#TXLEGE: Dana Loesch Killed Lt. Dan's Flirtation with Gun Control (for now)

"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

Our post the other day about Lt. Dan got us thinking: He hasn't run his mouth about guns in awhile.

So we decided to check out his campaign website and Twitter feed.

Here's what we found: Lt. Dan's last reference to anything remotely related to the Second Amendment came on September 24th.

Where, pray tell, was Lt. Dan on September 25th?!?



Not a peep on the subject since.

Bottom Line: The whims of the national news cycle remain no way to govern an allegedly "conservative" state. Even if it worked this one time. Thanks Dana.

#TXLEGE: Will Lt. Dan accept Loesch's offer?!?

"As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
Proverbs 27:17

Things just got a little more interesting:

I feel @DanPatrick is misguided on already federally regulated legal private sales which studies have shown are not the driver for illegally acquired firearms https://t.co/3zdtxDx8h9

Happy to have him on air with me to discuss. https://t.co/19G3KIlBnl

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) September 6, 2019

Thank you Dana.  This author understands how, as a national radio host, you're pulled in 25 different directions every day.  Fortunately, you recognize this moment's dire stakes.  We're gonna need you.

For now, however, the ball is in Dan Patrick's court.

He's likely to accept.  When it comes to firearms related public policy, however, Dana Loesch knows her stuff.  Lt. Dan, putting it mildly, doesn't always do well in these scenarios.

Bottom Line: We have no idea what will happen, but the Bill of Rights could hang in the balance.

Dana Loesch's Counterproductive Misdiagnosis

"For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods."
Exodus 7:12

Dana Loesch is a friend of this website.  We've known each other for many years.  We've been on her show.

Thus, we appreciate her discussing Texas-specific challenges last night on Twitter.

Unfortunately, however, her diagnosis misses the mark.

Specifically, she says:

Hearing from numerous folks in different counties that they’re being out-organized by out-state funded progressive groups while the Texas GOP snoozes at the wheel. Many city council and other races. The feeling is that the state party isn’t taking it seriously.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) March 21, 2019

She's not wrong that this is a problem. But it's not one that's caused by the state party.  The state party are the ones trying to remedy the situation.

The problem, unfortunately, is that Republicans don't vote in local elections. Nothing more. Nothing less. There's only so much a political party can do when citizens are apathetic.

Furthermore, to make that accusation against a state party chairman who helped elect three Republicans to the Austin City Council is historically ignorant.

This is exactly how Cruz came so close to Beto last election. The ground organization effort is a disaster and I’ve spoken to a handful of veteran grassroots organizers who say they feel left out on their own to battle well-funded astroturfed efforts. No data sharing, nothing.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) March 21, 2019

Kinda sorta.

It's certainly true that O'Rourke's campaign did a good job turning out their soft supporters.  Their ground game certainly helped in that effort.  But, absent Cruz's catastrophic failures, none of that's relevant.

By all means, criticize the candidates from last fall (starting with Cruz), but it's hard to blame the state party when incumbent United States Senators are making bizarre comments about hair dye.

The party will ignore this at their own political peril and it won’t become evident until they have their backsides handed to them in 2020 and GOP lose any competitive change to regain the WH again. @TexasGOP needs to wake up and wake up fast. I’ll discuss on #DanaRadio tomorrow.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) March 21, 2019

More accurate statement: In 2020, the Texas GOP needs an affirmative record of accomplishments on which to run.  If that happens, they're fine.  They'll probably even pick up a few of the state rep seats they lost last fall.

Unfortunately, given where we are in the session, the odds of that happening are cloudy at best....

They did this in Colorado and in Nevada. Those who think it can’t and won’t happen (without strong counter organizing) in Texas are clueless and haven’t seen what’s been happening on the ground level — and in the most conservative districts.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) March 21, 2019

You can't organize if you don't have a record on which to run.

Wendy Davis and Beto were nothing more than GOTV vehicles to further seed certain Texas districts blue. They weren’t run to win, they were used as cash cows and for data building.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) March 21, 2019

Perhaps, to a degree. Democrats certainly have more data than they did five years ago. But none of that matters if Republicans are giving their own voters a reason to show up.

Again, Dana's correct to recognize a problem.   We're glad she did.  But the problem is the elected officials, not the state party.

A few other points:

• Anyone who wants to understand why the left has newfound momentum in Texas needs to look at Trump.  Anyone who pretends otherwise is either foolish or in denial.  If reading that last sentence made you angry, then you're part of the problem.

• We wouldn't be in this mess if national conservative media hadn't spent the past decade giving Greg Abbott softball interviews.

• A word or two about election integrity (esp. in Dallas, Hays, and Travis counties) would have been helpful.

• There's still time to get these trends moving in the right direction during the current legislative session, if anyone wants to help.

Bottom Line: We appreciate the attention, we just wish it were focused on the real problem....

Cornyn starts playing anti-Second Amendment footsie

"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

Trib this afternoon:

Cornyn said in a call with reporters that the devices' role in the Las Vegas attack bears looking into, but he stopped short of calling for a full ban. Cornyn said he had spoken with U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, about holding a hearing on bump stocks and "any other aspect of this terrible crime that we need to look at from a federal perspective" once the initial investigation is complete.

Still, Cornyn reaffirmed his support for gun ownership by "law abiding citizens who have no criminal record and no mental impairment." He added that he would support passing a law that would "somehow" prevent a similar attack, but "given the fact that this man had no criminal record and was unknown to law enforcement previously and was willing to commit suicide rather than be apprehended, it's hard to figure out what kind of law we could pass."

Obviously, Cornyn backpedals in the next paragraph with a bunch of mealy-mouthed assurances about "law abiding citizens" with a bunch of qualifying statements attached...but we trust that statement about as much as we trust any other statement from John Cornyn.

Then, of course, there's the fact that what Cornyn proposes is dumb and impossible:

Regardless your opinion on bump fire, I’m just curious how lawmakers plan to regulate a technique. Accessories are not needed.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 4, 2017

Bottom Line: He said it, not us....

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Senator John Cornyn:
(512) 469-6034

About Texas Constitutional Carry...and the NRA: An open letter to Dana Loesch

"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

Dana,

First things first, as I was sitting down to write this post literally before I logged into blogger, I saw that New Hampshire passed Constitutional Carry this morning; good for them!!!

But congrats on the new NRA gig.

Let's talk business: The reason I'm writing today is because we both support constitutional carry in Texas; but, absent significant public pressure, it ain't gonna happen.

To complicate matters, the NRA's Texas affiliate has historically been absent on constitutional carry; as Cary Cheshire reported in January:

In a memo to members informing them of what to expect from the Texas Legislature, the Texas State Rifle Association omitted the top legislative priority of the state’s Republican Party and what is likely to be the most contentious gun-related issue of the session: constitutional carry.

Voted as the number one priority of the Republican Party of Texas by delegates at the 2016 GOP Convention in Dallas, “constitutional carry” refers to removing the licensing requirement for Texans to carry a handgun.

Though conservative State Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R–Beford) pre-filed the legislation in November, thus far the Texas GOP has been glaringly silent with Chairman Tom Mechler refusing to endorse the measure publicly or respond to repeated requests for comment.

The TSRA, which claims on its website to support “the fewest restrictions for law-abiding Texas gun owners,” doesn’t mention the legislation at all in a recent letter to members.

In fairness to TSRA, they got on board following Cary's post.   But they've always been re-active instead of proactive.  And that's a charitable interpretation.

But, given that we're nearly a third of the way through the current legislative session, let's leave the past in the past.

Where do things stand now?!?

HB 375 by Jonathan Stickland is the only credible constitutional carry bill to have been filed in either chamber.  While a second toothless House bill was filed last week, that bill is a distraction designed to create the appearance of second amendment activity without meaningful accomplishment.  In the Senate, they have until March 10 to file a companion bill (Don Huffines carried it last session).

So, absent a Senate bill getting filed in the next two weeks, HB 375 is the only path forward.

HB 375 was recently referred to the Homeland Security committee, chaired by Phil King; right now, the bill needs a hearing.

Rep. Phil King: (512) 463-0738

What can we use from the NRA?!?

Thousands of phone calls.

If the NRA did an e-mail blast to their Texas members, that would generate more than enough pressure to get the bill moving; if they did the same thing at every other stage of the process (four stages total), there's a decent chance it passes.

But, absent the sort of numbers only the NRA can bring, it ain't gonna happen.

And, considering your new gig, you're now in a position to help make that happen.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,
Cahnman
ATX
February 22, 2017

Threatening Cargill/Loesch/Stickland only strengthens case for CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY....

"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

Texas Firearms Celebrity Michael Cargill, national pundit Dana Loesch, and State Representative Jonathan Stickland are all friends of this website.  They're also well known advocates for the second amendment.  This past weekend, all three received identical threatening notes at their home.

[Author's Note: The actual letters are incredibly graphic to the point that we're not going to republish them, but you can see the note sent to Cargill here, Loesch here, and Stickland here.]

Obviously, those actions are chilling and unsettling.  But, ironically, they strengthen case for lowering the costs and increasing the options for individual self defense.  In other words, this is exactly why we should pass constitutional carry.

While Cargill, Loesch, and Stickland are in a position to surmount barriers to entry for firearms ownership, many Texans can't.  Well known political figures have options, but the costs of protectionist licensing make lawful self-defense prohibitively expensive for vulnerable citizens.  The woman in East Austin with a stalker ex-boyfriend should have the same options as a political figure with a public platform.

Then there's the fact that, at their core, these were terrorist threats.  On a certain level, we have to laugh because anyone who thinks they can intimidate Michael Cargill, Dana Loesch, or Jonathan Stickland has clearly never met any of them.  Nevertheless, the appropriate response to terrorism is to press forward.

There already was no excuse to not pass constitutional carry.  This past weekend's letters only strengthened that case.  But, unfortunately, we've seen this movie before.

Bottom Line: Ball's in your court #TXLEGE....

Discussing Paxton case on "Dana"

Screen Shot from the TV appearance.

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

We appeared on Dana last night on theBlaze to discuss the Paxton case:



Highlights:

• Dana: "Texas Democrats have a great history of abusing the justice system, as do Texas Republicans on other Republicans they dislike as a way to settle political scores."

• Dana: "Do you think he's guilty?!?"  Me: "No."

• Paxton may have made mistakes filing paperwork 5 or 6 years ago.
• "You're turning a paperwork violation into a first degree felony where the alleged victim is a liberal Republican and the alleged perpetrator is a conservative Republican."

• Texans for Public "Justice" ginned a lot of this stuff up, "but what's interesting is that this time the person actually making the accusation against Paxton is a legacy Republican member of the state legislature Byron Cook out of Corsicana."
• Dana: "Obviously they have a political score to settle with Paxton."

• "Over time, basically, Cook went more towards the Bush (legacy) wing, Paxton stayed true to his conservative roots."

• "Subsequent to that, Byron Cook has gone over completely to the dark side."

• "The fact that [Byron Cook] is the alleged victim in this case raises major red flags."

• Explained the "strange" nature of the accusation.

• Plugged Thomas McNutt.

Book Review: Hands Off My Gun, by Dana Loesch

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
Ephesians 6:12-13

Did you know that Martin Luther King Jr. was denied a permit to own a handgun "as a result of gun control laws put into effect by white male Democrats" (146)?!?  Neither did we.  Then we read Hands Off My Gun: Defeating the plot to disarm America, Dana Loesch's cogent, succinct defense of the second amendment.

Loesch's 2014 release is one stop shopping for those who support the Second Amendment but don't have all the facts memorized.  While the entire book is worth reading, the most riveting chapters detail the degree to which anti-Second Amendment advocates hire private security, the ability of women to use firearms to protect themselves from rape, and the origins of gun control in the Jim Crow south.  Historically, disarming the target population has been a pre-condition for other attacks on civil liberties.

Loesch's zeal for the Second Amendment gained a sense of urgency in 2009 (7), when her family still lived in St. Louis.  That summer, during the first round of Tea Party protests, a man named Kenneth Gladney was beaten by Union Thugs outside of a Missouri congressman's town hall (8).  While the story made national headlines, for those of us outside St. Louis it faded into the background.  Loesch, however, was living it.  After the national media moved on, as she continued to cover the story locally, Loesch received threats and was followed around town (9).  Then, they threatened her children (10).  To understand's Dana Loesch's commitment to the Second Amendment, you have to understand that story.

Women's self-defense is one of the strongest motifs in the book.  As Loesch explains, firearms are "the ultimate equalizer for women" (140).  She details several examples where women have used firearms to prevent assault and, sadly, others where disarmed women were left to the mercy of their rapists.  Unfortunately, women's safety is unimportant to anti-Second Amendment politicans.  Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo's recent comments are a representative example:



Hands Off My Gun lists more facts than we can include in a seven-paragraph review.  Many of them were new to this author.  Examples include:

• The mother of the Sandy Hook shooter, Nancy Lanza, "had failed to properly and safely store her guns."  (29)

• "Three Sandy Hooks take place every month in Chicago, the progressive model for gun control." (39)

• All of the victims of the Columbine shooting "were killed within the first 15 minutes of the shooting." (109)

• That "anti-gun extremists don't even want our troops to carry on base, which has resulted in several massacres over the past few years on our military bases, twice at Fort Hood." (144)

• The anti-Second Amendment reasoning behind the Dred Scott decision. (152)

• The goal of taxing firearms ownership in the Jim Crow south "was a set of laws that made guns too expensive for black Southerners to afford." (157)

• During the revolution, "the patriots were armed from the start of the war with the British Brown Bess, which was the firearm of choice for the British Army." (168)

Our only beef with the book is that it fails to discuss abortion.  It's not a secret that some of the loudest anti-Second Amendment advocates, who hide behind "protecting children," are also some of the most rabidly pro-abortion.  Michael Bloomberg is a case in point.  Personally, we've always found this reprehensible.  That being said, we understand why it would not be considered germane to a discussion of the second amendment.

Citizens are responsible for their self-defense.  While law enforcement and the corrections system aid public safety (most of the time), they are inherently reactive.  Protection, by contrast, is proactive.  This is even more true for women.    Unfortunately, anti-Second Amendment Extremists have targeted our civil liberties.  Defending them requires us to be armed with truth.  Hands off My Gun, by Dana Loesch, is a fantastic place to start.

Once again, Texas beats California!!!

"Honor the Lord with your possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
So your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will overflow with new wine."
Proverbs 3:9-10

Hey maw, I know both of them:



Highlights:

• Liberal policies create a lot more poverty.

• Texas v. California is a good example.

• California has a 47% higher poverty rate than Texas cost of living (incl. taxes) is factored in.

• Income growth is more important than income "inequality."

• Texas up 1.4 million jobs in the past 7 years.

Battlground Texas, Dana Loesch, and Voter Fraud

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
Ephesians 6:12-13

Bless their heart:



Highlights:

• Dana asked a genuine question about the office of County Judge in Texas government.
• Author's Note: For out of state readers, the position of County Judge is the chief executive of the county level of government; it's not a judicial position.

• BGTX got caught committing voter fraud, failed to report it.

• Dana will tutor Battleground in Texas election law.

After Action Report: Americans for Prosperity's #TXO summit

"not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."
Hebrews 10:25

The greatest compliment this website can give a conference is that we didn't post anything during it because we were too busy enjoying it; on a scale of 1-10, this past weekend's Americans for Prosperity "Texas Online" conference deserves a rating higher than Barack Obama's national debt.

Dana Loesch kicked off the conference with an opening blitzkrieg.  Stating that "I don't believe in an objective media," Loesch explained she shows "no courtesy to people I don't respect."  Shannon Watts of Mom's Demand Boxed Wine Action would agree:



That being said, Loesch explained "I don't target someone unless I have a file on someone."  She spends at least an hour researching anyone she debates.  The purpose is to know you opponent better than they know themselves.

Avik Roy of Forbes magazine explained how to make policy arguments in an engaging manner.  His primary suggestion was specialization.  Your value, as an advocate, is the area that you know better than anyone else.  This website had to laugh hearing Avik Roy state that, considering that we cite his work on Medicaid all the time.  In addition, Roy explained that "when you use numbers with rigor, your political opponents can't ignore it."

At the end of the day Saturday, Steven Kruiser, Tony Katz, and Kurt Schlichter performed their hilarious new political humor show "tracked and targeted."  Because it's better to laugh that to cry at the current landscape, the show's value is obvious.  Also featured a long discussion about the sexual orientation of Larry O'Connor, which reached the obvious conclusion that Larry O'Connor's lack of fashion sense makes him
"the straightest man in America."

On Sunday, Lawerence Billy Jones spoke on a panel about how to appeal to minority groups.  He ripped the RNC's photo op approach; if conservatives are serious about engagement with groups that share our values but don't vote for our candidates, we have to understand that it will be a long, slow process.  We couldn't agree more.

Thanks also to Melissa Clouthier for opening her home for a party Friday night and to AFP for sponsoring an open bar on Saturday; that's all we're going to say on that topic.

Finally, although it wasn't part of the conference, on Sunday we also attended a service at the phenomenal Grace Church of the Woodlands with Texas Senate candidate Steve Toth.  Jonathan Cahn, who wrote the Harbinger, was the guest pastor.  He spoke about signs from the book that have continued to be filled since the book was published two years ago.  The fact that President Obama signed the beam with the relevant scripture is wild.  Kudos also to Pastor Steve Riggle, a stand-up guy who challenged his congregation to support efforts to challenge Houston's new censorship ordinance at the ballot box.

This was an unreal weekend.  We took in so much new information and met so many people that it's going to take a few days to absorb the whole thing.  But Americans for Prosperity (and Grace Church) did a phenomenal job!!!  We were incredibly blessed to participate in this weekend's activities.  Their next event is labor day weekend in Dallas.

Update: Bryan Preston has a lot more here.

Dana Loesch Endorses Ken Paxton!!!

"He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will be destroyed."
Proverbs 13:20

Today just got a little more awesome:

“As a mom raising boys in America today, I recognize the cultural and economic implications of continuing down the progressive path: now more than ever our liberties are at risk. We need a strong conservative defending freedom, the Constitution, and Texas – we need Ken Paxton in the Office of Attorney General. My family and I recently moved to Texas. We love it here, Texas is our home now, and we intend on doing everything we can to keep it red and free, starting with electing Ken Paxton for AG.”

Read the whole thing, including Ken's reaction, here.

Glenn Beck Ruins Slumber Party

"Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come."
Proverbs 31:25

We swear, we're not just posting this because a friend is in the video:



To be honest, we wish the Blaze had made more of today's episode public; we'd complain, but we're afraid of being called "Bossy."

Greg Abbott Does Glenn Beck

Greg Abbott stopped by GB's studio today. Unlike Abbott's interview with Dana Loesch, this time the Blaze made the video public. Enjoy:



Highlights:

• New campaign slogan: "Texas needs to Roll with Greg!"

• Abbott has sued Obama 33 times; he sued Dubya three times before that.
• 10-5 record with many cases pending.

• "Part of our campaign is about securing the border; the Red River, not the Rio Grande."

• He's campaigning on Open Carry.

• Wendy, like Obama, is getting thousands of shady donations that are too small to trace.

Abbott will be on with GB tonight at 4; we will update this post as needed.

Update: Here's the TV footage



Highlights:

• Texas is different from the rest of the country.

• 1400 people move to Texas every day in search of freedom.

• Elizabeth Warren is helping Wendy.

• Glenn Beck has no idea what he's talking about re: Austin.

• People move from pro-Abortion to pro-Life when they see sonagrams.

• Bringing Gold Back: "I don't know."

• One way you can be self-sufficient is not letting government control life.

Ted Cruz Praises Konni Burton

Exciting news out of Konni Burton world:



In other news, Rafael Cruz and Dana Loesch will be doing an event for Konni this Thursday in Ft. Worth:

It's obvious which SD-10 candidate has grassroots support.

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Read out endorsement for Konni here; volunteer here, donate to her campaign here.

Dana Loesch objures Obamacare Monday in Austin

Last night, we attended AFP-Texas' "Obamascare" event in Austin.  The night began with an informative discussion with John Davidson of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Beto Gonzales of the Libre Initiative.  They were followed by Tony Katz of Townhall.com.

The highlight of the night, however, was Dana Loesch; here are her remarks in full:



Highlights:

• She's moving to Texas "before Christmas."

• Her cousin and a good friend were recently diagnosed with breast cancer and have lost coverage due to Obamacare.
• There's a leading-edge cancer treatment center in St. Louis that will no longer accept Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield customers because of Obamacare.
• If Jay Carney wants to call that anecdotal, he can come to St. Louis and "say that to my cancer survivor friend's face."

• She knows how progressives work because "I used to be one of them."

• "It's really easy to be generous with someone else's money."

• Her Ob/Gyn is leaving the practice because of Obamacare.
• "Now I'm looking for a new ladydoc."

• The most spiteful thing you can do to a progressive is to convert them!

• "My 28 year old, male, single, radio producer now has to get maternity coverage."

• Obamacare is a Ponzi scheme.

Dana Loesch on the #HAILSATAN crowd

This is GREAT:



Highlights:

• Wendy Davis was hoping to climb the dead baby ladder to political stardom?!?

• When does one hail Satan, is that before or after you beg the man for your sugardaddy handout for the abortion.
• Author's Note: We believe the sugardaddy handout is part of the Satantic ritual!

• Let us show you how empowered we are by reducing ourselves to our sexual parts

Coming October 20th: Rage Against the Media

Big announcement via Facebook; on October 20th, Americans are going to come together to protest the media, from the Rage Against the Media Facebook page:

On October 20th, we will be holding a nationwide protest to express our well-founded rage at the media. From Los Angeles

 to New York City, and all points in between, we need to make our voices heard: for too long we have been hostage to their narrative, to their complicity with the "progressive" agenda, to their media malpractice, and it's time to say ENOUGH.

Without the media, the Freshman Senator from Illinois would never have even gotten the nomination, let alone the Presidency. And these entire nearly four years have been brought to us ONLY with the help of the Propaganda Arm of the Obama Presidency and of progressives as a whole.

We on the Right have been BETRAYED, but the Left has been DUPED. ALL Americans have suffered at their hands, and the damage doesn't end at our shores!!

The Arab faux-spring was sold to all of us by the media, hawking the Kumbayah peace, love and democracy party line, and now they are reaping what they have sown. And to make matters worse, they are betraying the very first amendment upon which they are dependent in order to CONTINUE to support this President.

 As is frequently true, Andrew Breitbart said it best:

Breitbart is here!!!

#WAR

#War: Breitbart on Destroying the New York Times

FreePAC: Dana Loesch

Dana Loesch kicks the corrupt media's ass:

Highlights:

• Today's headlines are tomorrow's history.
• "We are the counterculture movement."
• We'll police the government AND we'll police the media.
• We don't need the press.
• "We'll report on us until we force you to as well."

For the record, I also love those pink heels, and I'm not ashamed to say so!!!