-Money Talks Bullshit Walks

Larger | Smaller The Thompson paradox
So who’s the largest Texas House recipient of campaign loot from the so-called adult entertainment industry? The answer might surprise you.

As Emily Ramshaw writes in The Texas Tribune, the lawmaker who leads the Legislature in campaign contributions from strip clubs is Senfronia Thompson, the venerable Houston Democrat who has blasted the objectification of and disprepect for women, including those in the Legislature.

In her long, and for the most part laudatory, profile, Ramshaw points out the career of the longest-serving woman, African American and Democrat in the House “is peppered with occasional paradoxes, from the hefty camapign contributions she receives from big business to the industry-friendly bills she has carried for energy giants.”

Nevertheless, Ramshaw concludes, “Ms. T” deserves her reputation for defending the underserved. And, after four decades in the House, the 72-year-old lawmaker isn’t going anywhere. “What else would I do?” she asked Ramshaw. “I don’t watch soap operas.”