Simpson endorses ending Marriage Licenses

"teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,"
Titus 2:12

David Simpson released the following statement today:

(Longview, TX) On Monday, House member and Texas State Senate candidate David Simpson announced that he is calling on Governor Abbott to immediately call a special session of the 84th Legislature in light of the Supreme Court’s lawless and unconstitutional redefinition of marriage.

Says Simpson, “In light of the Supreme Court’s actions, I believe that the best way to protect marriage is to divorce marriage from government. I am asking the governor to recall the legislature so that legislation may be immediately considered to remove state and local officials from the process of issuing marriage licenses. In its place, the process of issuing a certificate of marriage will be performed by any willing clergy member consistent with their conscience and in respect for our culture and our heritage. For those who do not wish to have a religious ceremony, any authorized notary may approve a certificate.”

Simpson added, “I cannot and I will not sit idly by while unelected judges redefine the sacred institution of marriage and force our county and state officials to violate their most cherished beliefs. Marriage is a divinely instituted tradition as old as humanity. Government marriage is just another government program and a modern failure. Government has cheapened it, redefined it, and parceled it out for profit. As a Christian, I call on every Texan to reject this aberration and contact the governor to take swift action to end it.”

Read the whole thing here.

Wiley clearly making Workman nervous

"The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
And a good report makes the bones healthy."
Proverbs 15:30

Barely a week ago, former Austin City Council candidate Jay Wiley (full disclosure: Whom we endorsed in that race) announced he was running against incumbent Paul Workman for the Republican nomination in House District 47:

We are concerned about the direction of our nation and state. Though Texas is governing much better than states like California and New York, we missed key opportunities this year.

In the 2015 legislative session illegal immigration was not even addressed, major union reform was killed, and the most significant pro-life bill of the session was sabotaged when it arrived in the Texas House. We are witnessing a failure of leadership in prioritizing conservative reforms that the grassroots are calling for.

The politicians in Austin are too busy carrying water for special interest groups, while our priorities are ignored.

Workman clearly noticed.  Since Wiley's announcement he's sent out two fundraising e-mails.  This line from Wednesday's e-mail stands out:

We have done a lot, but I am running for re-election because there is more to be done. Unfortunately, not everyone shares our vision for Texas and my opponent has wasted no time raising money and attacking me in the press.

Bottom line: Paul Workman typically sends 2-3 fundraising e-mails in a year; to send two within a week of his opponent's campaign announcement reveals the degree to which Jay Wiley frightens him.

TPPF EXCORIATES Lawless SCOTUS ruling

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Joshua 24:15

This statement speaks for itself:

TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION STATEMENT ON U.S. SUPREME COURT RULING IN OBERGEFELL ET AL. v. HODGES, DIRECTOR, OHIO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, ET AL.

AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s President and CEO Brooke Rollins, and its Director of the Center for Tenth Amendment Action, Thomas Lindsay, Ph.D., issued the following statements in reaction to the Supreme Court of the United States’s ruling in the Obergefell case this morning:             “With the Obergefell decision, we see the Supreme Court of the United States trespass against the principles that constitute the very foundation of United States: democratic self-governance, separation of powers, and the sovereignty of the states under the Tenth Amendment,” said Rollins. “The contention that the Fourteenth Amendment overturns the Tenth, and therefore validates a remote and imperious judiciary’s revision by fiat of the family law and social institutions of all the states, is contrary to the American system, destructive to liberty, and offensive to common sense.             "Whatever one thinks of the marriage question, this is a dangerous decision that only accelerates the accretion of power into the hands of an undemocratic elite."             “Regardless of one’s view of same-sex marriage, even a cursory examination of the 14th Amendment—which the Court relied on in this case—demonstrates that the Amendment’s sole focus was to complete the work begun by Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation,” said Lindsay. “The Court has failed in its fundamental obligation to the American people to interpret the Constitution honestly. It has failed to follow Lincoln’s counsel that freedom can survive only so long as we uphold ‘reverence for the Constitution.’ The Court’s reckless disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law will ultimately destroy its own authority—and with it, the system of checks and balances on which all our liberties depend.”

What #SCOTUSCare means for upcoming #TXLEGE Primaries

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Tenth Amendment; United States Constitution

Today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling wasn't surprising.  It was par for the D.C. course.  However, it clarifies priorities closer to home.

Texas has GOT to elect legislators willing to stand up to the federal government.

The tenth amendment was a major reason we shifted our political focus from the Federal to the State level.  Unfortunately, the last two legislatures ignored it.  That must change.

We have to plan for the worst.  Every decision in the coming months must be made under the assumption that either Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton will be the next President.  Either one will continue business as usual.

The pressure coming from Washington is going to get worse.  When that happens, the Texas Association of Business will fall in line.  When that happens, as currently constituted, the legislature will cave.

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The most important way to stand up to the federal government is to stop taking money with strings attached.  In discussing the state budget, there's a dirty little unavoidable phrase: all funds.  "All funds" includes transfer payments from the Feds.

The legislature just approved a budget where federal funds account for 32.4%.  It's primarily Medicaid.  Education is second.  Transportation funding (which usually comes with mass transportation mandates) also takes up a chunk.  That number must come down.  Every one of those dollars gives Washington leverage.

Unfortunately, those dollars also beget Austin lobbyists who will fight to the death for the gravy train.  At this point, who cares?!?  Standing up to the Federal government will require telling Austin lobbyists to pound sand.

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One specific note on Medicaid: In 2011, there was talk of having Texas opt-out entirely from the Federal Medicaid program.  That option must come back into consideration.  Obviously, there's no chance this happens if Straus returns.

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While we're on the topic, it's worth noting that reducing Texas' dependence on Federal dollars was a key component of Konni Burton's campaign.  Jonathan Stickland has also spoken favorably about this idea.  Finally, Tarrant County House candidate Bo French addressed the ruling this afternoon:

After the SCOTUS ruling today, I can’t help but think about how we got into this mess. We continue to elect Democrats,...
Posted by Bo French on Thursday, June 25, 2015

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Bottom Line: Today's ruling doesn't change anything.  This case was always a long-shot. Once again, we've seen that D.C. won't get us out of this mess.  Texans need to make standing up to the Federal government a key priority in assessing legislative candidates.  Get to work.

Hall Sues McRaven

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:9

Awesome:

In an exceedingly rare if not unprecedented development, a University of Texas System regent has sued the system’s chancellor over access to records.

Regent Wallace L. Hall Jr. of Dallas sued Chancellor Bill McRaven in state district court in Travis County in an effort to obtain records, including confidential student information, of an investigation into favoritism in admissions at the Austin campus.

McRaven said in a statement late Tuesday that he regrets Hall believes a lawsuit is necessary or appropriate.

The lawsuit does not come as a surprise. State Attorney General Ken Paxton said last week that the UT System should turn over the disputed records to Hall and that the regent was entitled to sue if the system refused.

Hall wants to see emails, interview notes and other materials from a months-long investigation into admissions practices by Kroll Associates Inc. The company found that then-UT President Bill Powers sometimes ordered students admitted, despite subpar academic records, after they had been touted by legislators, regents, donors and other influential people.

Read the whole thing here; the Trib has more here.

Republican Party of Texas unintentionally rebukes Straus

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."
Galatians 6:7

Yesterday, RPT released their "Hall of Shame" for Democrat state reps during the recently included legislative session; it included this gem:

• Representative Joe Pickett
Pickett ordered his committee staff to impersonate a Texas resident in order to ambush a Republican colleague, and in the process killed a bill that would have helped end red light cameras in Texas

And how, pray tell, did Democrat Joe Pickett receive the chairmanship of the Transportation committee in the first place?!?

In the Texas House of Representatives, the Speaker appoints committee chairs.

Whether or not RPT wants to admit it, the only reason a Democrat committee chair was able to abuse Republican Jonathan Stickland is because a Republican speaker gave him that chairmanship.

A tale of two legislative assessment tools....

"Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding,
But what is in the heart of fools is made known."
Proverbs 14:33

Over the past few days, we've seen the release of the 84th #TXLEGE edition of Texas Monthly's Best and Worst lists and Empower Texans' scorecard; the reactions were revealing.

Texas Monthly's heirloom rankings were essentially ignored.  While a few people (including this author) congratulated Jonathan Stickland on making the worst list, nobody else said much.  The reaction was subdued, even within Austin.

By contrast, when Empower Texans released their scorecard this morning, they were immediately attacked by a sitting government official:

Relevancy of any scorecard is what u make it.For the good of Texas keep doing ur job and majority will send u back.Truth wins out #txlege

— Jim Keffer (@RepJimKeffer) June 22, 2015

Unlike Texas Monthly's subjective intellectual solipsism, Empower Texans data-driven analysis is calculated upon dozens of record votes.  Their scorecard is a coherent picture of where the legislature stands on their issues.  It's the difference between a scout's opinion and Moneyball.

One final note on Texas Monthly's list: it was boring.  They could have picked out legislators that at least took interesting stands during the session.  Not that'd we'd agree, but where were Gio or Sarah Davis on the best list?!?  What about Don Huffines on the worst?!?  If you're looking to cure insomnia, the editors explain their picks here.

Legacy media's decline is apparent.  Lawmakers' votes are a sounder basis for analysis than a gatekeeper's whim.  One reflects truth, the other kabuki theater.  The 84th #TXLEGE saw alternative media reach a critical mass.  One measure will be forgotten by Wednesday; the other will influence voters.

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Fun Fact:

- Average Empower Texans Score TM 10 Best: 54.5
- Average Empower Texans Score TM 10 Worst: 77.1