Category: news

While the congratulations posts and emails roll in, Tuesday’s election results should be very troubling for Republicans.

James Dickey, Texas GOP Chair, wrote “Last night we saw the culmination of several years of concentrated effort by the left – and the impact of over $100 million spent – in their dream to turn Texas blue again.  Thankfully they failed to win a single statewide elected office.”

One blogger wrote “For the unprecedented millions of out-of-state dollars spent on O’Rourke’s senate race, it was a bad investment for Democrats. […] So for the gazillions of dollars spent, it achieved four positions on a mid-level appellate court (on our ballot anyway).  Not exactly what they were intending for the investment, but there you have it.”

And, locally, the Bastrop County Republican Party had only this comment, posted on Facebook.

In Bastrop County, only one race on the ballot was contested. One.  And, that was JP Precinct 1, not even a county wide race.

While I’m pleased a Republican won that seat, that’s hardly a result worth cheering.  A broader view finds troubling election results.

The Courts

Republicans lost every single race for a seat on every Court of Appeals, with the exception of the Second Court of Appeals, Place 2.  That is 32 judicial seats (13 were unopposed) that were in Republican hands that are now filled with Democrats.  While each is not a “statewide elected office”, the impact of so many seats being lost across TX is not much different than losing one or more statewide seats.

Many of these courts have now gone from being Republican majorities to Republican minorities.  And, we all know that the Courts are viewed by the Democrats as the final arbitor when they don’t get what they want through the legislative process.

The critical court is the Third Court of Appeals because they hear all governmental appeals.  My county is part of the geography covered by that court. It comes as no surprise that not one voter I spoke with between 9am and 7pm on election day at my precinct had any idea what the Third Court does.  And, I submit that is the case for those voters I did not have the opportunity to ask.  Yet, thousands and thousands voters cast votes for these positions.

Republicans need to step up.  This type of sweep of our judicial system does not bode well for Texas. I submit this type of uneducated voting is as much a danger to the future of our Republic as voter fraud.

 

 

Many counties in this state and other states have multiple Republican organizations: clubs, women’s clubs, and the party itself.  My experience is that they work together for the common goal of expanding the Party base and, more importantly, electing Republicans in the general election.

When “who gets the credit” takes a higher seat than cooperation, silos are created.  Our Party and our candidates suffer. That’s what’s happening today in Bastrop County.

Ronald Reagan said it best: “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”  That’s why these statements from our county party chair are so disturbing:

Senator Cruz’ opponent, Beto O’Rourke, has signs everywhere in Bastrop County.  A couple of Lost Pines Republican Women (LPRW) members, including me, have Cruz (and other candidate) signs.

Even though I am a duly elected precinct chair, the county chair has refused to send an email to my precinct letting you know I have these signs. Why? Because any donations to help cover the cost of acquiring these signs go to LPRW.

BCRP did not pay for these signs. The BCRP does not yet have Cruz signs. So  the chair would rather these Cruz signs sit in a garage than to spread the word that they are available today solely because the BCRP won’t be the recipient of any sign donations.  Siloed thinking.

Intraparty silos damage our Party and hurt our candidates. If you are anywhere in Bastrop County and want a Cruz sign, email me or use the handy form on this website.

Yes, I know right where I was. I remember who I talked to, who I called, what I did. At first, we thought it was a small plane, but the skies were so clear, how could a small plane have hit the towers? But, it didn’t take long for the speculation to end and the shocking truth to slam my psyche.

I remember my son calling me, begging me to come home because I worked in a government building in NJ. Any and all buildings were targets, so we thought.  I called my brother in California, woke them up so they could reach out to my nephews who worked in San Fran and tell them not to go to work that day. I checked on friends who worked in the towers, in the City. I remember the chaos, then quickly the coordination.  I remember America’s Mayor, Rudy Guiliani, and his strength through it all.

And, I remember sitting in my car on the hill in Denville NJ (Morris County), watching the smoke, where there had once been twin towers, still filling the horizon for weeks and weeks.

I do not know the pain of those who lost loved ones, but wept as I photographed Morris County NJ’s 9-1-1 Memorial when it was finished. The names. The lives. The loved ones. The responders. The heroes. I’ve sat in silence in that solemn place, weeping for the incredible loss.

It’s been seventeen years, but no, I will never forget. God Bless America, and have mercy on every soul affected that day.

Free college tuition.  This is the current cry of the left, of Bernie Sanders and the Socialist Democrats running for office today.

BEWARE.  There’s no such thing as a free lunch.  And, there’s no such thing as “free” college tuition.

A college’s annual budget is made up of building maintenance, equipment and its maintenance (food service, HVAC, computers, etc), grounds maintenance, landscaping, paving, administrative staff salaries, professor salaries, security salaries, maintenance personnel salaries, employee benefits, insurance costs, air conditioning, heating, lighting, and more.  And, this doesn’t include costs of new buildings, investments in current technologies, or meals.

Will the professors teach for reduced salaries or for free? Will the electric and gas companies waive their charges? Will landscapers mow lawns for free, or will the college call for volunteers to do this work? Will computer companies give away their technologies for free? Of course not.

None of these costs will change.  So the college that had a budget of $30 million in expenses will still have a budget of $30 million in expenses. What will change is the number of people paying that $30 million.

The math is simple: 2,000 students supporting a $30 million budget means each student needs to pay $15,000.  But, when only 1,000 students pay for that same $30 million budget, those who do pay, pay double: $30,000 per student.

This is forcing those who can afford it to pay more for the same commodity that others then get for free.  In other words, as written by Communist Karl Marx, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

This is communism, pure and simple.  A vote for any proponent of “free” college tuition (actually, of “free” anything) is a vote to change America from a capitalist nation to a communist nation.  Remember that when you vote for a candidate who supports free stuff.  It’s that simple.