab my Chuck Taylors so that we can take to the streets.

And #BlackLivesMatter all day, every day!

Like I said, I have nothing but love for progressive ideas.

Progressives? Not so much.

Thats because I have no tolerance for bullies, no matter what side of the political fence theyre on.

From the disrespectful (and, in some cases, racist) attacks leveled at Rep. John Lewis by Bernie Sanders supporters during the 2016 presidential primaries to the recent primary where and Im not kidding I saw one Black man call another Black man a Uncle Tom for not supporting Krasner, progressives have made themselves look like a left-wing version of the Tea Party.

And in case youre wondering, I dont mean that as a compliment. Especially since some of you sound so ridiculous that I get headaches from rolling my eyes so hard.

When the perfect becomes the enemy of the good, it leads to people being afraid to question whats being put in front of them for fear of reprisal. When that happens, we wind up electing a whole bunch of people who are more interested in power than governance and whining about it later, when we could have kept this from happening by talking things out and coming to better decisions.

(See Trump, Donald, President )

Now lets return to the subject of Larry Krasner and the folks who hope he becomes the next district attorney.

If what Ive heard on the street is any indication, folks have questions about Krasner. They want to make sure that hes for all of the citys victims, not just the ones hurt by police. They want to know if hell actually lock someone up if its needed.

They want to know hell keep them safe.

Should Krasners progressive supporters throw the epithet shape-shifter at anyone asking these questions, that 7-to-1 voter registration edge that Phillys Democratic Party has might not be enough, especially since no one is confusing Grossman with Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions.

So you might want to try keeping the hostility to a minimum.

Just saying

Denise Clay has been a journalist for more than 25 years, covering politics, education, and everything in between. Her work regularly appears in the Philadelphia Sunday Sun and the Philadelphia Public Record, and has also appeared on the BBC, XO Jane, and Time.com.

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Progressives, I Am Done With You - Philadelphia magazine

Amidst the outrage from leftwing Twitter yesterday afternoon following President Trumps announcement that he plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord several progressive groups seized the moment as a chance to harp on the importance of intersectionality.

Intersectionality is, of course, the concept that the oppression of minority groups stems not from discrete instances of bias but rather is the direct result of an amalgam of interwoven social and cultural relationships.

Or, in plain English, its a buzzword that the left uses to amass political power, binding together interest groups that have no business being allies, in order to wield more social influence.

The response to Trumps announcement yesterday was another example of how progressives use the idea of intersectionality to capitalize on anti-Trump momentum and thereby gain influence. For example, here are a few of yesterdays tweets from prominent leftwing organizations:

Meanwhile, the radical activist group Black Lives Matter shared an article from the website Mic entitled 5 ways Trumps Paris Climate accord decision will hurt people of color the most. The piece asserted that factors such as structural inequalities and racially discriminatory housing practices cause climate change injustice to disproportionately harm minority communities.

These far-fetched assertions do little to convince rational people that climate change is somehow an issue of racial justice or gender equity, but they do illustrate an important point. The American Left is increasingly split into tiny subdivisions of minority interest groups, each of which wants particular attention and special treatment from society and the government.

This puts them in direct competition with one another for the title of Americas Biggest Victim, and they cant all be crowned champion. To resolve this tension, progressives attempt to conscript these rival groups into one clumsily assembled clan, allies in the fight for social justice.

The only trouble aside from the fact that this coalition makes little sense, as evident in the gibberish above is that when those interests eventually collide, the coalition will crumble. And when it does, the left will lose the political capital it gained by forcing that coalition together.

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Progressives Tout 'Intersectionality' after Trump's Paris Accord Decision - National Review

U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Sewickley took a verbal beating at a public meeting Thursday on Main Street in Johnstown.

The congressman was in Johnstown for Showcase for Commerce but was a no-show at the town hall meeting sponsored by the progressive group Indivisible Johnstown.

Where is he? Why isnt he here? said Linda Bishop, of Pittsburgh, a member of PA District 12 Progressives.

Indivisible Johnstown was formed in February after Donald Trump was swept into the White House.

We cried from November through January and decided now we have to do something, said Mary Lou Davis, one of the groups organizers.

We knew we wanted this town hall at the time they had Showcase for Commerce because all of our representatives were in town, she said.

Rothfus and staff members declined the invitation, Davis said.

A spokeswoman for Rothfus did not immediately respond to an email.

Attendees discussed their concerns while standing before an empty gray suit that represented the absent congressman.

Some wore Planned Parenthood and Bernie Sanders T-shirts.

Taxes, abortion, health care and the environment were some of their concerns.

Daniel Kane, retired secretary-treasurer of the United Mine Workers of America, drew applause when he called for a single- payer health care system.

Workers in Canada have no need to negotiate for health care because they have a publicly funded plan, he said.

Im getting tired of telling people in this country that we need single-payer health care, Kane said. They say, Well how are you going to pay for it?

Guess what, were already paying for it, he said. Were already paying more per patient than anywhere else.

Patrick Buchnowski is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 532-5061. Follow him on Twitter@PatBuchnowskiTD.

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'Where is he?': Progressives chide absent congressman - TribDem.com

CALGARY -- Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says the NDP would welcome anyone who feels like they wouldn't have a political home in the United Conservative Party.

The province's two right-leaning parties recently signed a deal to merge, but the union needs approval from both Progressive Conservative and Wildrose Party members this summer to go ahead.

If that hurdle is cleared, there is to be a leadership race on Oct. 28.

In a speech at an NDP fundraising cocktail reception in Calgary on Thursday, Notley took numerous digs at PC Leader Jason Kenney and Wildrose Leader Brian Jean, who both want to run the new merged party.

She said both Kenney and Jean are getting more extreme in their views, and some long-time members may be feeling underwhelmed, frustrated and disgusted by their tactics.

Notley's speech made no mention of Calgary lawyer Doug Schweitzer, who announced earlier in the day he plans to seek the UCP leadership if the merger goes ahead.

"I know I'm not alone in believing Albertans deserve better -- much better," Notley said.

"And to those Albertans who are feeling like they don't have a political home... I ask you to take another look at our government, our party and our record."

She said the economy is recovering, pipelines have been approved and infrastructure is being built.

"Regular Albertans, for once, have a government that's in their corner, working to make life better. So if you feel without a political home, we would welcome you."

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Notley pitches NDP to progressives put off by United Conservative Party - CTV News