A group of like-minded conservatives are assembling around the country to develop a plan to rebuild the Republican Party. Patrick Ruffini, co-founder of The Next Right, has developed a website dedicated to sharing ideas to Rebuild the Party. The goal is to recruit new bloggers, activists, and develop new fundraising strategies. All of these lofty goals are moot if the Republicans that we recruit do not support the Republican Party Platform. We must study history to know where we went wrong. I have a very unpopular opinion of many mainstream Republicans. Karl Rove and Tom DeLay recruited Republicans over the last twenty years to build a majority. In the effort to win a majority, the principles of the GOP were neglected. We must learn that candidates we recruit for office and Republican Party leadership positions are philosophically conservative first and foremost. No empty suits need apply! The pro-life movement has done a fantastic job of vetting candidates and promoting their issues within the Republican Party over the last two decades. We must learn from the pro-life movement to determine how to promote our mainstream conservative issues within the Republican Party and how to correctly vet candidates that support these issues. It is about winning hearts and minds first! We must learn to communicate our issues in a meaningful way to people instead of using philosophical economic terms that confuse all but policy wonks. Finally, the Republican Party leadership must be challenged by the grassroots. The old regime has brought us failure where it matters most...the general election. Granted, we faced a rock star this year in Senator Barack Obama, but we still did not compete in many races that we had previously won. Many open seats went Democrat; many more incumbent Republicans failed to win re-election. Those in leadership positions, such as the Republican National Committee Chairman on down to your local precinct chairman need to be held accountable. Many of these officers can and should be challenged in the 2010 Republican Party Primary. The Republican Party must return to the roots that brought us success in the 1970's and 1980's. These roots must bear new trees that grow fruit for future generations.

The question I hear from Texas Republicans is "Where do we go now?" We witnessed today some brilliant tactical moves from President-Elect Obama and State Representative Jim Dunnam in turning Texas blue, a fear I expressed after the March Primary. What now? There are many excuses that can be made, but none that matter now. The Republicans were beaten by a better message and a more charismatic messenger. The Democrats energized their base and, with the perceived lack of leadership by the Republicans, there was little chance of GOP victory at the top or bottom of the ticket. For years now, Republicans have forgotten to field candidates that support the Republican Party Platform. Our base is angry and our grassroots have decided to allow the GOP to go through a purge cycle. While this is not the most effective strategy, it does ensure that Republicans can start over in many areas. There are many seats in Texas in which Republicans will be hard-pressed to win in 2010. Governor Rick Perry and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst are in trouble now and both should have substantial primary challengers, if the grassroots of the Republican Party in Texas knows what is best. They will certainly draw strong Democrat support. When the elected leaders of the Republican Party govern more like their Democrat counterparts on fiscal issues, the grassroots must make a change internally. Howard Dean's candidacy in 2004 spawned Barack Obama in 2008. What will Ron Paul's candidacy in 2008 spawn in 2010 and 2012 in Texas? Texas voted in favor of McCain and in support of statewide candidates by a 54-46 margin today, but the state is clearly purple instead of red tonight. What the grassroots within the Republican Party decides to do now is anybody's guess, but my suggestion is to begin talking about and promoting the issues that matter most to the average Texan and giving alternative solutions to our common interests and problems. Only by communicating the Republican Party platform and ideals that make our state great can we revolutionize the 2010 election. Where we go now is back to work, looking to build the next generation of voters in Texas and working towards sharing our values. The Democrats have worked hard to win by inspiring their base; it is now time that Republicans to work harder to promote our values and inspire our own base. We must look towards 2010.
My friend Freedom's Truth on Travis Monitor posted a list of some practical suggestions that Republicans can work on over the next year to build the base.  

Gov. Rick Perry said tonight that the national GOP oughta take a page from the Texas playbook.  If he were looking beyond just the statewides, he'd realize - it's time the entire GOP rewrote the playbook.

Do Texas Early Vote Totals Belie Low Republican Enthusiasm Meme?

One of the popular themes in the Austin local media last week was the high early vote turnout in Travis County, the academic, uberliberal county of Texas. Thunders Saturday's Austin American Statesman:

"Almost half of Travis County's 609,224 registered voters had cast their ballots by the time early voting ended Friday, easily shattering previous records. "

So how are the early votes breaking?

"When a list of general-election voters is released, political analysts, such as [Leland] Beatty, match the names to the roster of Democratic and Republican primary voters, thereby predicting how many votes will fall to one party or the other. In Travis County, Democratic primary voters outnumbered Republicans nearly 4-to-1 in early voting as of Wednesday, when the most recent statistics were available, Beatty said.... "We've never seen anything like this election," Beatty said, adding that he thinks Democrats will make gains throughout the state. "

Combine this story with a recent hilarious AP pyschoanalysis claiming Obama supporters are "enthusiastic" and McCain supporters "glum", you might think that Texas Republican voters are just going through the motions in anticipation of an Dem landslide.

But what do the statewide early vote turnout numbers really show?

(more...)

Young Conservatives of Texas at the University of Texas hosted George Allen on Tuesday evening. George Allen, the former Governor and Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, spoke on how to use our common sense, conservative, Jeffersonian principles to address one of the biggest problems facing our generation: energy policy. George Allen's wit and outlook gave a very clear picture into what our country must do to achieve energy independence while growing our business infrastructure simultaneously.

As Governor of Virginia, George Allen worked with Texas and Austin area leaders to bring Motorola and Seimens microchip manufacturing to the Richmond area. Governor Allen was amazed out how well Texas handles its energy resources, even though the average cost of a kilowatt-hour in Texas is at 11 cents, which is above the national average. The split on Texas energy use is roughly 50% coal, 38% natural gas (well above the national average), 11% nuclear, and 1% hydro-electric/other. George Allen is impressed with Texans using our home-grown resources to power our state's economy and is touring the country to encourage our entire country to do the same.

(More...)

I really want to believe that State Representative Rick Noriega is a decent, honorable man. I give him this benefit of the doubt almost entirely because he is a Lt. Col. in the Texas Army National Guard.

Which makes some of the tactics from his campaign hard to stomach.

Like this: Noriega's official Online Campaign Director, Karl Thomas Musselman, left an interesting comment at the angry and unhinged Liberal blog site Daily Kos:

This election is our chance to destroy the Republican Party and its leadership.

On the campaign trail, Mr. Noriega has stated that he wants to represent all Texans. However wanting to destroy the party that represents the majority of our state's citizens, doesn't exactly sound like ALL Texans to me.

It sounds more like he's only interested in representing Democrats and Liberals.

Rob Jessmer from Sen. John Cornyn's campaign emailed me to add:

Weeks ago, we announced our intention to run a positive campaign and asked Rick Noriega to join us. He pointedly rejected our request. We knew his campaign would resort to slinging mud, but even we underestimated the depths on his anger.

In debates, and in his political appearances when news media are present, Noriega claims he will work to bring people together. But that is merely for public consumption. The reality, it turns out, is quite different. He apparently hopes to unite us by destroying and eliminating all those who have a different opinion than him.

Mr. Noriega should publicly denounce Karl Thomas-Mussleman. And then fire him.

Karl Thomas is also the Campaign Manager for Rep. Mark Strama (D-TX). I wonder if Rep. Strama agrees with his campaign manager's desire to "destroy the Republican party?"

Rep. Strama should fire Karl Thomas, too.

Unless of course that is how Mr. Noriega and Mr. Strama feel...

_______

Karl-Thomas is one of the publisher of the liberal political blog Burnt Orange Report.

I believe that he's commented at my other blog, Urbangrounds, anonymously at least three times (using the alias BOR once instead of his actual name). Which is nice considering his own blog doesn't allow anonymous comments.

Red County magazine joined with the Denton County GOP to publish a new digital version of their quarterly GOP newsletter. In the coming months, Red County will be partnering with other GOP organizations across the country in a similar manner. The move allows local GOP organizations to improve their online presence and presentation to new online communities.

Red County hosts the Denton County blog and magazine here: www.redcounty.com/denton

Limit the Growth of Governments

Impose strict constitutional spending restraints to further slow the growth of state government; ensure that dedicated funds are spent for their intended purpose or return the money to taxpayers; return to a true zero-based budgeting process to force agencies to justify all spending requests each legislative session; close loopholes in welfare programs; increase resources for child support collection to reduce reliance on government programs; and, end double taxation on phone bills by eliminating the sales tax on telecommunications fees and surcharges.

In the recently released Pledge with Texans, the Texas Conservative Coalition highlights limiting the growth of government as one of the key planks to the Legislative Agenda for conservatives in the 81st Texas Legislature. I could not agree more with this statement.

The best plan of the 80th Legislative Session was proposed by State Representative Ken Paxton (R-McKinney). Paxton's plan would have limited state spending to the rate of inflation plus the increase in population. This amounts to about a 5% increase per year. If the Legislature has an emergency and needed to spend beyond the 5% increase, there would need to be a 2/3 super-majority to increase the appropriation beyond that point. Any additional money that was brought in from taxes under the Paxton plan would automatically go into tax-relief funds, under the oversight of the Comptroller, which would be evenly dispersed to all citizens to lower their property, business, and sales taxes. Representative Paxton's bill, HJR 53, would have also put the caps in place on local governments as well.

The current constitutional spending cap that limits Legislative appropriations is very tough to comprehend and is easily broken every year by a simple majority. Which ever party happens to be in power choses to break the cap by voting to increase the limit on the appropriation before the budget is heard. In 2007, the Republicans in teh House voted to break the constitutional spending cap to pass property tax relief. Regardless of the intent to increase government spending, an increase in spending is still an increase in spending. Why is this important? Taxpayers complain about high taxes. Taxpayers have the potential every year of having their homes taken by the government because of climbling property taxes. Business owners are now subject to the gross margins business tax so revenue can continue to come into the Texas coffers. Why? Because Texas spends a lot of money.

If a true constitutional spending cap that limits state spending to the rate of inflation plus the rate of population growth that also takes a 2/3 super majority to break had been put in place in 1978, the Texas budget would be about 1/2 the size that it currently is. The current state budget is roughly $168 billion and growing.

There is no better way to limit the authority and power of government and the role of government in our daily lives then to limit the growth of the budget. Without increasing spending, the government cannot grow because the government does not produce a marketable product that, on its own merits, will make money for itself. All government programs are subsidized by taxpayers. If the subsidies go away, the program will too. If the program was truly necessary, a non-profit or business will quickly fill in to continue the job and will produce better results than the government agency.

Now is the time to take bold initiatives and bold steps to create the most business friendly climate that we can in Texas. With the national economy sputtering and jobs going oversees, it is imperative that Texans give the rest of the country an example of how to attract businesses and limit the role of government to give our citizens a better quality of life for all.

This is from State Representative Ken Paxton's Capitol Steps Newsletter on October 24, 2008

Although Texans are beginning to cast ballots in the 2008 election, voters across the state and nation have ample reason to question whether their vote might be cancelled out by a fraudulent vote.   It is incumbent upon state leaders in both parties to address those doubts by protecting the right to vote in the next Legislative session.  

 
For too long, many legislators and activists have either turned a blind eye to election fraud or insist that it does not exist.  Currently, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has registered 1.3 million new voters nationwide and is active in Texas.  ACORN is under federal investigation in multiple states for fraudulent voter registration, including registering the Dallas Cowboys' starting line-up in Nevada and a Mr. Mickey Mouse in Florida.

Voter registration lists in Texas are suspect as well.  A November 2007 review by the State Auditor identified 49,049 registered voters who may be ineligible to vote, mostly felons or deceased.   That problem has not been rectified, as an independent report out of Houston notes that up to 4,000 deceased individuals remain on Harris County voter rolls.

The election integrity crisis runs deeper:  Non-citizens are registering and casting ballots in Texas.  Public information requests submitted by the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute found at least 6,731 non-citizens have been removed from voter registration lists in the five most populous Texas counties.  Many of them illegally voted before being removed from our voter rolls.

Absent an exhaustive state review, it remains unclear how many non-citizens may cast ballots this election year.  What is clear, however, is that the state has failed to live up to its constitutional duty to reserve the right to vote to United States citizens.  The Office of the Secretary of State, our chief election officer, admitted in 2006 that the citizenship of voters is never verified.  Instead, voters check a box on their registration form and are taken at their word.

The link between registration and voting is obvious, but an important point bears repeating.  When non-citizens, dead people, or otherwise unqualified individuals remain on the voter rolls, illegal votes will be cast, cancelling legitimate votes and denying legal voters of their civil rights.

Vote fraud can change the course of history.  In 1948, Lyndon Johnson won a primary election for U.S. Senate by 87 votes, ultimately propelling him to the White House.  That Senate primary, historians agree, was tainted by election fraud.

The election integrity measures we need are clear.  First, the state must be a better of steward of our right to vote, beginning with smarter and more advanced registration and verification methods.   Advanced technologies will assist in this endeavor, and legislators can look to the State of Arizona, the only state to verify citizenship, as a model.  Guessing games and honor systems are antiquated and lead to fraud.

Second, the state must require all voters to present government-issued photo identification when voting.  The United States Supreme Court affirmed the Constitutionality of Indiana's photo identification requirement, in part, as means to safeguard against fraud stemming from inflated or inaccurate, voter registration lists.  Texas needs a photo identification requirement modeled after Indiana's.

Of course, these policies should be in place for this election.  In the last session of the Texas Legislature, conservative legislators filed election integrity bills to achieve better voter registration lists (House Bill 2247 and Senate Bill 1464), smarter identification of voters at polling places (House Bill 218), and citizenship verification for those registering to vote (House Bill 626).  Each bill passed at least one house of the Legislature only to be defeated in the other house.

Politicians frequently focus on differences in voters: Rural versus urban, black versus white versus Hispanic, rich versus poor, Republican versus Democrat.  Yet the right to vote gives an equal voice to citizens from disparate social-economic, racial and regional groups.

Elections, and ultimately history, should be decided by the voters, not by narrow interests bent on stealing political power.  Vote fraud must not be tolerated.  Election integrity measures are a priority for the next Texas Legislature. 

Mexico signed an agreement with the United States to restrict the main route Cubans use to illegally enter the United States (via Texas) via Mexico.

Mexico's past reluctance to halt the practice has led to tensions with Cuba.

More than 11,000 Cubans slipped into the US via Mexico last year, according to US authorities.

You know what I would prefer? If Mexico would do something to prevent Mexicans from entering the United States illegally via Mexico.

11,000 Cubans I could live with. 20-50 million illegal Mexicans? Not so much.

The Texas Longhorns ripped Missouri yesterday (56-31) in a performance that earned Colt McCoy WCFF National Offensive Player of the Week. McCoy set a University of Texas record by completing 90.6% of his passes (29 of 32), throwing for 337 yards and two touchdowns. He led the team on 5 consecutive TD drives.

Can you say Heisman, Longhorn fans?

We have all heard the wild stories about voter fraud in other states, like Ohio and New Jersey, and the stories of ACORN activists registering the entire Dallas Cowboys' roster to vote in Las Vegas.  It is stories like this that gives us even more reason to press for more integrity in our elections. 

The 81st Texas Legislature must pass Voter ID legislation.  Without integrity in our elections, we cannot expect to have confidence in our elected officials. 

Under current law, voters are only required to present a voter registration certificate to a poll worker to vote in a regular election. While this practice attempts to ensure that only registered voters receive a ballot on Election Day, it leaves open the potential for fraud, as individuals are not required to show identification to register to vote. As a result, it is possible for an unscrupulous individual to submit several falsified voter registration applications and to receive the voter registration certificates for those applications.

The Texas Legislature must make it a priority to protect the integrity of our election process by enacting legislation that requires voters to provide valid photo identification in order to cast a ballot in any and all elections conducted in the State of Texas.

With your help we can pass a Voter ID Law in Texas!


1. At least 24 other states require some form of official ID at the polls.

2. Photo ID requirements have been endorsed by the bi-partisan Commission on Federal Election Reform.

3. Photo ID requirements have proven to thwart attempts at election fraud.

4. Photo ID requirements have proven to instill confidence in election results.

In 2007, the Texas House passed a Voter ID bill in HB 218. The bill failed to pass in the Texas Senate. Here is the list of co-authors and sponsors for a voter ID law in the Texas Legislature.

House Members
Betty Brown
Leo Berman
Dwayne Bohac
Debbie Riddle
Jimmie Don Aycock
Wayne Christian
Drew Darby
Patricia Harless
Linda Harper-Brown
Susan King
Jodie Laubenberg
Nathan Macias
Sid Miller
Ken Paxton
Larry Taylor
Bill Zedler

Senate Members
Troy Fraser
Mike Jackson
Jane Nelson

If your Legislator does not appear on this list, call them and ask them to sign on to the voter ID bill that will be proposed during the 81st Legislative Session.

We must protect the integrity of our elections!

I have had the privilege of getting to know Jerry Mikus over the past couple of months during this year's campaign.  Jerry is a candidate for State Representative in District 50, which covers north and northwest Travis County.  When Jerry talks to people, he speaks from his heart, which is the main reason that I support him.   Jerry is not the mouth-piece for a consultant or for a special interest group.  Jerry's special interest is the people of north Austin in the Texas Legislature. 

I recently asked Jerry some questions that will philosophically define him as a common sense conservative.  These are questions that I, as a taxpayer and citizen of Texas, am concerned about.  These are questions that help to define the future direction of our country on a local, state, and federal level.  Jerry agrees with me on a number of these issues, which is why I support him.

I urge every voter in Texas House District 50 to support Jerry Mikus in his bid to become our representative.  His common sense conservative views are shared by the majority of the people in our district.

(More...)

The Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees voted over the summer to put nearly $300,000,000 in bond proposals on the November ballot.  These bonds, if passed, will raise the total amount of public debt on Round Rock ISD citizens to nearly $1 billion since 1993. 

Honest, hardworking Americans have to balance their family budgets and tighten their belts right now because of the crunch in the economy.  It is only reasonable that these same hardworking Americans ask our local, state and federal governments to also tighten their belts instead of raising taxes.  Taxpayers should not continue to extend bad loans to the government through bonds and tax increases.

Round Rock ISD, according to their website, has 41,468 total students enrolled in all of their campuses from Kindergarten to High School.  Americans for Prosperity shows that Round Rock ISD currently has $629,625,025 of total debt from bonds.  This amount comes to $15,183 of debt per student for the 2008 fiscal year.  If the $293.9 million bond proposal passes in November, the total debt for Round Rock ISD will come to $923,525,025.  This comes to $22,270 of debt per student for the 2008 fiscal year. 

By contrast, Round Rock ISD, according to the Texas Education Agency, only puts $4,081 per student into the classroom (see line 82 of the link).  What does this really mean?  Round Rock ISD has 3.75 times more debt per student than classroom funding per student in 2008.  This bond proposal, if passed, will increase the ratio to 5.5 times more debt per student than classroom funding per student!

Taxpayers have always been asked to come to the rescue of bureaucracies for their irresponsible spending practices.  From 1980 to 2005, local government debt in Texas has increased 158%.  The grand total of all the debt in Williamson County is $1.6 billion. 

Local governments and school boards will use the same old "for the children" line to encourage citizens to pass the bond proposals.  The real question to ask is how much of this money goes to the children and how much goes to increase bureaucratic red tape in our public education system.  There is no link between money and quality education.  Many times, the highest funded schools are in fact the lowest performing schools.

This November 4, Round Rock ISD residents are given the opportunity to vote down the local government bailout program.  I encourage Round Rock voters to vote "NO" on the Propositions 1 & 2, which will only serve to raise our taxes.    

Not surprisingly, the Austin American Statesman went three for three for liberal Democrats in their endorsement editorial running tomorrow. I'll ignore the Donnie Dippel endorsement in HD 17, since all they could come up with is supporting Dippel's anti-voucher stance (which is no surprise, since it's in the Democrat platform and all; Dippel is also one of the few candidates to receive financial support - so far - from Texas Parent PAC, a notorious pro-administrator, anti-choice group). But I must take issue with both endorsements in HD 45 and 52.

Starting with HD 45 - their endorsement of incumbent Democrat Patrick Rose is nothing short of glowing, which is typical of the liberal establishment's reaction to the 30-year-old. Despite going after HD 52 Republican candidate Bryan Daniel partly on the basis that he may not be a "sure vote" against Tom Craddick, the Statesman excuses Rose's blatant pandering support of Craddick early on in the 80th Legislature. This demonstrates the clear flaw in using speaker politics for endorsements. Their other reason for choosing Rose is that he "votes his district." Not a great reason in and of itself - what exactly did he vote for and against? It's clear that the Statesman has a political agenda, because their real reason for supporting Rose over Republican Matt Young is that Young hasn't "attracted enough support or money" to beat Rose and that they don't agree with his stance on the business tax and property taxes (Young supports abolishing both). Calling the candidate's position "silly" is also a strike against the Statesman, as it's usage suggests the Statesman doesn't vet candidates beyond a glancing look at the candidates' websites.

Or in Rose's case, his television commercials.

On to HD 52. Calling Diana Maldonado a "budget hawk" is stretching the truth beyond conceivable reality, don't you think? Managing a school district that is in debt over $600 million, and yet supporting increases in the superintendent's salary that outpace the governor's salary (not to mention the 56 days of PAID vacation for the super!). Less than 45% of revenue in Round Rock ISD is spent on classroom instruction (the governor has been calling for 65% of revenue to be spent in the classroom since 2006). "Budget hawk" or "irresponsible steward of taxpayer money" - you be the judge.

The only real reason given for Daniel's not getting the endorsement is that he is "not a sure vote against the current House leadership." Daniel has not signed a pledge card for any speaker candidate and it is disingenuous for the Statesman to make speaker politics the central focus of this or any other endorsement.

I have endorsed Bryan Daniel for HD 52 and stand behind that endorsement. His support of property tax appraisal reform, revising the franchise tax, and revenue caps are important to the continued financial health of the state of Texas. Maldonado has nothing in her history to suggest that she is a "budget hawk" who will crack down on school districts' out-of-control debt accumulation and spending habits.

The Statesman's endorsements in these races reveal little about the candidates and much about the newspaper - it is run by a political agenda (not that anyone in Austin didn't already know this) and the newspaper's editorial board continues to have a vested interest in supporting terrible spending habits and taxing habits at the state and local levels (no surprise - most newspaper corporations were exempted from the franchise tax and the Statesman fell under that category).

Voters deserve better.

My husband and I live in Round Rock ISD, and we plan to vote against Round Rock ISD's Propositions 1 and 2 on Election Day.  These are the RRISD bond package, split into two parts (a trick taxing entities use to hornswaggle voters - they know at least one part will pass, because voters are just that random, so money will be spent regardless).  

As a part of GOUGED (Groups Opposed to Unsustainable Government Education Debt), we oppose the bonds in large part due to the huge amount of debt already burdening RRISD taxpayers.  The district is already more than $600,000,000 in debt according to the Texas Bond Review Board; 1/3 of this is in the form of interest payments from previous bonds.  At this rate, the only thing we will pass on to our children is not an education, but a huge pile of local debt that our children and grandchildren will be saddled with.  Our children's future depends on responsible spending policies that do not incur additional public debts.

Williamson Republic has done a stellar job of uncovering the dirt about RRISD's academic rating, which you should check out here.  The Voice of the Taxpayer has a breakdown of information regarding the RRISD superintendent's salary and vacation days, and also information regarding his annuity account.

As for Austin ISD - the board has proposed raising the tax rate.  We don't pay taxes to AISD and are therefore ineligible to vote on this proposition, but we also wish to state our opposition and make the case against it.  Several GOUGED members are also against AISD Prop. 1.  The exact language on the ballot is:

 APPROVING THE AD VALOREM TAX RATE OF $ 1.2020 PER $100 VALUATION IN THE AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE CURRENT YEAR. A RATE THAT IS $0.0390 HIGHER PER $100 VALUATION THAN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ROLLBACK TAX RATE.

As has been pointed out elsewhere, this essentially amounts to about $90 in a year if you own a home that is valued at $233,000.  Seems like a drop in the bucket.  However, consider this:  AISD has at least a 2-to-1 administrator/teacher ratio, pay their administrators more than their teachers, be in such debt ($901,717,313, principal and interest, as of 8/31/07 according to the Texas Bond Review Board), and AISD's superintendent makes more in base salary than the governor ($276,276 for 2007-2008 according to the TEA).  Raising the tax rate above the rollback rate is irresponsible, no matter the reasoning.  Clearly, budgeting and staying within the budget are issues the board needs to address.  At that point, a legitimate pay raise for teachers can be addressed (not a 3% raise that is actually a pay cut, since annual raises are usually more).

It is clear from the actions of both RRISD and AISD that the legislature must address spending and taxation come January.  Local taxing entities must not be allowed to enter into such irresponsible debt, especially when there is more and more money coming in thanks to appraisal boards.  Also, the rollback on tax rates needs to be made automatic, to prevent school districts from taking advantage of voter ignorance in order to raise their tax rates.

Austin, TX--

This morning in Austin, TX, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams unveiled his new campaign bus and launched a 21-day campaign tour of Texas.  The bus runs on clean-burning natural gas produced in Texas! 

Michael Williams has been a major proponent of energy independence and using renewable energy resources such as clean coal, nuclear power, natural gas, and wind for the ten years that he has served Texas in his position as Railroad Commissioner.  

 
Under Michael Williams guidance, the Texas Railroad Commission promoted energy independence and promoted the use of Texas energy resources, all while maintaining a balanced budget and exploring free market solutions to our energy needs.  The Railroad Commission, despite its title, is actually the regulatory board for energy resources in Texas.  Williams said the focus for his office in the upcoming 81st Legislative Session will be finding ways to utilize our renewable energy resources through free market incentives instead of tax increases. 

Williams launched his tour today from the Travis County Republican Party Headquarters while serving dozens of his supporters breakfast.  Also in attendance were Jerry Mikus and Pam Waggoner who are both running for State Representative seats in Travis County. 

It looks like voter fraud is alive and well in Harris County, even if the registered voters are not. Texas Watchdog has identified, by matching Social Security numbers, the names of over 4000 of the deceased on voter registration lists. The information has been sent to the Director of Elections in Austin for review. They have indicated that the cases presented would be felony violations.

It's quite possible that we will see unprecedented levels of fraudulent activity in this election. With discrepancies in early voting in the swing state of Ohio, to ACORN's endless shenanigans, the GOP needs to be extraordinarily vigilant in monitoring the process at every level.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Incumbent), State Representative Rick Noriega (D), and Libertarian Yvonne Adams-Schick faced off tonight in Houston for the first debate amongst these three candidates who are running for Sen. John Cornyn's US Senate seat.

A few general observations about the debate:

• Texas should be proud and honored that we have three outstanding candidates for this Senate seat. All three candidates performed very well tonight and all seemed to have a good grasp of the issues and were consistent with their policy positions across a wide spectrum of issues.

• Even though I intend to vote for Sen. Cornyn, I would not be upset to have any one of these three as our state's junior Senator.

• The Presidential candidates could learn a lot about how to debate from watching tonight's Texas Senate debate. All three candidates actually answered each question posed to them. They didn't switch topics or refuse to answer the question. And, for the most part, their answers were consistently on-topic.

• The format of the debate -- a panelist asked one candidate a question, who then had 1 minute to answer it. Then the other two candidates were allowed 30 seconds each to rebut the original answer. No follow ups beyond that. Right on to the next question. The most shocking part of the debate was how completely each candidate abided by the rules of the debate. Nobody went over their allotted time, no body tried to talk over or interrupt. All three candidates should be highly commended for their professional and respectful adherence to the debate rules.

• I don't know who the moderator was. He wasn't needed, and he didn't try to insert himself into the debate, a la Chris Matthews, Tom Brokaw, and Gwenn Ifill.

Even though I'm a strong Cornyn supporter, I don't think you can say anybody "lost" this debate.

Sen. Cornyn is the clear favorite in this race. And since there was no clear loser, Sen. John Cornyn is the clear winner tonight simply because neither opponent did anything to damage him.

Each candidate successfully presented their policy position and showed how they are different than their opponents.

And that's the real story -- that here in Texas we do have three good choices. If you're  Democrat, you can feel good about the candidate you are voting for. If you are a Republican, you don't have to feel like you are simply voting "against" the other guy. And Mrs. Adams-Schick is a solid Libertarian who did a great job of laying out the principles of the Libertarian party.

The one thing that stood out the most for me throughout the debate was Adams-Schick, when discussing Government spending and entitlement programs, repeatedly pounded him the ides that:

Government doesn't have money of their own. The only way for them to pay for more and more entitlement programs is to take more money away from me and you.

And she's absolutely right.

My favorite quote from Rep. Noriega: "You  can't believe anything from Washington." He did not distinguish between Republicans and Democrats. Just a blanket statement that you can't believe anything form the current Congress.

And he's absolutely right. Though I think some of the Democrats, such as Hillary and Obama, that he needs to help him campaign, might take exception with that answer.

As of October 1, all immigrants living in Texas must now prove they are in the United States legally to obtain a drivers license or identification card.

Previously, immigrants seeking these types of legal identification cards merely needed to prove their identity, and not their legal status.

Additionally, the licenses and ID cards that are issued to legal immigrants will be visually different than those issued to US citizens:

After documents are verified, an applicant will be issued a license with the cardholder's photo positioned vertically instead of horizontally. "Temporary Visitor" will be written on the card, and the date that the holder's temporary status expires will be printed on its face, according to the department.

This is all well and good -- but common sense and logic makes you scratch your head and ask why this hasn't been a requirement all along?

The answer lies in groups like the ACLU, who of course opposes this new law.

The ACLU's contention is that it has nothing to do with illegal immigrants getting rights and privileges reserved for US citizens and legal immigrants, but rather that it's due to nothing more than a fear of all immigrants and an attempt to "intimidate" all immigrants.

Again...this is a good change to our state laws. And it's about time.

I heard about this the other day, but I only sort of believed it was actually happening.

Two students at the University of Texas at Austin are facing disciplinary action for putting political signs in their dorm room windows.  The university's excuse?  The signs make the campus look "cluttered."

And the university believes they are completely in the right and that the policy doesn't violate First Amendment rights - on the basis that there are other, designated places for free speech on campus.

Okay, if you've read my other blog long enough, or you know me personally, you know how much this issue gets under my skin.  I went to a school (UNT) where there was an actual plaque marking the main free speech area (yes, it's called that) on campus.  I still consider it a major goal of mine to see that thing destroyed - preferably to be holding the jackhammer that does it.

The university is a public place, financed by taxpayer money.  Free speech is an inherent, guaranteed right no matter where you are on campus.  We have been through this at Texas Tech and the University of Houston (where it's actually happening again), and I was part of a movement at the University of North Texas battling this same issue.  This is the first time I've seen this kind of thing erupt over political signs, though, and it's insidious.

For years, I've said that the University of Texas should be commended for it's open political atmosphere.  The West Mall is a haven for politically active students - and the free speech restrictions seen at so many other universities are virtually non-existant at UT.  University of Texas officials should continue that tradition and stand up for students wishing to express their political beliefs instead of seeking to stifle them.

The two students involved (Connor Kincaid and "his roommate Blake" [KVUE story unclear]) face both a registration ban and possibly expulsion from the dorms.

FOR PUTTING UP A SIGN IN THEIR WINDOW.

Please, please, please support Connor and Blake in their battle against this extremely harsh punishment and ruling by the university.  

By the way, Connor and Blake support Barack Obama, and I support John McCain.  I'm telling you that to emphasize a point - this is not a partisan issue.  It is an AMERICAN issue.

We have all heard about the "hope" that Barack Obama professes to bring to mainstream Americans during this election cycle.  The Democrat nominee for President is not the only person offering hope for Americans.  The Republican Party offers just as much hope, if not more, for tackling the issues facing our country today.

As delegates returned home from the Republican National Convention this year, there was a sense of pride in our platform, our country, and our candidates.  While we do not all agree on every issue, the Republican Party Platform gave many Republicans hope for future generations.  Holly Hansen, a Republican National Delegate from Round Rock, TX, said,

"The portions of the Republican Party Platform that give me the most hope for future generations of Americans include those on reforming government and developing energy independence.

"The new platform calls for constraining the 'federal government to its legitimate constitutional functions,' and not pretending that 'government is a substitute for family or community.'  It also outlines a plan for controlling spending AND for a stop to earmarks.  Furthermore, the platform relies on tax relief to grow the economy by calling for greater exemptions for dependents, banning internet access taxes, ending the death tax, and repealing the alternative minimum tax (AMT)."

These are issues that face all Americans and hurt our pocketbooks.  On these issues, the Republican Party offers the best philosophy of government to change the direction of the way our government does business.

This philosophy of government does not apply to just national issues.  The Republican Party platform also gives our down-ballot Republicans a solid stance on local issues that affect each of us on a daily basis.  The local issues such as skyrocketing property taxes, education bureaucrats that are more concerned about funding the government instead of teaching our children, and prosecuting illegal immigrants for criminal behavior are all issues that begin in our local communities.  On these issues, the Republican Party is the only entity that is offering true solutions and true hope to the broad-based constituency known as Americans.  

Of course, we all know that "hope" and "unity" alone will not solve our nation's problems and put us back in the right direction on fiscal issues.  Just this week, Congress and the President put legislation in place that increased the national debt by 10 percent in passing Secretary Paulson's bailout plan.

The Republican Party is built on the grassroots and the communication from the grassroots up the chain to our elected leaders.  If our elected Republicans do not support the platform and do not represent our values in their elected capacities, they will be challenged in the Republican Primary.   Holly stated, "Any party that becomes 'elitist' and begins to dismiss the concerns of 'Joe Taxpayer' is in serious trouble."

The grassroots, composed of Republican voters and donors, state delegates, national delegates, and our own mainstream neighbors, will continue to work to hold our leaders accountable.

Holly continued, "My experience as a National Delegate has made me realize I am not alone, and Texans are not alone in believing this a great nation founded on unimpeachable principles as expressed in the U.S. Constitution.  If we want to preserve the rights and freedoms we have under this form of government, we must be diligent and work hard.  Complacency would allow our system of government to die."

This is not the time to run from the Republican Party because of a handful of elected leaders who do not respect our values.  In fact, just the opposite is true.  Grassroots activists who draw hope from the Republican Party Platform and the philosophy of a limited government which protects our national sovereignty, preserves our traditional family values, supports fiscal responsibility, and defends our Constitution are in need.

State Representative Dan Flynn once told me, "The government is run by those who show up."  It is time for Republicans to continue to show up to hold our elected officials accountable to the platform and work to promote our values within the Republican Party.