Joe Straus (left) and Beto O'Rourke. Photos: Ron T. Ennis/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images and Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Two of the more intriguing Texas political characters of the last decade are giving free and public talks at the LBJ School this month.
The intrigue: There's little room for either Joe Straus or Beto O'Rourke to hold elected public office in Texas.
Straus, the Republican who as House speaker shot down Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's favored bathroom bill in 2017, represents a wing of the GOP on the outs.
After failed (if galvanizing) campaigns for U.S. Senate, president and governor, O'Rourke is sitting out this election cycle.
What's happening: Straus will speak as part of the Renewing Democracy Speaker Series at UT's LBJ School of Public Affairs at 12:15 pm Thursday at the Bass Lecture Hall.
And on April 16, O'Rourke will deliver a lecture of his own. Both investigate "the future of democracy."
