#TXLEGE: Springer gaslights voters with half-truths

"The truthful lip shall be established forever,
But a lying tongue is but for a moment."
Proverbs 12:19

Drew Springer just released quite the doozy of an ad:

.@DrewSpringer up on TV in #SD30 special election #txlege pic.twitter.com/YSr6x51aPs

— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) September 8, 2020

Obviously, this is the type of lame ad that can only come from a Murphy-Nasica focus group (ooh look...a fire truck!!!).   Nevertheless, it contains claims that sound good.  When you look closer, however, the facts quickly reveal that Springer's occupying that grey area between chutzpah and outright lying.

Specifically, Springer says two things:

1. He voted to ban taxpayer funded lobbying.
   
   
2. He voted for the (try not to laugh) Chick-fil-a bill (LOL).

Let's take these in order.

On the taxpayer funded lobbying ban, Texas Scorecard explained the full story last week:

After watering SB 29 out via the complete substitute, Springer supported efforts to remove public schools, community colleges, and other entities from the legislation. Then he broke from the majority of his own party and voted in favor of the Democrat-Ashby amendment to exempt the vast majority of Texas counties out of the bill by population—a move that would have prevented the hollowed-out ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying from applying to the entirety of his current Texas House District and 12 of SD 30’s 14 counties.

Only after the legislation was successfully gutted did he vote for the bill to pass.

Springer may have voted for the husk of a bill on final passage, but a review of the tape shows him to be one of its most active saboteurs. Drew Springer worked to water down a ban on taxpayer funded lobbying, ensuring his own constituents wouldn’t benefit from it.

We had actually forgotten, prior to writing this blog post, that Springer carved his own constituents out of the original bill.

Then there's the (LOL) Chick-fil-a bill (LOLOLOL).

We covered this one at the time:

"No significant legal harm the the LGBTQ community" is lawyer-speak for "does nothing."

This is the substantive equivalent of the SCOTUS Colorado cake-baker case: The legislature addressed the specific actions of the San Antonio city council, but did nothing to address any other sort of abuse that falls outside of that narrow set of circumstances.

Good luck trying to live out your Faith in all the other areas of life.

But at least they were able to convince Fox News they accomplished something (and that's all that really matters).

Bottom Line: Nothing of substance was accomplished, and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either a liar or a chump....

It's not really a secret that, since then, the so-called "Chick-fil-a bill" has become a subject of widespread ridicule.

Thus, for Drew Springer to brag about it as one of his primary legislative accomplishments is quite revealing.

Bottom Line: Technically, Springer's "correct."   He voted for both bills.  But neither of those bills did anything.  This is the game Texas legislators love to play, and it'll be interesting to see if Drew Springer gets away with it this time.

#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: Casar calls Abbott's bluff (again)

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

Greg Casar is the guest on the Nation magazine's latest podcast:

There’s a smarter way of doing politics emerging in this country, one that recognizes that every elected position has the potential to serve as a platform for transformational change. This is especially true at the city council level. City councilors govern at the intersection of grassroots engagement and public policy. If they get it right, they can can have ripple effects on local, state, and even national policies.

Few of the thousands of city council members in communities across this country know this better than Austin City Council member Greg Casar. Casar came to Austin as an activist and quickly realized the potential of the city council to address economic, social, and racial justice issues. Casar ran for—and won—a seat on the Austin council at age 25—becoming the youngest council member in the city’s history.

....

As a local elected official, Cesar has led groundbreaking struggles on behalf of worker rights, immigrant rights, and economic justice. Austin has taken the lead on issues like paid sick leave and fair hiring practices. And Casar and his activist allies have succeeded in defending much of the progress they have achieved from threats of preemption by a Republican-controlled state government.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

If you've been following Casar, then the full podcast doesn't contain a ton of new information.  Casar's strategies and tactics are obvious to anyone paying attention.  If you're new to the topic, however, the full podcast is worth your half hour.

That being said, the section on the legislature is priceless.  Casar ridicules the legislature for being completely dickless backing down in the face of the left's "organizing."  While Casar doesn't say so explicitly, special derision on this topic must go to a governor more interested in running his mouth on twitter than actually doing anything.

Bottom Line: Maybe Abbott will buy him a chicken sandwich....

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Full podcast:

#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: Abbott needs to call a Special Session or SHUT UP re: New Homelessness Ordinance

"A fool vents all his feelings,
But a wise man holds them back."
Proverbs 29:11

Soo...this happened:

Abbott has zero credibility on this topic.  Like it or not, Greg Abbott allowed the so-called "sick leave" entitlement to stand.  If Greg Abbott wants his credibility back, he needs to call a special session.

The ironic thing is that Abbott now has all the grounds he needs.  While he recently said he wouldn't call a special, nobody anticipated this homelessness ordinance.  If Abbott were to call a special session now, the public would support him.

Because, right now, Steve Adler and Greg Casar are laughing at him:


via GIPHY


Bottom Line: There's a reason why nobody takes Governor Chick-fil-a McFoxNews seriously....

#TXLEGE: If you still need proof this Chick-fil-a bill was a joke

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."
Ephesians 5:6

LOL, from the Human Rights Campaign:

With the leadership of the LGBTQ Caucus, the Texas legislative session concluded with only one anti-LGBTQ bill, SB 1978, being passed into law. SB 1978 was originally filed as a broad, sweeping anti-LGBTQ bill. However, after concerns raised by the LGBTQ Caucus, advocates and other organizations, significant changes were made to the bill. HRC opposed SB 1978, but was pleased that it passed in a form which causes no significant legal harm to the LGBTQ community.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

"No significant legal harm the the LGBTQ community" is lawyer-speak for "does nothing."

This is the substantive equivalent of the SCOTUS Colorado cake-baker case: The legislature addressed the specific actions of the San Antonio city council, but did nothing to address any other sort of abuse that falls outside of that narrow set of circumstances.

Good luck trying to live out your Faith in all the other areas of life.

But at least they were able to convince Fox News they accomplished something (and that's all that really matters).

Bottom Line: Nothing of substance was accomplished, and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either a liar or a chump....

General Jerry Boykin's shocking eyewitness account of the Family Research Council shooting.

Last Friday, General Jerry Boykin, who serves on the Board of the Family Research Council, gave this shocking eyewitness account of the shooting last Wednesday.  

For those of you unaware of who the Southern Poverty Law Center is, Glenn has this background:

Will David Barton be the Next Chick-fil-a?!?

David Barton is a national treasure.  He has done more to preserve the truth about America's Juedo-Christian foundation than anyone else currently alive.  That's why what happened to him Friday is such a shame.

In cast you missed it, last Friday the publisher of Barton's latest work The Jefferson Lies dropped the title.  They claimed a review of the book revealed "historical details...that were not adequately supported."  It's worth pointing out that the publisher did not offer a single specific example.  The publisher didn't even consult Barton over the alleged inaccuracies before pulling the book.  In reality, the publisher caved to left-wing pressure.

(Sidenote: If the book is really as inaccurate as the publisher claims, what does it say about the competence of that publisher that they green-lighted it in the first place?!?)

David Barton is a big boy and he can take care of himself.  He's already found a new publisher.  There is, however, opportunity in this setback.

This controversy is another Chick-fil-a.  In both cases, someone made a claim contrary to the conventional wisdom.  In both cases, rather than engaging in open debate, the purveyors of conventional wisdom shut down dissenting views.

Obviously, I don't (yet!) have a megaphone the size of Mike Huckabee's or Glenn Beck's.  I do, however, think holding 'David Barton Appreciation Day' on September 1 would send a powerful message.  Please take a moment to post this blog entry to Mike Huckabee's and Glenn Beck's Facebook pages if you agree.

Update: The Blaze has A LOT more.