Got me an invite this morning for a freshman House member brunch on the day before opening day of what will be Texas' 80th Legislative Session. This is a good thing (not the session, the brunch) because I wouldn't recognize Tan Parker, Ellen Cohen or Brandon Creighton if they broke into my home and slapped me silly.
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Billy Clyde used to make fun of supposed lobbyists who didn't know new members. But in hindsight, that lack of awareness is perfectly understandable. I mean, trying to get to know 20 to 30 new people every other year is rather laborious. Who am I, Superman?
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In the extremely unlikely event that any of these generous public servants ask my take on being a successful freshman, I will offer my tried and true advice: take care of your one or two local issues, kiss your committee chairmen's backside, and maybe participate in a floor debate that stems from work produced by one of your committees. And send flags -- flags that were "flown" over the Capitol -- to people. Lots of people. You simply cannot send out too many flags.
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