It has not escaped the attention of Republican visitors to this site, that I have had some harsh words for certain Republicans in recent weeks.  Although we are a non-partisan group we attract a heavy traffic of Republicans due to our strongly conservative ideology.  I was even pleasantly surprised to see Texas State Representative Wayne Christian (a Republican) comment favorably on the column What I Learned in Austin. Christian, having voted against Straus and very publicly campaigned for a more conservative Republican Speaker, may be one of those Republicans who are happy to have a line being drawn not just between “Rs” and “Ds” but between “RINOs” and “Republicans.”  And who can blame him?

Republicans were wandering in the desert for a long time.  They were out of power and it was easy for them to point fingers at the Democrats.  But here is a hard truth that Republican Conservatives are going to need to acknowledge and embrace:  Republicans are back in power everywhere.  Not the Senate and the Executive Office, but at the state level Republicans are sitting pretty; and with power comes responsibility.  Those of us who have voted to put them in office have not forgotten the lessons of the ’94 elections when the House and Senate were taken over by Republicans, adding a Republican Executive in 2000 and resulting in the largest federal expansion in history until Barack Obama proved Democrats can rush us to ruin at breakneck speeds RINOs only dreamed of.

Now a very similar revolution to that in ’94 has occurred and those of us who lived and voted through the last one are understandably concerned about how long the determination of our leaders will last this time around.  In Texas I have had harsh words for the majority of Republicans coming back.  I’ve said nothing at all about Democrats which has apparently raised the question of where my loyalties lie.  Well they lie with the principles of our Founders: That government governs best which governs least and governments are instituted among men to protect rights not infringe them.  There is a rumor that the Republican Party also stands for these things but the Jim DeMints, Wayne Christians, James Whites, Ron Pauls, Paul Ryans, and Michele Bachmans of the Republican Party can attest that not everybody is walking that talk.  And let’s not forget that in a world where Republicans voted their platform, Texas Democrats would have literally no voice at all of any consequence.  There would be no possible way for liberal legislation to pass since Republicans have a super-majority.  So if Texas doesn’t see drastic cuts in the size, cost, and intrusiveness of its government, guess who you can blame?

So yes I have some very harsh judgment for those RINO Republicans that make the job of true Republican Conservatives all the harder by launching their own big-government, liberal agenda against the platform of their own party.  Think of it this way: We don’t even pay any mind to the Communist Chinese for being Communists right?  But if you’re an American, pretending to support our government, but secretly working to install a Communist Chinese regime on American soil you are a traitor and subject to being put to death.  There is a reason we reserve much more severe punishments for the wolf in sheep’s clothing than the wolf who openly shows himself.  The enemies among us can do harm on a far greater scale.

So expect to see a lot of complaints about what certain Republicans are or aren’t doing.  They’re holding the reins now, which means they’re also gonna be stuck holding the bag if things don’t change.

Continue Reading

Thanks to the generous support of some members of TFA I was able to attend several Tea Party meetings and Rallies as well as spend some time with the incoming legislators this past week.  Here is what I learned…

1. The majority of returning Republicans have no desire to see any real change in the way things are done in Austin.  As most of you already know, Joe Straus will again lead the Texas State House in 2011.  The pressure brought to bear was simply not enough and we must now ascertain how to rectify this problem in the future.  Several Tea Parties made a showing on the Capitol Steps the morning of the Caucus vote, but the word on the legislative grapevine was essentially, “I don’t care how many people are on the steps; I don’t even know if they’re my voters or not.”
2. We shouldn’t count on Republicans we already know are total wimps.  While many were hoping that a secret vote in caucus would allow spineless Republicans to do that which they could not summon the courage to do publicly: Vote against Straus, in the end this was a dream that was not to be.  Given an opportunity to vote for whether to have a secret vote or an open vote, a strong majority of the Republican Caucus chose a public vote then publicly voted for Straus.
3. Some people stand on principle.  Twelve members of the House bucked tradition by refusing to green light the choice that came out of Caucus.  Berman; Burkett; Cain; Christian; Flynn; King, P.; Landtroop; Laubenberg; Parker; Paxton; Perry; Simpson; Taylor, V.; Zedler, and TFA’s own member: Freshman James White of Deep East Texas all voted against Straus in spite of having fulfilled the Tea Parties’ demands for a Caucus.  Reps Hughes and Isaacs declined to vote for Straus choosing the “Present not Voting” option.
4. The temptation to corruption must be nearly unbearable.  Spending time with Representatives in and out of the House left me with the distinct impression that 3 out of 4 people they meet want to throw money or gifts at them and the smiles and back-slapping are so genuine you might almost think there are no strings attached.  The need for a counterbalance in their home districts is great and pressing.  Even the most principled man on earth is not Jesus Christ and if we leave him in the desert for forty days (or a term) with no support we shouldn’t be surprised if they’ve made a deal with the Devil come next election.  This does not mean we must endorse their every action.  On the contrary it means we must engage those around us who are not necessarily Tea Partiers.  We must take steps to be out in the communities these folks represent, informing the electorate of the goings on and what these actions mean to them.  For more information on how we can accomplish this go to our Activism link.
5. The Tea Partiers in general have some evolving to do.  At the Tea Party Conservative Assembly, I was shocked to find we were unable to get a 3/4 vote in favor of abolishing the Property Tax.  What was more shocking were the arguments offered (and accepted by more than a quarter of delegates) against such a path.  Were a supposed lover of liberty to tell me they feared a more tyrannous tax such as an income tax I might sympathize; but all arguments centered on two points: 1) If the sales tax goes up too high consumers will buy out of state and the State will have less revenue; and 2) The State might have less revenue without the property tax.  To hear a group of Tea Party delegates talking about the right to own your property as something conditional which should be weighed against the revenue enhancement capacity of the parasitic State was disappointing to say the least.  I could go on, but I reserve my further comment for another column.
6. Tea Partiers in general are in need of some revisionist history that stretches back farther than Woodrow Wilson.  This is something about Glenn Beck I cannot square.  He has gone so far as to create an online university to reeducate the people in real history and indeed he has offered good, solid revisionism on the Progressive Movement.  Yet with ties to Thomas Woods and Judge Napolitano he still manages to be a cheerleader for Lincoln. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it and if we don’t even know real history how can we learn from it? You cannot logically advocate states’ rights on the one hand and then celebrate how Lincoln “held the country together” on the other.  I’m not even from the South and I can’t understand how the tyrant Lincoln is popular here.  The Civil War (or more appropriately The War to End Southern Independence) had nothing to do with slavery and everything to do with imposing an onerous and disproportionate tax on the South.  In addition, we are a movement obviously named for the Boston Tea Party but we seem sadly out of step with the motives of those great rebels.  Again, I have further explored these issues  in an upcoming post.
7. Tea Parties should continue to reach out in a broad way on a broad platform of Liberty and Smaller Government.  Our initial group in East Texas was comprised of such differing individuals that I swell with pride at our cohesion.  We have a wide range of philosophies in our ranks from the zero-government-anarcho-capitalist of the Murray Rothbard tradition to the Christian Conservative of the Reagan tradition.  We don’t agree on everything but we can all agree on this: We need far less government than we have now.  We must move together toward that goal and we can argue about where to stop when the time comes.  Unfortunately that does not seem to be the case everywhere.  I know that some libertarian groups denigrate the Tea Parties for their support of overseas war or even (ridiculously) the fact that we are new to the liberty movement.  But many are open to cooperation and that should be our goal.  Instead I heard one Tea Party organizer saying it “Took [them] forever to get rid of those Ron Paul kids.”  Whatever you think of Ron Paul, he energized youth in a way conservatives have never seen before and we should not cut those from our ranks just because of certain ideological differences which really have no bearing on the current debate.  Our focus should be more freedom and less government, and not for nothing – that’s been their focus for a long time now and there could be much to gain from alliance.  The failure of the Tea Party to affect a Speaker change should be a lesson that we cannot afford to alienate those who share some of our values simply because they don’t share them all.  Let’s join together to fight for the right to run our own families, communities and states; then we can fight over how to run them.

All told it was a valuable learning experience and enabled The Founders Alliance to become a more involved part of the statewide Tea Party Movement, a step I believe is instrumental in our success.  In the coming weeks I have scheduled outreach to Trinity County, Wharton County, Houston, and a wonderful new group called the Crispus Attucks Tea Party.  Named for the black (or possibly mixed race) martyr of the Boston Massacre, this group is being led by Dr. Earl Johnson in an effort to engage minorities in the conservative liberty movement.

The development of independent Tea Party groups all across the nation has been an organic uprising of everyday citizens and that is great, but as everyday citizens we need to be ready to evolve into savvy political activists if we are going to see any change in business as usual.  We should recognize that this is not a problem of Party but rather a problem of Power.  Third parties aren’t the answer but neither is supporting Republicans at all costs.  As I said in my previous column, “Texas Super-Majority Leaves Nowhere to Hide (From East Texans?)” there is no longer any excuse for the party that claims conservatism and small government as its mantle to advocate big government crony capitalism.  When it comes to Texas, Republicans have a chance to sink or swim on their own merits.  Tuesday was not promising for many of them.

Continue Reading

James White (R-Woodville) one of several East Texas legislators setting the bar high in 2011

In politics it’s always the other side’s fault.  They wouldn’t go along and so ‘gosh-we-really-wanted-to-do-it-but-look-at-what-we-had-to-contend-with.’  Texas RINOs won’t have this fig leaf to cover their spinelessness in the 2011 session.  With a super-majority of over two thirds in the House there will be no excuse to compromise principles.  And what principles are being put forth!

Representative-elect James White (R-Woodville) has made clear his intentions to fight unfunded mandates to help close the budget shortfall.  The East Texas educator and rancher shocked the Austin elites when he overwhelmingly defeated incumbent Jim McReynolds who had long enjoyed bi-partisan support in his district.  While early nay-sayers clucked that an African-American could never win in East Texas let alone against a popular legislator like McReynolds, White upset conventional wisdom with a stunning 16 point victory; and he isn’t wasting any time:

Preparing for the next legislative session, I am working on a number of bills to nullify unconstitutional federal actions that intrude on our freedoms to make health choices, raise cattle, and responsibly use our divinely blessed resources. In particular, I will support legislation, such as State Representative Leo Berman’s (Tyler) bill that nullifies nationalized health care in Texas. Furthermore, my efforts to restore constitutional government will extend to abuses performed by the state government in the form of unfunded mandates on our local governments and school districts. Where liberty flourishes, prosperity thrives and this begins by restraining government within its constitutional bounds. (source)

Speaking of Berman, he is out at the head of the nullification movement as detailed in our earlier post here, and he also happens to be another East Texas legislator.  Is there something in the water?  As if that weren’t enough, White also campaigned openly- against the advice of numerous Republicans – on abolishing the property tax.  “Stop renting our homes from the government” his Issues link proclaims.

East Texas seems to be mounting a revolt against the old guard in Austin.  White joined incoming freshman Erwin Cain (R-Como) several weeks ago to announce their support for the underdog Ken Paxton as Speaker of the House.  With all indications still pointing to an easy Straus victory, White and Cain stuck to their principles and cast their lot in with the candidate for whom their constituents were clamoring.   They are now joined by reps Berman, Hughes, Christian, and Flynn; all also of East Texas.

With freshmen like White and Cain in the midst of veteran legislators Bryan Hughes, Leo Berman, Wayne Christian, and Dan Flynn, East Texas is setting the bar awfully high for the rest of the Lone Star State.  Maybe that’s why the goofiest rumor running around Austin this week is that numerous incoming Freshmen including James White are shocked that they don’t receive Congressional-level pay.  I can personally attest to the falsity of this claim, having spoken on multiple occasions as far back as a year ago with James White regarding his concerns about making ends meet on the nominal $600 or so per month legislators receive.  Combined with the alleged threats by Straus operatives to draw Erwin Cain and others out of a district if they didn’t support the former Speaker, it looks like the machine is gearing up to devour those who refuse to march lock-step with the big-government program.

This may be the session which bursts the Texas Liberty Bubble I previously described and begins the tough work of rolling back government to allow genuine freedom to flourish once again.  If it isn’t we will have the GOP Old Guard to blame.  There is a fire in the hearts of some veteran legislators which I believe has been stoked by the election of so many strong ideologues for Liberty.  Unfortunately there is a tsunami of good ol’ boys determined to extinguish any real reform but this time around they will be easy to identify.  Our task will be to pay attention, take note, never forget, and be sure the voters in their districts never forget either.

2010 was just a warm-up.  Republicans should be aware that they have been given just enough rope to hang themselves and behave in all things accordingly.

Continue Reading