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What I Learned in Austin…
14 Jan 2011 by Jessica Hughes / 14 Comments
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…
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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TX Super-Majority has Nowhere to Hide
23 Dec 2010 by Jessica Hughes / 3 Comments
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.
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Speaker Race Still Volatile in Texas
06 Dec 2010 by Jessica Hughes / 3 Comments
Despite an outpouring of protest from the very grassroots that just weeks ago delivered the biggest Republican advantage since Reconstruction, the word is that Joe Straus is still likely to continue his reign as Speaker.Sources in Austin are giving him a 75% chance of retaining his seat of power, although it is possible there will be an exodus of supporters next week when the time limit for fund-raising expires in advance of the next session. The fact is Straus is popular with the lobbyists (which should tell you something) and many legislators may be remaining on his side until the last check is able to be written on December 11. My advice? December 12th be burning up the phone lines!
Then there are those like Stafani Carter, who is claiming it is simply a matter of honor that she stand by her pledge to support Straus; a pledge made all the way back at the primaries and concealed from the grassroots that helped put her in office. That anyone should believe it dishonorable to withdraw support from Straus in spite of the outcry of their constituents is ironic considering Straus himself was still on a pledge card supporting his own predecessor the day before taking his place.
In East Texas, two of the incoming Freshmen, Representatives-Elect James White (R-Hillister) and Erwin Cain (R-Como) issued a joint Press Release detailing their determination to support Paxton based on the overwhelming call for a new direction coming from their constituents.
The ‘Old Guard’ in Austin is supposedly sneering that these Freshmen are “caving to pressure” and I questioned White about this specific charge. The Tea Party Republican, who won 58-42% unseating a 13-year incumbent (a popular Democrat with strong favorables among voters from both parties) replied, “It’s caving to pressure when an elected representative does what some lobbyist wants in spite of his people; this is not caving to pressure, this is me representing my District.”
Well said.
While not everyone is persuadable, the following is a list of either ‘soft’ supporters of Straus or those who have made no pledge at all. These are considered prime targets for movement and the list has already paid off. Last week Representative Van Taylor was on it, now he is committed to supporting Ken Paxton.
Stefani Carter
member elect of Dallas (972) 385-3313
Charles Schwertner
member elect of Georgetown (512) 863-4563
John Frullo
member elect of Lubbock 806-853-8275
Larry Gonzales
member elect of Round Rock 512-244-1280
Sarah Davis
member elect of Houston 713-320-2077
Linda Harper-Brown
incumbent of Irving (972) 717-2871
Kelly Hancock
(HD-91): (512) 463-0599, (817) 590-9280
Larry Taylor
(HD-24): (512) 463-0729, (281) 338-0924
Jerry Madden
(HD-67): (512) 463-0544, (972) 424-2235
Barbara Nash
(HD 93rd) bnash1@aol.com barbara@barbaranashfortexas.com
Rob Orr
(capital 512-463-0538)(capital fax 512-463-0897) (district 817-295-5158)(district fax 817-295-5319)
Mark Shelton
(capital 521-463-0608)
(capital fax 512-463-8342)
(district 817-921-6554)
George Lavender Texarkana, TX
(903) 838-7348
(870) 773-4631Lance Gooden
member elect of Terrell
(903) 386-1276 campaign@lancegooden.com
Marva Beck
member elect of District 57 South Waco
( 903 )536-2290
Jason Isaac
East of Austin (512) 850-5524
Walter T “Four” Price (Not a Joke)
87th District in west Texas (806) 322-1440
Dan Huberty
Member elect of District 127 Houston (713)526-3399
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Criminal Offense or Politics as Usual?
28 Nov 2010 by Jessica Hughes / 3 Comments
Tom Delay was just convicted for money laundering based on his acceptance of about $190,000 in corporate donations which were then donated by Delay to Texas State candidates. I have mixed feelings on this. I don’t want to excuse politics as usual but it does seem that Delay has been convicted of basically doing exactly what we all know every well-heeled politician out there is doing. Unfortunately for Lone Star Legislators, it seems the crack-down may continue in Texas. Those supporting Joe Straus for Speaker may want to reconsider lest they wind up with front row seats to the spectacle of Federal Agents removing the gavel from his hand and cuffing him right there on the floor of the House.Straus and his family, heavily invested in gaming, stand to make hundreds of millions if gambling is expanded in the Lone Star State. Republicans traditionally oppose this due to pressure from their socially conservative base, but word is trickling out that Straus donated literally hundreds of thousands of dollars directly to pro-gaming candidates. These same candidates are now supporting Straus for Speaker in spite of the massive push for more conservative leadership. In a handful of cases donations were made to candidates who were in no danger of being unseated, raising the question of why Straus would donate to them while neglecting more needful Republicans in contested battles (a fact of which I have first-hand knowledge). Buying votes is illegal but how in the world are you supposed to prove quid pro quo? How can you prove these people would not have voted this way in the absence of the money? You can’t.
None of this should be taken to mean that I want elected officials being bought off with corporate money and then proceeding to buy each other off with same. My point is the campaign financing laws are impossible to enforce justly and do absolutely nothing but drive the bribes into evermore confusing circuits from one pocket to the next until the money is ‘clean.’ The only people kept from buying influence are the constituents who don’t have the time, money or power to cut a check for half a million to the national party then get on the phone with said party’s Chairman and inform him (wink, wink) where the cash should be funneled. More rules about who can donate and to whom and how much are going to do nothing to stop the buying and selling of influence in Washington D.C. or in your State Capital.
The only thing that will end influence peddling is to give the government less influence, which means abolishing the immoral IRS and income tax, and eradicating the power to regulate domestic trade.
Consider this: your government at all levels controls the floor on the price of your labor, the ceiling on the hours you can work for a given rate of pay, the food, medicines or substances you are allowed to ingest, the money you must accept as payment and even the people you can contract with to warehouse your money, perform your wedding, tend your childbirth, cut your hair, file your nails, watch your children, cast their broken arms, fix your car, mow your lawn, paint your walls, build your shed, install your windows, lay your driveway, sell your house, calculate your taxes, mend your clothes, represent you in court, write your will, bury you when you are dead, and then calculate the taxes on that.
Those who decry the failure of the free market need to think about these restrictions. There is no free market at all. Every single good or service available is regulated and this is nothing more than forced cartelization. Regulation says “You can be part of the group legally permitted to sell in this market, but not you.” It is the foundation of choosing winners and losers in the market and it is the foundation of all of the influence peddling because when Congress builds a cartel they don’t just have mutual greed to keep it together. They have Federal Marshalls and prisons and guns ready to enforce it. Unlike price-fixing between big corporations, there is no chance of a competitor from outside the cartel showing up with a better price for the consumer. The government decides who gets in and if you participate in that sector of the market you are either in the approved cartel or you are in for an arrest.
So long as this is the model upon which our market functions, there will always be deep pockets willing to pay to be in the cartel and to keep others out. All the convoluted finance laws in the world won’t stop it. The only thing that will stop it is to free the market and end the power of government to control with whom you contract for goods and services. There are hundreds of thousands of pages of legislation between the local, state, and national governments that are little more than rewards to cronies or punishments of their competitors. It seems impossible that such legislation will ever recede, so maybe what we need is a simple Constitutional Amendment at both State and National levels. Something along the lines of, “Notwithstanding any prior or subsequent legislation contrary to the spirit or letter of this Amendment, the natural and God-given right of a person to contract for the goods or services of his or her choice from whomever he or she shall choose and at whatever price is agreeable to both parties shall not be infringed.”
Such a freedom was considered indispensible prior to the New Deal. Our Founders established this Confederation of States in large part as a rejection of the Mercantilist policies of the Crown. Now we have traded monopolies granted by King George for cartels granted by the Lords of Congress. Say hello to the new boss, same as the old boss. Overturn modern-day Mercantilism, Corporatism, Fascism (whatever label you like) and watch the unemployment lines empty of those who would be willing to work and fill with those who have made their living brokering influence among our leaders. Watch the spirit of ingenuity and entrepreneurship that made America great flourish again and prosecutions of elected officials disappear as the competition for a share of the market is thrust out of the halls of our government and back into the hands of the consumers where it belongs.
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Texan Speaker Hopeful Attacks Free Speech
23 Nov 2010 by Jessica Hughes / 6 Comments
The race for Texas Speaker of the House is one state-level battle with national importance. With a stunning sweep by Tea Party candidates, the legislative composition of the Lone Star State has gone overnight from technically-Republican-by-a-nose to overwhelmingly conservative. With a 99-51 Republican advantage, the small government grass-roots who made this routing possible are not going to accept any excuses come next session.Excuses like those they heard all throughout the reign of Speaker Joe Straus. Elevated to power through a back-room deal that involved eleven rogue RINOs voting with the House Democrats, Straus came through for his opposing party by putting either Democrats or liberal Republicans into virtually all seats of power. Committees that unanimously favored conservative bills with the exception of the Chair saw that legislation killed by these turncoat Straus appointees. In the final tally, well over a third of all conservative legislation was killed in committee under Straus while only 3% of liberal legislation suffered this fate. Either Straus is a liar when he says he is a conservative Republican or he is undeniably the worst Speaker of the House ever to wield the gavel. Either way, he must go.
The legislature of Texas is now awash with “radical restorationists” prepared to push legislation to actually defend the citizens of Texas from the unconscionable assault on our liberties that has been waged for generations. As the second-largest economy in the nation and the 15th in the world, Texas has considerable weight to throw around if only her leadership had the guts to do it. For example, an interstate compact to address health care in lieu of the abominable Obama-care mess would benefit greatly from Texan participation and the Texas constitution is one of the most favorable in the nation when it comes to assertion of state power.
Texas State Representative Leo Berman (R – Tyler) has already filed a bill to nullify nationalized health care; and unlike many formats that have been tossed around, this one allows for prosecution and imprisonment of those who attempt to enforce the federal mandates. The bill isn’t a cure-all and there are many holes that would need to be plugged to make it effective, but it’s a good start and just the sort of example other states may follow if they see a modicum of Lone Star success.
But that success will never come to fruition under Joe Straus. In fact, this tyrant has asked that the definition of ‘political speech’ be expanded to include blogs and internet communications. Effectively this would mean I need to file with the Texas Ethics Commission just to say on my blog “Joe Straus is a fascist RINO.” Wouldn’t that be convenient for his designs on being Speaker again.
With the revelation of this assault on the First Amendment, Straus has simply reconfirmed that he cannot be trusted in any position of power. With him in control nullification and other legislation to reign in Washington will never see the light of day. Men of his ilk are interested in power for power’s sake and will never tolerate efforts to reduce it. For the good of the State of Texas and for the national movement toward Liberty and small government Joe Straus must be defeated.
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