Posted on 11/11/2010 7:18:32 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
from http://empowertexans.com/index#housecommittee
Re EmpowerTexans "Fiscal Responsibility Index":
Top Lawmakers
The top score in the House was shared by four members: Charles "Doc" Anderson (R-Waco), Wayne Christian (R-Center), Jodie Laubenberg (R-Rockwall) and Ken Paxton (R-McKinney).
Whoopsi !!!
Way to go, guys!!
The Wizard exposed!
Another lawmaker withdraws support for Straus
Statesman.com ^ | November 12, 2010 | Jason Embry
Posted on Friday, November 12, 2010 2:18:31 PM by MeekOneGOP
Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, today will remove his name from Speaker Joe Straus’ list of supporters in the upcoming race for House speaker.
Several House Republicans have announced this week that they no longer support Straus, who is facing challenges from fellow Republicans Ken Paxton of McKinney and Warren Chisum of Pampa.
“After much thought, prayer and reflection on the priorities of my Denton County district and this historic Republican majority, I have decided today to formally withdraw my pledge to Speaker Joe Straus and offer my full support to Representative Ken Paxton,” Parker said. “Speaker Straus and I have enjoyed a very good relationship and he has been kind and gracious to me. This decision is not about Joe Straus; instead, this is about representing my district and being responsive to Texas voters who have provided this historic, once in a generation opportunity.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2626302/posts
I notice that different articles spell his name different ways.
Some “Straus” and some “Strauss”.
What’s up with that, I wonder?
IF as you say Joe Straus is “our friend” why did he have to resort to a “deal with the devil” to get himself elected speaker last secession?
I hope you will forgive me but my firm opinion is that there are FAR better choices for speaker in the current environment!
“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” —Voltaire
From: Conservatives for Speaker Straus [mailto:conservativesforstraus@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 1:43 PM
To: conservativesforjoe@gmail.com
Subject: Setting the record straight
Dear Fellow Conservative,
In recent days we have read with dismay critical comments of the Republican leadership of the Texas House – in particular Speaker Joe Straus – finding those criticisms to be based on half-truths, hearsay and, in some cases, outright fabrications. These criticisms concern us not just because they unfairly reflect on the leadership of the House, but on all Republicans who compose the majority, and will be running on our record from last session.
As fellow movement conservatives, we have the same desire as many of you: to advance the conservative agenda in Austin, and our shared values. We believe in the sanctity of life, the power of private individuals to create opportunity rather than government, personal responsibility rather than increased dependency, and constitutional limits to the size and scope of government. We are here to tell you, in all these matters, we have an ally in Speaker Joe Straus.
Let’s set aside recent rhetoric, and just look at the record. In his first term as Speaker the Texas House – with just a two-vote majority – we achieved the following:
* Passed a balanced budget with a $1.6 billion reduction in general revenue spending – just the 2nd time we have reduced spending from general revenue since World War II.
* Enacted tax cuts for 40,000 small businesses previously subject to the business margins tax.
* Set aside $9.1 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund, ensuring we could address future budgetary challenges without raising taxes.
Since the session ended, Speaker Straus has joined Governor Perry and Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst in mandating immediate five percent spending cuts at all but a few state agencies. And Speaker Straus has directed members of key committees to look at all ways to find savings and cuts in state spending, taking tax hikes off the table as an option in the next session.
What more could we ask of the leader of the House than that kind of strong, principle-based fiscal conservatism? We have in Joe Straus a strong, principled fiscal conservative. That's why, last session, our fellow Republican Caucus members voted unanimously for the fiscally responsible state budget passed in the Texas House led by Speaker Straus.
Even before he was Speaker, as a second-term representative Joe Straus authored legislation that ended the TIF Tax – the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fee that had outlived its purpose, but was continued under previous Republican leadership as a means to balance the budget. This stands out as one of the largest fee elimination bills in Texas history. Who led the way? Representative Joe Straus. Not only that, Joe Straus passed the most significant energy conservation legislation of the 2007 session in order to control utility rates, and he stood with the victims of violence all across Texas in putting on the ballot a measure to provide stronger constitutional protections for the victims of domestic violence. Voters approved in overwhelming numbers.
My friends, that’s the record of a true conservative – someone who has fought to save you money and control the size of government, and someone who has fought to protect the vulnerable in our society.
Now, in the name of self-interest, a few individuals are trying to disparage that record. Recently a political opponent claimed, without any basis in fact, that somehow Speaker Straus “cut a deal” with Democrats on Voter ID to prevent it from coming up for a vote. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only has Speaker Straus been a strong supporter of Voter ID – voting for it in 2007 – he ensured it priority placement at the top of the House’s Major State Calendar to get it to a floor vote. Democrats then used a tactic known as “chubbing” to kill Voter ID, and in the process killed a lot of other legislation, which earned them a black eye with the public because of their obstructionist tactics.
And that brings us to another point. While our Republican Majority shrunk in the previous three elections, under Speaker Straus’ leadership, we made substantial gains in the November 2 election to an unprecedented 99 seats in the Texas House. Joe Straus gave unprecedented early sums of money to Republican incumbents, and Republican candidates in open seats, as well as to the Republican Party and Party organizations working to get out the vote, making the gains Tuesday possible.
We write to you as members of the conservative movement -- who believe that we must control the size and mission of government. We simply couldn’t let the assaults on our Republican speaker go on unchallenged. As someone who worked for Senator Tower, in the Reagan and Bush Administrations, and as Lamar Smith’s campaign manager during his initial victorious run, Joe Straus is a dedicated and proven conservative. We may not agree with him on every issue, but we know he shares our commitment to fiscally conservative principles, and he manages the House in an even-handed manner, which means the Democrats are forced to fight us on the issues – which spells trouble for them in a conservative state.
If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail us back. We think it is important that you have all the facts. In the Internet age, a lie can travel half-way around the world before the truth ever gets out. You need to know the truth, and not merely what certain opponents of the Speaker want you to believe. In fact, you deserve nothing but the truth – the whole truth.
Sincerely yours,
Kyleen Wright
President, Texans for Life
Borah Van Dormolen
Republican National Committeewoman, Texas
Michael Truncale
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 4
Becky Berger,
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 18
Texas Federation of Republican Women SD 18 District Director
James Barnes
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 19
Bob Jones
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 20
Eric Opiela
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 21
Former Executive Director, Republican Party of Texas
Rebecca Williamson
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 24
Texas Federation of Republican Women Vice President, Programs
Jan Koehne
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 25
Guadalupe County Republican Chairman
Johnny Lovejoy
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 26
Marian Stanko
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 26
Norma Tovar
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 27
Judith Hooge
Atascosa County Republican Party Chair
Texas Federation of Republican Women SD 21 District Director
Frank Morris
Cameron County Republican Party Chair
Former State Republican Executive Committeeman, SD 27
Steve Murphy
Frio County Republican Party Chair
John Elliot
Kerr County Republican Party Chair
Anne Rose
Kimble County Republican Party Chair
Frank Steed
Navarro County Republican Party Chair
Kimberly Curtis
Nueces County Republican Party Chair
Coordinator, Northwest Tea Party
Merle R Hudgins
County Chair
Wharton County Republican Party
Carol Van De Walle
Vice Chairman, Bexar County Republican Party
Mike Bergsma
Vice Chairman, Nueces County Republican Party
Former State Republican Executive Committeeman, SD 20
Cyndi Taylor Krier
Former Bexar County Judge
Robert Talton
General Counsel, Harris County Republican Party
Former Texas State Representative, District 144
Jo Konen
Texas Federation of Republican Women, Deputy President, Region II
Carolyn Hodges
Texas Federation of Republican Women, First Vice President
Barbara Larson
Texas Federation of Republican Women, Vice President, Legislation
Jan Ott
Texas Federation of Republican Women Vice President, Membership
Betty J. Hill, Lt Col, USAF (ret)
TFRW Bylaws Vice President
Bexar County Republican Women PAC Treasurer
Sylvia Manley
Texas Federation of Republican Women SD 7 District Director
President of Greater Houston Council of Republican Women
Carol Prince
Immediate Past President Village Republican Women
Bob Hurley
President, Brush Country Tea Party
Geoffrey R. Tahuahua
Chairman-St. Mary's University
Texas College Republicans
Southern Region Deputy RVC-Greater Bexar County Area
Joseph Fitzsimons
Former Chairman, Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
The above is my response followed by the original e-mail.
This is going to be a battle ROYAL but I’m up for it!
Brian Hughes is my Dad’s State Rep...He (Dad) went by his district office this morning and asked about all the hoopla about Brian getting 600 emails supporting him to run for the position...Hughes has refused to explore that idea...
That doesn’t mean we won’t have some exciting potentials making a run on it...
Amazing how many of that elite SREC membership fell into step on this guy...
I think we can assume this is not going to be a pushover this time...
Obviously it is time to ping our State Reps and tell them we need something fresh in that job this time...Don’t want another limp session this next go around...
There really aren’t that many SREC reps on this and, in the grand scheme of things, not all that many signers in total but you are very right that our reps need to know that we are paying REAL close attention to what they do in this matter!
I can assure you that mine already knows this!
That is exactly where we take the battle to them...
This should really not be that much of a chore...At first I was on the fence and could not see what was broken and what everyone was up in a wad about last session...
But at the end of the day, and the session, I was extremely not impresseed and thought the entire session was a waste of time and effort be a lot of people...And those responsible all patted themselves on the back for a job “not” done, in mine and a lot of others opinion...
A fact I will bring back to light with my newly re-elected
State Rep here this weekend...
I will get a straight story from him on where he stands on this issue...And he will absolutely be receptive to my opinion and position as well...He and I have not just spared over visits and other pleasantries over the last two years, we’ve worked on getting some of his stuff done for the district, and it is time to cash in a few things...This is one of them...
Constituents, like us, are either a bane or blessing to elected officials, we cannnot afford to be screwing around anymore...Time to poop or get off the pot...
Pardon the pun...;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.