You’re gonna be spending a lot of time walking on marble floors, so get ya a pair of rubber-soled shoes.

U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas, dispensing advice this week to incoming freshmen congressmen

There already is a path to citizenship in this country. And I would suggest to you it doesn't need to be changed. So, if you want to be a citizen, go get in the line, and pay the dues ... just like everybody else.

Gov. Rick Perry, taking the hard line on immigration in remarks to the Republican Governors Association

At the end of the day, we all do the state a disservice by making this vote something much bigger than it actually is. It's a freaking vote.

State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, seeking to downplay the long-term significance of a speaker vote in January

So I’ll leave the threats and the intimidation to others.

House Speaker Joe Straus saying in a speech to the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce that he plans to take a different approach to the speaker's race than those who want to unseat him

We’re delighted that he has been appointed secretary of state because it gets him out of Cameron County as county judge. We’re happy to get rid of him.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, who lost the county judge race in 2006 to Carlos Cascos, "congratulating" him on his pending appointment to be secretary of state