#TXLEGE: Beebe BLASTS Opponent's (aka. Straus' Handpicked Successor) UNCONSTITUTIONAL Attempt to DISARM INNOCENT CIVILIANS

"Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me."
Nehemiah 4:18

From the Inbox:

Beebe Calls On Allison to Rescind His Unconstitutional Stance on Gun Rights

(San Antonio, TX) On Thursday Matt Beebe called upon his opponent, Steve Allison, to rescind his statement advocating for unconstitutional actions that infringe upon Texas citizen’s 4th Amendment and 2nd Amendment rights. 

Last week the San Antonio Express News published an article where Mr. Allison took the position that any citizen should be subject to being stopped and lawfully detained if they are open carrying a firearm (a lawful exercise of their 2nd Amendment rights), and be required to produce identification:

Allison, a longtime friend of Straus, believes police have a right to order anyone who is openly carrying a gun in public to produce a license for the firearm.

“I do think (police) have a right to see a license where there’s a weapon involved,” said Allison.

Beyond the plain reading of the Constitution, there are volumes of court decisions over the last 50 years since Terry v Ohio that have consistently maintained that to “allow stops in this setting would effectively eliminate Fourth Amendment protections for lawfully armed persons.”  This is unacceptable.

Perpetuating this basic misunderstanding of the Constitution directly endangers lawful citizens by misleading local law enforcement, which continues to lead to tragic outcomes across the country and locally.  Short of physical harm to citizens from untrained law enforcement, local taxpayers are at risk of huge monetary judgements against government entities which violate the Constitutional rights of citizens, as has been shown in Northrup v Ohio (a case extremely similar to the circumstances wherein Mr Allison seeks to abridge our Constitutional protections).

Matt Beebe commented on Allison’s statement saying, "fear and feelings should not drive our public policy decisions — especially when it comes to restricting individual rights specifically enumerated in the Constitution.  I'm not willing to trade our 4th Amendment rights just to make some people more comfortable with the lawful exercise of our 2nd Amendment rights.  There is a reason that the local cities have recently rescinded their unlawful ordinances and I would encourage all local law enforcement officials to know that just because Mr. Allison says you can violate someone’s 4th Amendment rights doesn't mean you can.  I hope Steve will rescind his unconstitutional position.”

Bottom Line: Nobody objects to keeping firearms out of the hands of genuinely dangerous people, but to unlawfully search a law-abiding citizens without probable cause is the textbook definition of "infringement"....

Villalba Protects Straus

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ."
2 Corinthians 11:13

Earlier tonight, this website published a piece about Jason Villalba's refusal to debate the Speaker's race at home; it begat the following response:

@VoteBeebe @MattRinaldiTX @cahnman LOL. Austin Club. Live audience. 60 minutes. @scottbraddock moderates. Week before vote. #TxLege #BringIt
— Jason Villalba (@JasonVillalba) December 28, 2014

This is a cop-out.

Villalba and Rinaldi were originally scheduled to debate tomorrow; Villalba's tweet is an attempt to stall while he shops for a friendly audience.

Villalba wants to run out the clock.  If he faces in district questioning, that will make it harder.  Thus, he prefers Austin in two weeks to Dallas tomorrow.

Make no mistake: An Austin event is easier for this author to attend.  But Villalba lives in Dallas.  It's telling that he would rather appear in our hometown than his own.

As Matt Beebe Says:

.@JasonVillalba will dance for the Austin lobbyists, but skips out on the hometown audience? #TXLege @MattRinaldiTX @cahnman @scottbraddock
— Matt Beebe for Texas (@VoteBeebe) December 28, 2014

Rinaldi follows up:

Point is to have constituents hear the debate. @JasonVillalba wants to debate in front of lobbyists. Tomorrow @6:30 660am. You in? #TxLege
— Matt Rinaldi (@MattRinaldiTX) December 28, 2014

This author proposed a compromise:

@JasonVillalba Nice Try; debate @MattRinaldiTX tomorrow, then @evanasmith 2 hr forum with @SpeakerStraus and @ScottTurnerTX on 1/12
— cahnman (@cahnman) December 28, 2014

Which, upon being ignored, we proposed again:

@scottbraddock Nice try; how 'bout @JasonVillalba/@MattRinaldiTX tomorrow and @SpeakerStraus and @ScottTurnerTX on 1/12?!? @rumpfshaker
— cahnman (@cahnman) December 28, 2014

But nobody wants to make things interesting:

@JasonVillalba Why not @MattRinaldiTX tomorrow and @SpeakerStraus/@ScottTurnerTX 1/12?!? @rumpfshaker @evanasmith @scottbraddock
— cahnman (@cahnman) December 28, 2014

Which, once again, begs the real question: Why not have Matt Rinaldi and Jason Villalba debate tomorrow night in Dallas then have Scott Turner and Joe Straus debate on January 12th in Austin (we don't care if Evan Smith or Scott Braddock moderates)?!?

Proof the Texas Libertarian Party is retarded

"Understand, you senseless among the people; And you fools, when will you be wise?"
Psalm 94:8

San Antonio -- Did you know Joe Straus has a Libertarian opponent?!?

Neither did we.

The Libertarian 'party' loves to (justifiably) complain about the two party system, but never does anything to become a credible alternative.  While they run spoiler candidates in U.S. Senate races, they are woefully ignorant of the down ballot races that can serve as a foundation for future victories.  State rep races are a perfect example of said down ballot races.

HD-121 would have been a fantastic place to start.

It's not a secret that the Tea Party can't stand the Republican incumbent.  Almost 40% of Republican primary voters voted for the other guy.  Yet what has the Libertarian party done to reach out to disaffected Republicans in a district that is clearly full of them?!?

[Sidenote: Ditto Byron Cook's race.]

Obviously, it's too late to do anything about it this cycle, but a credible Libertarian challenge to Straus could have captured interest around the state.  It would have been a mutually beneficial outcome: the Tea Party would fet Straus out of the picture, the LP would have gotten their first state rep.  But why take tangible steps toward an achievable goal when you can yammer on about Kathie Glass?!?

Matt Beebe Faces the Lions

San Antonio, TX -- In front of a room that was two thirds full, and an establishment leaning crowd, the campaigns for Texas House district 121 made their final pitch.  Matt Beebe spoke to the myriad shortcomings of the Texas House under current Republican leadership.  Standing in for speaker Joe Straus, Representative Lyle Larson (last seen embarrassing himself at the Wallace Hall impeachment hearing) made a number of far-fetched claims.

Larson opened by lauding Straus for "balancing three straight budgets unlike Washington D.C."  In doing so, Larson ignored the fact that the Texas constitution requires a balanced budget.  Larson lauded Straus for not raising taxes, which is a low bar for a Republican in Texas to clear.  In the most telling line, Larson called Straus a "Five decade Republican in Bexar County."  Of course, it was exactly five decades ago that George Bush 41 first ran for the United States Senate.

Beebe opened by quoting the Wall St. Journal about profligacy in the 83rd Texas Legislature.  He disputed Team Straus' ex post facto celebration of last summer's abortion legislation, describing how the law passed in spite of Straus.  Beebe also illustrated how Straus hasn't led on school finance.

In the Q and A section on education, Beebe called for greater local control and a "student centered funding model."  Larson promoted HB 5, a dubious bill the legislature passed in 2013.  Larson also claimed condescendingly that Beebe "doesn't understand local government."

During the section on immigration, Larson cited state level efforts. Beebe discussed recent favorable comments Straus has made regarding Paul Ryan and immigration.  Beebe called for an end to illegal immigration magnets like in-state tuition.

The candidates also discussed transportation.  Beebe called himself "absolutely anti-toll road" and cited an old Larson campaign mailer to prove his point.  Larson was speechless.

Today's forum highlighted the well known differences between Matt Beebe and Joe Straus.  Unlike Joe Straus, Matt Beebe isn't beholden to Democrats.  From the state budget, to school finance, to transportation, the choice for conservative leadership in Texas House district 121 is clear.

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Read our endorsement for Matt here; donate to his campaign here.

Joe Straus insults the Second Amendment...again!!!

A disappointing, though not surprising, release from the National Association for Gun Rights:

National Association of Gun Rights Matt Beebe/Joe Straus letter by Cahnman

Vote Second Amendment; vote Beebe!!!

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Read our endorsement of Matt Beebe here, donate to his campaign here.

Matt Beebe Picks Up Re-enforcements

Encouraging announcement from Team Beebe:

A generous donor has pledged to match ALL donations to our campaign from now till February 25th. With your help, we can raise the funds necessary to get our conservative message out in the final days of the campaign.

....

Just like in 2012, Joe is once again block-walking the district. In fact, he’s spending significant time and effort trying desperately to connect with ordinary voters in District 121 – something he has failed to do, even though he beat me in 2012. But we've got a secret weapon – the conservative message that mostly sells itself. I have been across the district, and day after day, I personally witness the same positive responses our volunteer walk teams have reported on Saturdays.

Voters in this district ARE keyed into this race much more than they ever were in 2012. Our key issues mailers are hitting mailboxes across the district, and there are more to come. But we still need a little help with fundraising to ensure we finish strong. I never expected to meet Joe Straus dollar for dollar, but we DO need additional help getting our message out.

....

It is quite clear that the liberals and moderates will need Joe Straus EVEN MORE than he needs them next session. THEY will need to hide behind him to stall and derail the conservative reforms that are coming. Coming only if we can beat him.

The outcome of this race WILL impact each and every Texan.

Read the whole thing here.

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Read our endorsement of Matt here; donate (PLEASE!!!) here.

Lying Liar Joe Straus Confesses his Lies

On Tuesday, Matt Beebe and Joe Straus met with the editorial board on the San Antonio Express-News; last year's water slush fund debate came up:



This was obvious to anyone who was paying attention, but it's good to see the orgy of lies used to sell the Water Slush fund last year exposed.

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Update: The Express-News write up has more from the meeting....

SAN ANTONIO — They agreed on a few topics, but Texas House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio and his GOP re-election opponent in District 121 differed sharply on several key issues Tuesday in the first — and possibly last — joint appearance of their rematch campaign.

While Straus, R-San Antonio, praised the 83rd Legislature's actions to restore public school funding and to address long-term water and transportation needs, his tea party-backed opponent Matt Beebe said 2013 lawmaking sessions were a collection of missed opportunities to apply conservative principles to state spending and social issues.

Both candidates told the Express-News Editorial Board they oppose term limits for state officials, saying they put their trust in voters. Even so, Beebe, who lost to Straus in the 2012 GOP primary by a 63-37 percent vote, contends it's time for new leadership in the district that includes Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills and a large part of city's North Side.

Straus, a House member since 2005 and speaker since 2009, said, “We had an enormously successful session in 2013” that included changes to the testing regimen in public schools and implementation of a state water plan that won overwhelming voter approval in November.

....

Beebe, who has an IT and computer security business, said he has the same reason for running that motivated him in 2012.

“We just weren't getting the kinds of conservative reforms that I thought were necessary. We're back at it again this time because most of that hasn't changed. A lot of good, solid reforms were killed, and the gentleman seated to the right of me had his hand in a lot of that,” Beebe claimed.

....

He said the House should have ended in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants and reduced state spending. Beebe was critical of what he called unfunded mandates for public schools, and he argued that the $2 billion voters authorized for water infrastructure projects would cause communities to add to their debt to access some of the state funds.

Straus countered, “His accusation that I 'punted' this to the voters is patently false.”

“I sit before you very proud of Proposition 6, a bold and responsible plan to address our water shortage,” Straus said. “We could have done nothing, which was the easy thing for the last 10 or 15 Legislatures,” he said.

The two candidates' second showdown is the March 4 GOP primary. Early voting starts Feb. 18.

Casino Interests Supporting Our Opponents

Agendawise details the campaign contributions of the leading casino gambling lobbyist in Texas:

In 2013, high powered Obama ally John Montford was engaged to lobby for the expansion of gambling in Texas. His effort was DOA but as Hoppe’s article suggests the left will continue to work for the false economic promise of more gambling in Texas. Expanded gambling in Texas would enrich a few families and flood an aggressive lobby with cash.

What we find striking, however, is that Montford (or his wife) donated to several primary opponents of Cahnman's Musings endorsed candidates.

In the statewide race for Attorney General, we support Ken Paxton; Montford supports Ken's opponent Barry Smitherman:

Barry Smitherman John Montford $7500 R

In the race for House District 121, we support Matt Beebe; Montford supports Texas House Speaker Joe Straus:

Joe Straus Debbie Montford $1000 R

In the race for Senate District 25, we support Donna Campbell; Montford supports her opponent:

Michael Novak Debbie Montford $6273.37 R

Casino gambling wasn't a factor in our endorsement decisions, but it's good to know that their top lobbyist seems to hate Cahnman's Musings endorsed candidates in particular!

Matt Beebe's receives key endorsement

Go Matt Go:

I'm excited to announce our most recent endorsement from Cathie Adams, President of Texas Eagle Forum and former Texas GOP Chair.

Cathie was gracious in her endorsement of my candidacy saying, "Matt Beebe is a smart and principled conservative leader and a highly successful businessman. Constituents in House District 121 would be fortunate to have his tremendous character and integrity serving them in Austin."

She went on to say,"Matt knows that government cannot create jobs and that it should not choose winners and losers in the marketplace. He will work to limit the size of government and fight against illegal immigration. Matt not only talks about being pro-life, over the years he has committed his talents and treasures to defend innocent lives. He is the only pro-life candidate in this race. I ask my friends to vote for Matt Beebe for State Representative."

Read the whole thing here.

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Readers can see our endorsement of Matt here; donate to his campaign here.

On Scott Turner

On Wednesday, Texas State Rep Scott Turner (R - Rockwall) gave a last minute speech at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Policy orientation conference.  Today, he filed to run for speaker in 2015.  It's been a whirlwind few days for the former NFL player.

I am excited to announce I have just filed to run for Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives for the 84th... http://t.co/roTDbnUn2W
— Scott Turner (@ScottTurnerTX) January 10, 2014

Cahnman's Musings first met Scott Turner a reception in late-2012.  We began to follow his career at the urging of Michelle Smith of Concerned Women for America, who lives in Turner's district.  We're impressed by his record.

Regarding the Speaker's race itself, we concur with PJ Tattler:

The conservative Republican former NFL star, who is a freshman in the Texas House, will be taking on an entrenched and powerful speaker who has beaten back several past challenges. Straus maintains his seat, ironically given the Republicans’ overwhelming majority in the House, by blending a unified Democrat caucus plus enough Republicans voting together to keep him as speaker.

Turner will be facing an uphill fight, but his entire life story is about taking on one uphill fight after another.

Obviously, our own sentiments towards Joe Straus are known.

For conservative Texans who want to replace Joe Straus, we encourage you to start by supporting Matt Beebe at the ballot box.  If Beebe wins in March, Turner will be the last man standing.  Even if Beebe falls short, then giving Straus a run for his money strengthens Turner immeasurably.

Here's Turner's speech from Wednesday:



Highlights:

• Told his mom at 10: "Mom, one day I'm going to play in the NFL."

• As a teenager, his Dad took him to work as a dishwasher.
• "You will not quit; not today, not ever."

• To get to the NFL: "I ran and kept running."
• "13 years of preparation for 4.2 seconds...changed my life."
• "I was not willing to throw in the towel."
• Drafted by the Redskins in the seventh round in 1995.

• "As you and I go, so goes Texas; as Texas goes, so goes America."
• "In order for Texas to be the best it can be, we have to be the best people we can be."
• Lip service does not cut it.
• Put your feet on the ground; do it.

• Super charging the Texas economy:  "I don't want to just be good enough to win; I want to be the best we can be."

• "The external affairs of Texas will be directly effected by conditions of the hearts of its people; where is your heart today?!?"

Matt Beebe challenges Straus to debate

This morning, we received the following press release from Team Beebe:

REPUBLICAN MATT BEEBE CALLS ON JOE STRAUS 

TO DEBATE THE ISSUES

(SAN ANTONIO) Matt Beebe, conservative candidate for Texas House District 121, today called on Speaker Joe Straus to make good on his promises of a campaign “about the issues” by debating Beebe about their differing visions of the key challenges facing Texans in the years ahead.

In issuing his challenge, Beebe said, “Residents of District 121 have been promised a positive, issues based campaign, and I intend to do just that – I hope Joe will join me in keeping a promise he has also made. The Legislature oversees the spending of billions of tax dollars and enacts legislation impacting the freedom and livelihood of all Texans. Voters in HD121 deserve an opportunity to see the contrasting views clearly presented in a public forum, and as an incumbent seeking another term as a State Legislator, he has a duty to answer questions and defend his record.”

In order to accommodate GOP voters in District 121, Matt Beebe requested Speaker Straus and his campaign make time for two or three debates before early voting begins. Beebe also stated, “I know the Speaker is very busy traveling outside the district and fundraising across the State, so we are ready at his convenience – any place, any time.” The Beebe campaign awaits a reply from Speaker Straus and his campaign.

Matt Beebe is a United States Air Force Veteran, father, and small business owner. A constitutional conservative, Beebe is running to reduce the size, power, and spending of government in Texas, and drive practical and efficient solutions in areas that are the proper role of State government.  Matt and his wife Nicole are proud parents to Joshua and Hannah, and are longtime residents of HD121 where the family regularly attends Alamo Heights United Methodist Church.

 Donate to Matt's campaign here.

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Readers interested in promoting a debate should contact the following San Antonio media personalities:

Joe Pags, WOAI radio host:
@JoeTalkShow

WOAI radio:
@1200WOAI

Peggy Fikac, San Antonio Express-News:
@pfikac

The most-important end-of-year political contribution Texans can make

Matt Beebe sends out his end of year fundraising appeal (reprinted in full):

I hope your Christmas season has been a blessed time of rest and fellowship with friends and family.  Our family spent time visiting our extended family in Michigan for an extended weekend where the kids got to play in the snow, so their holiday was complete! We made it back to San Antonio prior to Christmas and enjoyed the Christmas Eve candlelight worship service at Church.

The campaign is gearing back up, and the encouragement continues to come in as voters are hungry for more conservative leadership in District 121. I've particularly appreciated the Christmas time with my family since I know the firestorm of campaign events and voter outreach over the next 64(!) days will make it hard to spend enough time with the most important people in my life.

But the modest sacrifice is worth it, as we are in this race to win it and we won't settle for 2nd place. We need your help to spread our conservative message across San Antonio and District 121

With just two short days left till our first fundraising deadline (Midnight, December 31st) I would like to ask each of you to conside making a financial contribution before the end of the year.

ANY amount helps - it really does! Joe Straus will receive $50,000 and $100,000 checks from his top donors, but no amount of money will keep us from telling the voters the truth about where Texas is, and where it can go if we restore conservative leadership to the Texas House. Please donate $25, $50 or $500 today!

-Matt

 This is the most important legislative primary in Texas.  We will NEVER implement the fiscal reforms Texas needs to super-charge our economy as long as Joe Straus runs the Texas House.  Donate here.

Matt Beebe: Why I'm Running

Matt Beebe explains why, despite the sleaze that was thrown out at him in 2012, he's giving it a second shot:

Thank you for the encouragement that so many of you have given through your words, financial contributions and prayers. For most of the past two years every time I have attended a public event, I have been encouraged by HD 121 voters to run again.  Since the formal announcement last week, the outpouring of support has continued. I am honored and encouraged -- together we can bring conservative leadership to Bexar County and District 121.

That being said, I still receive the "why are you running?" question from some people.  This doesn't surprise me since I've asked myself that same question many times over the past several months. When your opponent promises a "positive campaign" and then spends $1,500,000 distorting his own record and gets his lobbyist friends to lie about you it's not a lot of fun. Frankly, those "dirty games" are exactly the kinds of things we all wish didn't happen in politics today, and they are the primary reason many good people seek to avoid politics altogether.

But the answer really is simple. I'm concerned about where Texas will be 10, 20, or 30 years from now.  The conservative values we hold dear are under attack daily and Joe Straus continues to enable those who would seek to dismantle the very pillars of what makes Texas so great. The evidence is plenty -- this past session my opponent has ignored serious issues like out-of-control spending, refused to end ever-increasing taxpayer subsidies to illegal immigrants, failed to protect our small businesses from excessive regulations and burdensome taxes, and enabled a "money is the only answer" edu-crat establishment that refuses to prioritize dollars into our classrooms.

I've often said that I don't believe we should settle for simply being "better than California."  The irony in that statement should not be overlooked -- there is no comfort in being better when we appear to be moving closer and closer each day!

Ultimately I'm running because when I go door to door I hear citizens concerned about Texas and they want passionate leadership willing to stand on principle. As Speaker of the House, Joe Straus rarely casts votes, and therefore you have to look deeper into the mechanics of the "sausage making" to see the imprint he has made and the conservative reforms he has derailed.  But this past session, we got a very clear window into his priorities -- he only cast two votes last session and both were to spending billions of your taxpayer dollars. His philosophy of "money solves all problems" does not align with the priorities of District 121.

Read the whole thing here.

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Read our endorsement here.

The #TXLEGE Good Guys Winning

With the United States Senate race in the spotlight, Empower Texans tallies the score for state level candidate filings:

At the top of the heap are the A-rated House members on the Fiscal Responsibility Index; only three of 19 even drew a challenger. Of the 19 worst-rated GOP legislators, six drew opponents in addition to the four who aren’t even seeking re-election. 

The only three A-rated legislators drawing opponents are Jonathan Stickland, Matt Schaefer and Stefani Carter. 

On the other hand, the state reps in the bottom-19 being challenged include:J.D. Sheffield, Kyle Kacal, Jim Keffer, John Otto, Diane Patrickand Drew Darby. 

....

In the first test of the 2014 elections – drawing a challenger – the legislators at the top of the TFR list have won overwhelmingly. Now, on to the races!

Read the whole thing here.

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Author's Note: We're not sure when this piece originally went to press, but it's worth noting that Matt Beebe is also challenging Joe Straus.

OFFICIAL ENDORSEMENT: Matt Beebe for Texas House

And Joe Straus gets a primary challenge:

Today Matt Beebe filed to seek the Republican nomination for State Representative in District 121, the seat currently held by moderate Republican Joe Straus. 

Announcing his filing, Beebe stated, “Many politicians wrap themselves in conservative language come election season, but unfortunately for Texans and particularly the residents of District 121, the results don’t match the rhetoric. Entrenched politicians in Austin continue to say one thing and do another. I’m concerned about the future for all Texans when Austin’s spending priorities look more like California each and every Legislative session. As I think about my children, I’m unwilling to look them in the eyes 10 years from now and say I did nothing about it.” 

Matt Beebe ran two years and was looked at as an inexperienced candidate. After a dedicated ground game and a conservative message that resonated with HD121 voters put Beebe within striking distance, Straus was forced to spend over $1.5M of his own campaign cash as well as coordinate nearly $100k of mudslinging attacks delivered by PACs trying to curry his favor. 

“Joe Straus does not hold the conservative values of District 121. I will spend the next 90 days talking to voters across District 121 about critical issues facing Texas. It’s disappointing that our legislature can find time to bloat our budget with $22 Billion dollars of spending growth but can’t even find time to vote on a simple issue like ending in-state tuition assistance to illegal immigrants – or countless other conservative priorities. Straus only cast two votes this session, and both were to spend Billions of dollars. Clearly legislation that limits the growth of government wasn’t a priority,” Beebe concluded. 

Matt Beebe is an Air-Force veteran, small business owner and father of two beautiful children. His wife is more accomplished than he, being a scholar and researcher in Digital Forensics and IT Security. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

 Cahnman's Musings first met Matt during his 2012 campaign against Straus.  Most recently, we saw him at the Texas Capitol during the Summer 2013 abortion debate.  He's a rock solid fiscal and social conservative.  We had heard rumors that he would run again, but nothing solid.  We wish him God speed in this race!

Oh baby!!!

Texas Association of Businesses Astonishingly Weak Attack on Matt Beebe

This flabbergastingly dishonest advertisement has been airing on WOAI in San Antonio for the past few days.  It contains the following gem:

Matt Beebe hasn't voted in 6 out of the last 8 Republican Primaries

So what?!?   Primary elections are every two years.  That mean this count goes back to 1996 (16 years).  Texas has only had one competitive Republican Primary in that time.

This means Matt Beebe didn't vote in a bunch of elections that weren't competitive at the top of the ticket.  Lots of people are guilty of that sin, especially prior to 2010.  The fact that Matt Beebe has gone from complacency to mounting a credible primary challenge against the incumbent Speaker of the Texas House is a good thing.

Of course, when the candidate you're supporting has a documented history of supporting higher taxes, supporting Casino Gambling, and using Barack Obama's rhetoric you can't do much else.

Official Endorsement: Texas Budget Compact

This past Monday, Governor Rick Perry introduced the Texas Budget Compact at an event in Houston:

Cahnman's Musings officially endorses the Texas Budget Compact.  The notion that politicians think they can attach strings to our own money is an outrage; this is just as true in Austin as it is in Washington D.C.  The Texas Budget Compact keeps our own money in our own hands in the first place.  The Texas Budget Compact is the Uproot and Overhaul of State Government.  This long-term solution to Texas' budget shortcomings is based on the following five common sense principles:/div>

Practice truth in budgeting.

Support a Constitutional limit of spending to the growth of population and inflation.

Oppose any new taxes or tax increases, and make the small business tax exemption permanent.

Preserve a strong Rainy Day Fund.

Cut unnecessary and duplicative government programs and agencies.

If you ever wondered where Rick Perry's sentiments really are, you need look no further.  If Goveronor Perry were not a Tea Partier at heart, he wouldn't have proposed the Texas Budget Compact in the Middle of Legislative primary elections.  The Texas Budget Compact is the Howitzer that will allow the Tea Party to systematically eliminate the corrupt leadership of the Texas Legislature, starting with Speaker Joe Straus'.  Texans need to demand their state legislative candidates endorse Governor Perry's Texas Budget Compact.

[Author's Note: In case the Secret Service is reading, "systematically eliminate the corrupt leadership of the Texas Legislature" refers to the ballot box.]

The Texas Budget Compact makes spending restraint a legal requirement.  It permanently binds the legislature. For those of you unfamiliar with the Texas Constitution, the budget is initially proposed by a body called the Legislative Budget Board, the only legal authority the Governor has is his veto power at the end of the process.  Governor Perry's veto won't be around forever.  The Texas Budget Compact will bind the legislature from now to eternity.

In 2013, the Legislature needs to make the Texas Budget Compact its top priority.  Permanently restraining spending will get us just as much crap ONCE as cutting spending on an ad hoc basis every two years will get us till eternity.  We can always cut spending further at a later date, like 2015 and 2017.  And we will....:)

We've already seen the corrupt leadership of the Texas Leadership make a really lame attempt to sidestep the Texas Budget Compact.  Speaker Joe Straus said:

Speaker Straus has a long-standing policy of not signing pledges; his pledge is to keep his commitments to and provide quality representation for the constituents of District 121 and the people of Texas.

Other Republican legislators have expressed similar sentiments to their corrupt Speaker.  Just so we're clear, saying "we don't sign pledges" is Austin Capitol Insider bull-crap for "Texans can go fuck themselves."  I know the language is strong, but I use that phrase deliberately to illustrate the contempt in which many legislators, led by their corrupt Speaker, hold regular Texans.

Over the next six weeks, motivated citizens can send a message to the corrupt leadership of the Texas Legislature, starting with Speaker Joe Straus.  We need to go out and teach people the full implications of the Texas Budget compact.  Failure to pass the Texas Budget Compact will destroy the economic foundation of Texas Civilization.  The Texas Budget Compact will enforce budgetary righteousness on the corrupt and wicked leadership of the Texas Legislature.  Cahnman's Musings unapologetically endorses this Urgent Priority!

The Difference between Republicans and Tea Partiers

Last night, I went to an event hosted by Republicans; I define Republicans as people who either work for the Party, work at the Capitol, or lobby the State Government.

To be clear, this isn't personal.  I had an awesome time and everyone was super-cool.  That being said, in discussing the primary in HD-121 someone made a comment that epitomizes the difference in mentality between Republicans and Tea Partiers:

As a citizen, I'd love to see Joe Straus go down; as a lobbyist, he's great on our issues and we support him.

Excuse me?!?  You support Joe Effing Straus?!?

The Joe Straus who uses the exact same rhetoric as Barack Obama?!?

The Joe Straus who wants to bring Casino Gambling to Texas?!?

The Joe Straus who became Speaker by sleazily collaborating with Democrats?!?

THAT Joe Straus?!?

To me, supporting Joe Straus is unfathomable; perpetuating a system where a slime ball like Joe Straus gets to dole out committee chairmanships offends my basic sense of right and wrong.

If you want to understand the difference in mentality between Republicans and Tea Partiers, you need look no further than the race for HD-121 in Texas.

Vote Matt Beebe!!!

CPAC Texas Debrief

In case you were unaware, I went to the first annual CPAC Texas this past weekend; these are my takeaways:

1) Tea Party 2.0 -- The 2012 version of the Tea Party might not have the street presence of the 2009/10 version, but it's much better organized, much better focused, and it has a much more realistic picture of how to win elections.  There are more establishment GOPers getting primary challenges across Texas than any point since the GOP became the undisputed majority party with Dubya's election as Governor in 1994.  It's difficult to predict how many will win in 2012, but I can confidently say that by 2014 and 2016 Tea Party 3.0 and 4.0 will control the Republican nominating process in Texas.

2) Ted Cruz -- I had a ten minute conversation with him; Ted gets it.  Ted understands that, no matter what happens at the Presidential level, Congress can drive the agenda so long as the Jim DeMint's et. al. of the U.S. Senate get another 6-7 re-enforcements.  Ted is actually a step ahead of me in terms of understanding how dangerous Obama's czars and commissions really are and the steps needed to unwind and abolish them (defunding and legislative repeal).

3) San Antonio -- This is really a subcategory of Tea Party 2.0, but San Antonio is where you will see the Texas Tea Party flex our muscles in the coming months.  The speaker of the Texas State House, a man named Joe Straus, is an epic level RINO.  Straus is being challenged in the primary by a man named Matt Beebe.  I had a long conversation with Matt on Friday night (at least 45 mins).  Matt's everything we're looking for in a representative.  I personally pleged to Matt that I would knock on at least 200 doors for him before election day.  On the other hand, Straus has never had to run in a contested election, let alone a primary.  The tea party will end Straus' political career.

Where this gets interesting, however, is that Straus' Texas House district has substantial overlap with U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith's district.  Obviously, final U.S. house district lines haven't yet been resolved, but this is an obvious opportunity to take out two birds with one stone.  Lamar Smith, in case you didn't know, voted FOR TARP, voted FOR Obama's debt ceiling increase, and he's the author of SOPA.

4) 2010 election shenanigans in Travis County -- Lloyd Doggett DIDN'T win his last election.  In a normal midterm year, Travis County precincts average 46% turnout.  In 2010, a heavy turnout midterm, they averaged 51%.  Doggett got over the top via 60 precincts in the most heavily Democrat parts of Travis County.  The precinct in which I live allegedly had 95% turnout; since I live there, I can promise you that didn't happen.

5) The utter collapse of the Texas Democrat Party -- There are 150 seats in the Texas State House.  62 didn't have Democrats even FILE.  Ouch.

I hope this helps.