‘Enamored' by New Texas House Speaker, Freedom Caucus Vows to Stick to Conservative Values

AUSTIN -- The members of the Texas House's conservative Freedom Caucus sounded positively giddy Tuesday about their outlook for the session, heaping praise on new Speaker Dennis Bonnen.It's a far cry from the vocal opposition and bomb-throwing tactics that characterized the group when it formed two years ago.“This is a much more positive session,” Rep. Mike Lang, a Granbury Republican who leads the caucus said Tuesday at a news conference. “We are very happy with our speaker.”The group's 11 members are known as some of the most staunch conservatives in the House. They advocate for laws that would restrict -- and even outlaw except in the most narrow cases -- abortion in the state, and ones that would allow Texans to carry handguns without a license.  Continue reading...