David Dewhurst

Vote David Dewhurst for Texas Lieutenant Governor

Vote for David Dewhurst as Lieutenant Governor of Texas in the Republican Primary Runoff May 27, 2014!

David Dewhurst led the Texas Senate to pass strong legislation for Texas that so many other States haven’t been able to pass:

He held the line in 2003 when Dems ran to New Mexico and in 2011 when Doggett wrote Federal law specifically to prevent Texas from receiving education funds,

Tort reform for everyone, not just doctors like me,
The Defense of Marriage Act, followed by a DOMA amendment to Texas’ Constitution,
The Woman’s Right to Know Act requiring a 24 hour waiting period and informed consent for elective abortion,
Prioritized family planning funds, so Planned Parenthood was defunded,
Requirements that abortions after the 15th week be performed in an Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) followed by a law requiring that all abortions be performed in ASC’s,
Doctors who perform abortions must have admitting privileges with in 30 miles of the business,
Abortion businesses must offer the patient a sonogram and explain the findings,
Minors having an abortion must obtain parental consent and an afadavit that the person signing the consent is who they say they are,
A ban on 3rd trimester abortions in 2005, followed by a ban on all abortions after 5 months, except when the mother’s life is in danger.

And in case you missed it, Texas’ State spending is down from 2002 levels, when adjusted for inflation and population growth.  We have the lowest or second lowest debt per capita in the nation and the bulk of it is self-supporting by users, tolls, etc. 79% of our State debt is pensions. Look at independent reports like that last link and the State Comptroller’s reports.

My endorsements for Republican Primary Runoff Election 2014

Lieutenant Governor – David H. Dewhurst

Attorney General  –  Dan Branch

Agricultural Commissioner – Sid Miller

Railroad Commissioner –  Wayne Christian

Comal County Precinct 4 County Commissioner  Jen Crownover

Any questions?

Debate . . . between Dewhurst, Patrick

What Republican thinks it’s “dangerous” to have “a lot of money?”

Dan Patrick told the Houston Chronicle that Lieutenant Governor David H. Dewhurst is “dangerous because he has a lot of money.”

Dewhurst might be dangerous because of the skills he learned serving our Nation in the Air Force and CIA. But he’s not dangerous because of his success in business.

Texas doesn’t have State property taxes

I’m reading Republican primary run off ads stating that our Republican State Legislators and, in particular, the leader of the Senate – the Lieutenant Governor, David Dewhurst – haven’t done enough to lower property taxes. Well, those candidates are indulging in the worst sort of campaigning, since there are no State property taxes in Texas!

Here are the sources of State revenue in Texas: http://www.texastransparency.org/State_Finance/Budget_Finance/Reports/Revenue_by_Source/revenue_hist.php . The fact is that the bulk of Texas revenue comes from our sales tax and the return of tax money from the Federal Government.

In 2006, Lt. Governor David H. Dewhurst led the Senate when they cut and limited the amount local governments may assess as property tax rates and the property assessments those taxes are based on.

Unfortunately, the local districts *and their voters* raised those taxes up to the limit in some districts.

In areas such as Houston and Harris County, the appraisals are being *inflated* and/or *rising* nearly 100% due to the good economy there.  It seems that the problem is at the School Districts, City Councils, and County Commissioners Courts, not at the State legislature.

Again: there is no State property tax in Texas. The solution to high property taxes is in your home town, not Austin.

Dan or Leticia? GOP senators might demur – San Antonio Express-News

Even a stopped (analog) clock is right twice a day. And here’s an example, from O.Ricardo Pimental:

Republican senators number 19, Democrats 12. If two seats flip, the GOP, if unified, has its can’t-mess-with-us majority. Most folks think Republicans will go up to at least 20. But rule changes can be done with a simple majority.

And here’s the thing: Van de Putte simply scores higher on collegiality than does Patrick, known for his red-meat policy choices and God-says-I’m-right-and-you’re-not posture.

via Dan or Leticia? GOP senators might demur – San Antonio Express-News.

My Endorsements

John Cornyn, US Senate

Lamar Smith, CD 21 –

Gregg Abbott, Governor

David Dewhurst, Lt. Governor

Donna Campbell, Tx Senate, 25

Ken Paxton for Attorney General

Wayne Christian for Railroad Commissioner

Sid Miller for Agricultural Commissioner

Nathan Hecht, Jeff Brown and Phil Johnson for the Texas Supreme Court

In Comal County, I hope you will vote for Jeanne Slupik for Commissioner, Precinct 4, and for Cherie Perez for District Clerk.

I’ve also been posting about (against) Katrina Pierson, who is running against Sessions, using her anti-family, anti-“social issue” comments on Twitter from 2012.

Christian Medical Association on HB2

Here’s my piece for the Christian Medical and Dental Association’s “The Point,” a weekly newsletter on current events. (This isn’t a 250 word discussion — I snuck in 275 words!)

“At what point do humans become human enough to have the right not to be killed? How should society balance protection for women who choose to abort their children with the burden imposed by that protection?

“While 62 percent of Texasⁱ and 59 percent of U.S. votersⁱⁱ support a ban after 20 weeks, opponents of the bill stormed the Capitol, disrupted hearings and threatened lawsuits that will likely decide whether the law is enforced. In the middle of the noise, both sides told legislators painful stories about the effect of abortion on their lives.

“Texas’ new law bans abortion after 20 weeks, based on the possibility that the fetus can feel pain at the lower limit of viability since the lower brain structures are in place, the thalamo-cortical connections are developing and primitive memory and learning have begun.ⁱⁱⁱ There are exceptions for life and permanent injury for the mother and severe fetal anomalies. The law also requires that abortion facilities meet guidelines required of facilities that do similar procedures like D&Cs. Doctors performing abortions must obtain hospital privileges within 30 miles of the facility and follow FDA guidelines for medical abortions.

“Christian doctors are in a unique position to guide the public conversation toward one of ethics, rather than popular opinion, science or law. We must also demonstrate Christ’s healing love and forgiveness to those who are in pain because of abortion.”

 

Links and more references, here.

Texas DPS director on “Tampon Gate”

Evidently, there were men who tried to enter the Senate Gallery ith tampons. Sounds suspicious to me!

“The possession of these and other items is not a crime, and therefore, there was no basis to arrest and detain visitors who possessed such items; however, they were denied access unless they discarded the items,” McCraw wrote. “The Department never took possession of these items and had no justification to do so.”

No officer questioned by the San Antonio Express-News or the Texas Tribune could confirm they had confiscated feces or urine or that they had any knowledge of such items being in the Capitol.

McCraw explained the basis for which officers did not allow feminine hygiene products including tampons and sanitary napkins into the gallery.

“The arbitrary prohibition of feminine hygiene products, for example, on its face would seem absurd,” McCraw wrote. “However, the Department received reports that some visitors planned to throw feminine hygiene products onto the Senate floor. One woman attempted to enter the Senate gallery with approximately 100 feminine hygiene products and she was denied access, as were two men who possessed approximately 50 feminine hygiene products each.”

He also said names of visitors with “suspicious jars or other items” were not documented because they did not commit a crime by possessing them and ”it would be unreasonable to document names of visitors based on what they might or might not do.”

Howard responded to McCraw’s with “disappointment with the lack of clarity that he provides.”

“At the end of the day, we are still left with unsubstantiated claims, allegations of suspicious jars but no actual evidence,” she said. “The lack of onsite documentation or eyewitnesses — either from officers or members of the public — seems to undercut the assertions laid out in DPS’ original press release and now their response letter. To be frank, it doesn’t pass the smell test. ”

McCraw added to the list of items that were confiscated and discarded by police including ”paint, confetti, glitter, bottles of bubbles, bags of balloons (not inflated), handheld air horns, a bag full of tomatoes” and two bricks, which were being used to prop doors open and were not going to be used as projectiles, he said.

The Express-News has requested records from the Department of Public Safety regarding the July 12 searches and items discarded.

“Planned Parenthood web ad blurs distinctions” (DMN Fact Check)

So, after telling us all these years that they don’t spend money from tax funds for their abortion business, Planned Parenthood is now saying that their facilities are often in the same buildings as the “separate” affiliates that don’t do abortions and that meeting the standards of an ambulatory care center will shut down both businesses.

Planned Parenthood operates 10 abortion clinics in the state that would be mandated to raise to the new standards. The abortion clinics, by law, are separate entities and must be separately funded from health centers where cancer screenings take place.

Planned Parenthood officials acknowledged that, but said some abortion clinics and health centers are housed within the same buildings. She suggested that if it were too expensive to upgrade the abortion clinics, then it could also force a shut-down of the health care clinics in the same building.

Officials could not say how many of the 10 abortion clinics are adjacent or within the same building as health care centers.

Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, responded by email and cited 55 health care centers already have been shuttered in Texas.

That assertion is based on legislative funding cuts from two years ago and is not related to the pending legislation.

And the previously closed health centers are not related to the assertion made in the advertisement.

Health centers that do not provide abortions would not be affected by the legislation.

via Fact check: Planned Parenthood web ad blurs distinctions | Trail Blazers Blog.

Scientific Huffington Post (!) Poll: Ban Abortion After 20 Weeks

20 week ultrasound

#Stand4Life across the US: 59% support a Federal ban on abortion after 20 weeks, even though the question didn’t include an exception for the life of the mother!

Remember that University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll that showed that 63% or 62% (depending on whether the question mentioned pain or not) of registered voters in Texas wanted a ban on abortion after 20 weeks? Well, it seems that most US voters agree.This poll found that 59% of voters would support a ban, while only 30% oppose it.

The Huffington Post, not a conservative website at all, solicited a scientific poll by the same group that did the UT/TT poll, YouGov. These results agree with last month’s Gallup poll revealing that 64% of Americans believe that abortion should be illegal in the second 3 months of pregnancy and 80% would make it illegal in the last 3 months.

The HuffPost isn’t making a big deal out of the poll, focusing on the conflicting views of the public rather than on the results of the poll itself. In fact, from my GoogleNews search, it doesn’t appear that (as of 7 AM today) anyone other than a couple of blogs (at the Washington Post and the Weekly Standard),  National Right to Life, and LifeNews.com are reporting the poll!

@GovernorPerry: Gov. Perry Calls Special Session to Begin July 1

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today announced a Special Session of the Texas Legislature will begin at 2 p.m. Monday, July 1.

“I am calling the Legislature back into session because too much important work remains undone for the people of Texas. Through their duly elected representatives, the citizens of our state have made crystal clear their priorities for our great state. Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn. Texans want a transportation system that keeps them moving. Texans want a court system that is fair and just. We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do.

The special session will consider the following issues:

• Legislation relating to the regulation of abortion procedures, providers and facilities.

• Legislation relating to the funding of transportation infrastructure projects.

• Legislation relating to establishing a mandatory sentence of life with parole for a capital felony committed by a 17-year-old offender.

via Office of the Governor Rick Perry – [Press Release] Gov. Perry Calls Special Session to Begin July 1.

Chaos, Mob, not filibuster, subverted Texas Senate #SB5 #TxLege

In the Texas Senate, the filibuster is a method of allowing a minority viewpoint known. The minority Legislator is allowed to speak without time limits and without unwanted interruptions, as long as he or she follows the rules laid out beforehand.

Yes, Senator Windy Wendy Davis began a filibuster. She knew the rules, and she broke them. Her fellow Democrat Senators engaged in stalling tactics, but it was the noise and chaos in the gallery that made the three minutes of difference that killed the Bill.

You can watch the Senate video at this page.The

Senators West, Whitmire,Watson, Ellis, Van de Putte, Zaffirini, and (of course) Senator Davis proved to all of us that they value the elective abortion of human beings above orderly government and Legislators.

I was, unfortunately, not shocked that Senator Leticia Van de Putte encouraged the gallery to disrupt the Senate. It also appears that she lied about the timing of her motion to adjourn. See the roll call vote beginning about 12:19/15:50. Note that she spoke and that the temporary President, Senator Duncan, responded after the roll call began. 12:31

I was surprised that the gallery wasn’t cleared much earlier, even though it might have meant that I would have had to leave. However, until the last hour, the outbreaks were intermittent and quickly calmed down.

My friends and I were very concerned about the reaction of those who so clearly showed no respect for the rest of us and who greatly outnumbered the State Troopers.  Every seat was full, the pro-life crowd was greatly outnumbered and the halls were crammed with more people in orange.  When the standing and shouting became constant, the Lt Governor signaled to the Troopers who began to remove people in an orderly manner.

More Troopers arrived, but they were constantly at risk of physical confrontation, with some of the Orange shirts resisting the request for them to file out. At one point, the Troopers were forced to lock the West doors of the Gallery and the Mob continued to push from the hall and fill the Rotunda.

I certainly didn’t want to be in the middle of a fight with these people and am grateful that the Troopers kept some semblance of order. I don’t believe that there was a way to clear the gallery earlier or with less disruption than we had and am proud of the State Troopers.

Thank your Texas Senators for a Good Bill!

From Texas Alliance for Life:

 

Texas Senate Passes Pro-Life SB 303 to Help Families

Protect Loved Ones Near the End of Life

 

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Sen. Donna Campbell M.D. Deserve Thanks!

 

April 24, 2013

 

Dear Larry and Beverly:

 

Very good news! Last week the Texas Senate passed SB 303, a strong pro-life bill that will change current law to help families protect their loved ones near the end of life. Supported by pro-life Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and authored by Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville), the full Senate passed SB 303 on a decisive 24-6 vote.

Your Texas state senator, Sen. Donna Campbell M.D., voted to support SB 303, a pro-life vote. Please thank Lt. Governor Dewhurst and Sen. Campbell for their support. See sample messages below.

SB 303 is strongly supported by broad coalition of pro-life and provider organizations including Texas Alliance for Life, the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, and the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission. 

 

Voting for SB 303 were: Campbell, Carona, Davis, Deuell, Duncan, Ellis, Eltife, Estes, Fraser, Garcia, Hinojosa, Huffman, Lucio, Nelson, Nichols, Rodriguez, Schwertner, Seliger, Uresti, Van de Putte, Watson, West, Whitmire, and Zaffirini.Voting against SB 303 were: Hancock, Hegar, Patrick, Paxton, Taylor, and Williams. Senator Brian Birdwell was absent.

 

(snip)

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst at San Antonio Tea Party

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst

Talking about Texas’s history of conservative pro-life and pro-family laws.

My pic in NYT (behind @DavidHDewhurst) #TxSen

That’s me in the lower left corner, adjusting my glasses.

Well, have YOU had your picture in the New York Times?

Slate.com on “The Inescapable Logic of Nominating Ted Cruz for US Senate

Have we in the Republican Party really come so low that we only look at charisma and ethnicity?

Slate.com is a long time online and very left leaning news site. Today, the article by David Wiegle,  “The Inescapable Logic of Nominating Ted Cruz for Senate” proves that they don’t think very highly of Republicans, especially Conservative Republicans.

…Only toward the end of the editorial do we get some sound logic for Cruz.

“[A]s the Houston-raised son of a Cuban immigrant, he is proof positive that the American dream is very much alive and well — if in desperate need of defenders within the political system. Mr. Cruz can provide that defense in a way that Mr. Dewhurst simply is not equipped to do.”

Ah, there we go. Cruz is 42 and Hispanic. Dewhurst is 66 and white.

So there you have it: This man believes that a “white man” in his 60’s can’t represent the American Dream, no matter his humble beginnings and his own evidence that the American Dream of success is possible.

I don’t believe the bulk of Conservatives have reached that point, yet. The trouble is that a lot of our Party members are young and/or just got out of their recliners to join in our electoral process. They are vulnerable to the loudest and most brash of our “leaders” who deceive them about the process and possibilities of legislative elective office.

The fact is that inertia is built into the system of Government, both at the State (especially) at the Federal level. Most of the time that’s a good thing!

David Dewhurst knows the ins and outs of government, he can balance budgets, convince men and women to form coalitions and get things done. Most of all, he knows how to move that inertia we call Government to success as in ‘The Texas Miracle.” (The year-round Senate in DC will probably seem too much, too long to him.)
Please consider voting for David Dewhurst for US Senator from the great State of Texas!

@GovernorPerry: One Shot At Electing @DavidHDewhurst #TxSen

Great video!

What’s up with those # and @ signs? #TxSen Candidates and Fans on Twitter

jroger777: So if the #TeaParty fails to show up and the retirees get real excited about voting for Dewhurst then @tedcruz won’t be our next #TXSen   (Twitter comment on a poll showing that people over 65 are more likely to vote for David Dewhurst)

By now, we’ve all heard that there’s a runoff race on for Texas’ U.S. Senator Republican candidate. Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst has received the endorsement of Governor Rick Perry, 18 of 19 Republican State Senators, and the bulk of State-Wide office holders.  Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz is backed by many leaders of the “Tea Party,” especially those most interested in controlling illegal immigration. South Carolina’s Senator Jim DeMint recruited former Texas Solicitor Ted Cruz to run  last year and has been campaigning with him this past weekend. We’ve seen the fanfare with Sarah Palin, Glen Beck, and Rick Santorum. A few know that Norman Adams, who masterminded the “Texas Solution” guest worker Plank in the Republican Party of Texas 2012 Platform, endorsed Cruz in the Primary.

But who are the grassroots supporters and what do they say in support of and against the candidates? One way to get an idea is to follow the race, the candidates and their “fans” on the social networking sites. The most popular are Facebook and Twitter. A cadre of supporters of both candidates post on Twitter, gathering together under the “hashtag” (see my “Primer” below) #TxSen, That’s why I’ve been putting the # in the title of most of my posts for the last month or so.

I posted about the news coverage and fallout from one conversation on Twitter back in early June, when Katrina Pierson, founder of Garland, Texas Tea Party and Grassroots Texans Network, and volunteer for Cruz, called former Marine Captain Dan Moran “a deformed disabled vet.”

That was about the time I got wrapped up in Facebook and Twitter – especially Twitter – – okay, addicted to Twitter –  political social networking.  I also started saving a few of the more notable Tweets sent by the Cruz crowd. (Sometimes derogatorily called “Cruzbots.” I wouldn’t do that. I call them the #CruzClan.)

Unfortunately, the conversation above is not that unusual, except that it got some press. The @DavidHDewhurst fans (voters) tend to be polite and rule followers. In contrast, the @tedcruz supporters follow a different drummer.  I’ve argued politics on the Internet for nearly 20 years and have never seen the spite and name calling that comes from the #CruzClan, even when talking to atheists, pro-aborts and RonPaulers.  That last statement reads like an incredible exaggeration, even to me, but just watch #TxSen or my “feed” after this blog is published.

The biggest surprise came in the form of questions indicating that some of the #CruzClan might not agree with their candidate, who says he’s pro-life and believes in laws protecting marriage as “one man and one woman,”  on “social issues,” such as abortion and marriage. Here are a few examples:

KatrinaPierson: @bnuckols Social issues are not constitutional issues. What are his fiscal conservative achievements. #txsen

KatrinaPierson: @bnuckols What page of the constitution is homosexuality on. I must have missed that one. #txsen #tcot

smurfdawginnc: @KatrinaPierson @bnuckols Why would the Constitution discuss a persons private sexual preference?

I had a several-day discussion about the Constitution and abortion with this Cruz supporter:

@Clint_Stutts: @bnuckols You’re still reading into the texts of the DOI and Const what isn’t there. Still have not shown they had unborn in mind #txsen

Even with a limit of 140 characters, the discussion followed the same old pattern that all such conversations do.

Wonder how popular Cruz will  be with his fans in a couple of years, if he’s elected, but proves more or less Conservative – and effective in the designed-to-be-immovable-Senate than they expect him to be?

Short primer on Twitter and Tweeting

If you are reading this on your computer or phone, you have all the skills necessary to be a social networker on Twitter. Join in!

If you want to see – or “follow” –  the real time conversation, you have to sign up for Twitter at Twitter.com. (Hint: Pick the shortest name you can, so you don’t eat up the 140 character limit!)  If you are interested in a topic or person, enter the word or name in the search box at the top. You can save the search to return to it over and over. You may have to pick the most appropriate result, or find your specific interest as a “hashtag” – subjects that appear frequently enough to form a subheading or group of Tweets – in the list of Tweets given. “Top Conservatives on Twitter” is a good place to start, #tcot. Or #TxSen/#txsen, “Texas Senate” will allow you to follow that subject through the election.

You’ll also see a list of people who tweet about your subject. People are contacted and referred to by @TheirName. I’m @bnuckols.

Law Enforcement Associations respond to @TedCruz @ #Cash4Kids #TxSen

I received this in my e-mail, this morning. As a mother, a grandmother and long time advocate against the abuse of children and for smaller government, and fewer laws, with appropriate punishment for REAL crimes, I couldn’t agree more!

To the voters of Texas,

Police and Law enforcement put their lives on the line to protect the public from those who would hurt our most vulnerable, our children.

Ted Cruz chose to defend a man, Robert Mericle, who took part in a judicial kickback scheme the resulted in 4000 children being incarcerated for profit. This scheme was reprehensible and exploited these children so that Cruz’s client and the corrupt judges he bribed could make millions in profits.

Now Ted Cruz’s campaign is sending out a mailer to Texans claiming that this felon and child exploiter helped prosecutors. Ted Cruz should be ashamed of himself for making this claim, when he knows his client is a convicted felon who hurt kids.

Ted Cruz tried to get his client Mericle out of paying his victims, the children, the damages Cruz’s client owed them. And now Cruz is trying to paint this villain as a hero.

To follow the chain of Cruz’s logic–every cornered criminal who cooperates with prosecutors to save their skin would be treated as a hero.

Ted Cruz needs to answer whether he personally approved this mailer his campaign sent out. Does Mr. Cruz really believe his client Robert Mericle is someone who should be applauded for his role in this scandal?

Ted Cruz’s inability to admit that his client was a convicted felon who exploited children raises serious questions about whether he has the judgment and character to represent Texas in any way.

Sincerely,

Charley Wilkison
Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)

Texas Conservative Leaders Endorse Dewhurst | Dewhurst for Texas

Texas Conservative Leaders Endorse Dewhurst | Dewhurst for Texas.

Todd Staples and Texas Aggriculture Support David Dewhurst #TxSen @DavidHDewhurst

July 29, 2012

http://www.dewhurstfortexas.com press@dewhurstfortexas.com

Texas AG Commissioner Todd Staples & Texas Agriculture Support David Dewhurst

U.S. Senate candidate David Dewhurst was in Waco this afternoon where he held a campaign event with supporters from the agriculture community. Following the event, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples announced his endorsement of Dewhurst for U.S. Senate. Commissioner Staples said that on issues important to rural Texas and agriculture, Dewhurst has been a “strong and steady advocate.”

“Just like Governor Perry, I’ve worked with David Dewhurst on conservative issues,” said Commissioner Todd Staples. “When I carried the constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman David Dewhurst fought with me to get the votes needed for passage. When I worked to protect the rights of property owners against unfair land grabs, David Dewhurst was a trusted ally. And on issues important to rural Texas and agriculture, David Dewhurst has been a strong and steady advocate. I am confident David Dewhurst is the best choice to fight for our state’s rights, against Washington over reach, and for lower taxes and a balanced budget in the United States Senate.”

“I’m honored to receive the support from Commissioner Staples,” said David Dewhurst. “Agriculture is one of Texas’ most important industries, with one out of every seven Texans working in an agriculture-related job. Texas also leads the nation in the number of farms and ranches, with 247,500 covering 130 million acres. As the next U.S. Senator from Texas, I will continue to be an advocate and a voice for Texas farmers and ranchers.”

The following Texas agriculture groups and organizations, which comprise more than 500,000 members, have endorsed Dewhurst in his bid for U.S. Senate.

• Texas Farm Bureau (AGFUND)
• Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association PAC
• Texas Cattle Feeders Association (BEFF-PAC)
• Texas Poultry Federation
• Texas Agricultural Aviation Association (TAAA)
• Texas Wildlife Association
• Texas Forestry Association

Texas Business Supports Dewhurst #TxSen @DavidHDewhurst

I received this Press Release from the David Dewhurst Campaign this afternoon. No one should be surprised, since Texas is # 1 for business several years in a row, according to many different measures.

As the wife of a Texas Businessman, as a member of Texas Medical Association and Texas Alliance for Life (the latter two have also endorsed Lt. Governor Dewhurst) and a proud member of the Texas Republican Party,  I’m proud to post it here:

July 28, 2012

http://www.dewhurstfortexas.com press@dewhurstfortexas.com

As a lifelong businessman, David Dewhurst has been a friend and champion for businesses in Texas. He understands that in order to thrive, small businesses and the private sector need a predictable, stable business environment. That’s why over the last nine years, Dewhurst has implemented the lightest regulatory hand to help create the best business climate in the country.

Texas has consistently been rated the best state to do business in the country, most recently by CNBC as the top state for business. In the last three years alone, nearly half of all the jobs created in America were in Texas. Now, Dewhurst wants to bring the Texas economic model of success to Washington.

 

“As a United States Senator, David Dewhurst would help spread the Texas economic miracle to the rest of the country,” said Dewhurst Advisor Mark Miner. “In Texas, David Dewhurst and Governor Rick Perry have removed the red tape and gotten government out of the way to allow small businesses to succeed. Texans know David Dewhurst will create a better business climate in Washington, because he’s already proven he can do it in Texas.”

The following Texas business groups and organizations, which comprise more than two million members, have endorsed Dewhurst in his bid for U.S. Senate.

• Texas Oil & Gas PAC
• Texas Restaurant Association
• Texas Medical Association TEXPAC
• Texas Association of Realtors
• Texas Association of Builders (Home PAC)
• Texas Association of Hospitals (HOSPAC)
• Texas Society of Professional Engineers
• Texas Association of Business (BACPAC)
• Texas Association of Manufacturers
• Texas Apartment Association
• Texas Property Rights Association (STPRA Fed. PAC)
• Texas Civil Justice League

Paid for by Dewhurst for Texas

What you might not know about the Texas US Senate Race #TxSen

At Monday night’s debate in Houston between Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz, Republicans in the runoff for the US Senate race(Twitter #TxSen), I met a couple who said they were still “undecided” about who to vote for. They asked why I was supporting Lt. Governor David Dewhurst over Ted Cruz. They were surprised that I believed his record is so strong and hadn’t even heard about Ted Cruz’ speculation to reporters that Governor Perry wanted to get Lt. Governor Dewhurst elected because he wanted Dewhurst out of Austin. The fact that these two went to the effort to attend a debate on  a Monday night made me believe that they are actually informed voters, but that if these two people don’t know the issues, perhaps many others don’t either.

I’ve covered some of this in other posts on WingRight, including my last Post, “An Open Letter to Texas Voters,”  and you can read about the support David Dewhurst received from 18 of the 19 Republicans in the 31 member Texas Senate, here. Here are more specific reasons why I support pro-life, pro-marriage, small government candidate Lt. Governor David Dewhurst for US Senator from Texas.

As I’m sure you know, Texas has a quirky system, where our Lieutenant Governor is more powerful than our Governor in many respects. If you want to know what Lt. Governor Dewhurst will do in the US Senate, look at just some of the laws he’s helped pass over the last 10 yrs:

• Women’s Right to Know Act, an informed Consent law for abortion with 24 hour waiting period, 2003;
• Prenatal Protection Act which declared the unborn an “individual” – a person in Texas law – “from fertilization until natural death,”  2003,
• Defense of Marriage Act, 2003, with a Second law passed to amend our State Constitution, 2005;
• Parental consent for abortion, 2005;
• Tort reform, 2005;
• Decreased school property tax by 1/3, 2007;
• Jessica’s Law, 2009,
• Loser Pays, 2011;
• De-funded abortionists, including Planned Parenthood, 2011;
• Prohibited illegal aliens from getting driver’s licenses, 2011;
• Photo Voter ID, 2011;
• Blocked the law written specifically to force Texas to follow the Democrat’s call to raise school spending at 2009 stimulus levels, 2011;
• Sonogram Bill, requiring the abortionist to offer the mother a chance to see her child and hear the heartbeat;
• Castle Law 2009 that allows Texans to use deadly force to defend themselves against threats, without having to prove they tried to “retreat”to safety;
• Stronger protection for Concealed Carry Permit holders every session since 2003:
• Balanced our budget every two years, even when there were projected shortfalls in 2003, 2009, 2011;
• Every year since 2005, Texas has spent at least $100Million of our tax dollars to augment border security and that number was doubled in 2011.

Governor Perry, with the help of Lt. Gov. Dewhurst and the Texas Senate, refused to accept those “Stimulus funds” for education and unemployment insurance that would have forced us to change our laws in 2011. Yes, we used some stimulus funds that didn’t require us to change our laws, but, as our former Senator, Phil Gramm said,

“(I)f the Congress had a vote on whether to build a cheese factory on the Moon, I would oppose it based on what I know now, and I cannot imagine the circumstance under which I would support it. But on the other hand, if Congress in its lack of wisdom decided to start a cheese factory on the Moon, I would want a Texas firm to do the engineering, I would want a Texas construction firm to do the construction, I would want the milk to come from Texas cows, and I would want the celestial distribution center to be in Dallas, Texas, or College Station, Texas, or somewhere else in my State.”

These are just the highlights of a career that began the same year that 11 Democrat Senators left Austin on a supporter’s plane in order to hide out in Albuquerque New Mexico for a full month in order to deny the Senate a Quorum and avoid losing the votes on Congressional redistricting.

You might have read that Dewhurst increased taxes, with the misleading statistic that our revenues went up over the last 10 years. Increased revenues do not necessarily mean increased taxes! They also go up with the growth of the economy. Texas’ population went up over 20%  and our State added more jobs than all the other States combined in the same time period. These were good jobs, and they went to legal residents who come into our State at the rate of 1000 people a WEEK! The fact is that even the Club for Growth, who is now backing Mr. Cruz, stated last year that Texas’ spending has actually gone down over the last 10 years, when adjusted for population and inflation.

How did we spend that money? Mr Cruz knows exactly how: he was the lawyer who worked out a deal in Federal Court when he was Solicitor General that bound the State to increase spending on Medicaid. He uses this spending from his agreement against the Lt. governor.

You might also read that Dewhurst supported a “payroll tax,” or even an “income tax.” These accusations are based on words in a press release and an editorial against the Lt Governor, from 2006. These weren’t the words used in the Bill that is bandied about, and that Bill never became law. In the law that was eventually passed, there are three ways to calculate our State business franchise tax. One of those is a tax based on employee pay, minus benefits. But there are two other ways, and the business chooses the best way for them. More telling is that our Attorney General won the case proving that the tax is not an income tax, last November. Cruz knew that his claim was wrong as from the beginning of his ads and web campaign against Dewhurst.

You can find my other posts on the US Senate race here.

Comal County Early Voting Sites and Endorsements

Early voting will start on July 23 and goes  through Friday, July 27. Election day is July 31, the Tuesday following.

During early voting, Comal County residents may vote at any of the following four polling places:

• Main Location – 45 Landa St., New Braunfels, 7 am -7 pm daily;
• Tye Preston Library, Canyon Lake – Monday through Thursday, 10 am-7 pm & Friday 7 am – 5 pm
• Garden Ridge City Hall – Monday & Wednesday 9 am – 7 pm, Tuesday & Thursday 9 am – 4 pm, & Friday 7 am – 3:30 pm; and
• Bulverde/Spring Branch Library – Monday through Thursday 10 am – 7 pm, & Friday, 7am-6pm.

Pleas consider voting for Dr Donna Campbell for our State Senator for District 25, and for Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst for US Senator.

If you’re not from Comal County and still reading this, and for the other races in Comal County, please take a look at the recommendations at Texas Alliance for Life’s Pro-life Voter’s hub. http://www.texasallianceforlife.org/VotersHub.aspx

For other Counties, you can find your early voting places at the Secretary of State’s website, here.

Clarification on #TxSen news about @DavidHDewhurst ad

My last video post might have seemed too cryptic or as though I left out a few details. In addition, you might have heard or read that the case was a “private civil suit.”

Mericle plead to a lesser offense ( not a real fan of that, either) of tax fraud carried out to hide his participation in the Cash for Kids crime. Two judges have been convicted ofsending juveniles to jail for frivolous charges. Sometimes for years.

Mericle was also sued in civil court for his part in the scheme. He lost, but didn’t think he should actually have to give up his profits – out of his own pockets, for pity’s sake – to the victims! So, he then then tried to sue his insurance company, Traveler’s, to pay for the settlement! Not surprisingly, Traveler’s balked at covering Mericle for his “damages,” incurred during the commission of a crime. And he lost, again.

The “Civil appeal” was a repeat effort to force Traveler’s insurance to pay the civil suit judgement against Mericle. After all if at first you lose in court, sue, sue again!

Mericle and Cruz lost that go ’round.

More victims, if Cruz had had his way, would have been everyone with insurance through Travelers, whose premiums would have gone up.

Disturbing audio revelation in #TxSen race

Texas Senate candidate Lt Governor David Dewhurst’s New web ad shocks, with Ted Cruz’ own recorded words in defense of his client, the developer who helped exploit children and the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania courts.

Here’s where to find the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce2L-OhuNiE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Ted Cruz’s legal work for figure in Pennsylvania corruption scandal draws fire

Ted Cruz has campaigned on his record as an attorney and “fighting” for Conservative values.  He has made the cases he argued the basis for his qualification to be Texas’ next US Senator. We should look at all of his record.

When he worked for the State of Texas as Solicitor General, he argued the cases he was assigned by Attorney General Greg Abbott. When he went into private practice as an appellant lawyer, what sort of cases did he choose?

From the Dallas Morning News:

“Ted Cruz chose to represent a convicted felon who masterminded a bribery scheme to fill the beds of his private prison to enrich himself by unlawfully jailing and terrorizing thousands of children,” said Dewhurst spokesman Matt Hirsch. “Ted Cruz should be ashamed.”

Hirsch said Cruz’s acceptance of the work “brings into question [his] integrity and judgment. … Is there anyone Ted Cruz won’t represent if the price is right?”

Dewhurst already has centered much of his campaign’s attack advertising on Cruz’s representation of a trademark-infringing Chinese tire maker.

In briefs for Mericle, Cruz argued that nearly $2.2 million in “finder’s fees” that the businessman and a partner paid to the two judges were an effort to get the judges to close a publicly run facility in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and let him build two new ones.

The partner, attorney and developer Robert Powell, managed the private facilities and was the one whose acts swayed the judges to harm children, Cruz said.

Cruz argued that the only crime Mericle was guilty of — failing to report tax evasion — hurt only the Internal Revenue Service, not the children imprisoned, meaning that Travelers should have to pay under Mericle’s insurance policy.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed about 4,000 convictions issued by one of the judges between 2003 and 2008, saying he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles, including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea.

In one case a 16-year-old girl with no prior record was held in juvenile detention for six months after gesturing with her middle finger at a police officer called during a custody dispute involving her parents and sister, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

Both judges have been sentenced to long prison terms. Mericle, who has testified for prosecutors in other corruption cases, is awaiting sentencing but is expected to serve less than three years.

via Ted Cruz’s legal work for figure in Pennsylvania corruption scandal draws fire | Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas and National Politics and Elections News – News for Dallas, Texas – The Dallas Morning News.

About those attacks on Dewhurst #TxSen

In spite of the Open Letter to Texans from the Senate Republican Caucus, people on Twitter (follow the subject tag #TxSen), Facebook and even RedState.com are still making the accusation that Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst “proposed” or “supported” a personal income tax and/or a “wage” or “payroll” tax for Texas, back in 2006. I’ve touched on the subject before, but thought I’d post a more detailed explanation.

There’s a quote all over the Internet, used to prove that the LG made a statement in favor of the income tax when in fact, the comment is taken out of context. Dewhurst was objecting to adding another burden to small businesses and start ups. Unfortunately, the original Associated Press March 30, 2006 article, “Businesses studying proposed tax structure,” by April Castro, is not available online. (A Screen shot of the first page of one newspaper that carried the article is here in pdf, but there’s no quote from Dewhurst in this part. I haven’t been able to find any online version carrying the supposed quote.) However, here’s a summary from Politifacts debunking of the claim;

A March 30, 2006, AP news article, headlined “Businesses studying proposed tax structure,” indeed quotes Dewhurst as saying: “I think I’d rather see a tax that’s based on income — you earn money, you pay something, you don’t earn money, you don’t pay anything.”

We can see why a critic would single out that comment, though the full AP story indicates that Dewhurst was speaking to the particulars of revamping the business franchise tax rather than advancing his desire to create a personal or business income tax.

The story initially points out that lawmakers had previously stumbled over how to restructure the business tax, which most corporations did not owe. “They worried that proposals would not apply equally to different business structures,” the article says. “And business-friendly Republicans have been hesitant to levy a new tax that could be harmful to job creation and economic growth.”

According to the story, the consensus proposed fix — which was a plan devised by a panel headed by John Sharp, a former Texas state comptroller — would tax businesses on a percentage of their gross receipts, meaning the money a company brought in before expenses, with each company choosing between deductions for cost of goods sold or employee benefits like salary and health care. The story says sole proprietors and general partnerships would be exempt, along with companies that have annual gross receipts of $300,000 or less.

For more than 80 years, the story says, the state’s main business tax had been based on a company’s net assets, though lawmakers changed it in 1991 to make it more like a corporate income tax. Texas companies subsequently had the choice of paying either 0.25 percent of the value of their net assets or 4.5 percent of their net corporate income, whichever was greater, according to a 2003 report on Texas taxes by the nonpartisan House Research Organization.

The LG’s comment was in fact made in opposition of one idea floated during the 2005/2006 update of Texas’ 100 yr old tax business franchise tax, so that all businesses, whether they made a profit or not, had to pay on gross receipts.

In order to lower property taxes and comply with a Federal Court ruling that allowing local school districts to max out the property tax was a de facto State income tax, Governor Perry named an independent Commission in 2005, under the leadership of John Sharp, a fairly conservative Democrat. (Texas has a lot of those as well as left radicals.)

Before, there had been a lot of loopholes and exempted businesses, so that only 6% of businesses paid at all.. When the franchise tax was broadened to include nearly all businesses in Texas, lots of ideas floated around. It took a couple of years, but the final tax ended up with an exemption of the first $150K and then the next session amended that to the first $300K.

Another claim – currently seen in Cruz’ TV ads – is that Dewhurst “actively supported” a “payroll tax” during this process. Cruz cherry picks two words from a  Press Release issued by the Dewhurst staff in 2006. One Senate version of the franchise tax rework praised the Senate for passing a bill that included School finance and the business tax changes. The term is only used once, in paragraph 4 and is not actually in the Bill. There are quotes around the statements by Dewhurst, but no quotes are found in the part that uses the words “payroll tax.” The Press Release notes that businesses had the option to choose between the two ways to calculate that tax, one based on income alone and one adjusted by employees payroll with exemptions, but doesn’t advocate one way over the other. (That version never passed into law.)

Attorney General Abbott successfully defended the tax against a lawsuit claiming that the franchise tax was an income tax on sole proprietorships and small partnerships in August, 2011, and the ruling from the Texas Supreme Court was reported in November, 2011.

Ted Cruz’ Enemies: the Texas Senate Republican Caucus (and Lt. Governor Dewhurst, Governor Perry #TxSen

Did you see how diplomatically the Texas Senate Republican Caucus worded their letter, without mentioning Cruz’ name? They just corrected the distortions he’s spread for a year about their actions in the Senate.

In contrast, Cruz wrote an “Open Letter” addressed directly to Lt. Governor Dewhurst, calling him a liar — which means he’s calling all the other Senators liars, too.

Not only that, but – even though the letter from the Senators was signed by 18 respected Republican Texas Senators —  Cruz went to the trouble of opening the “Properties” folder for the letter (composed in Microsoft Word 97-2003) and publishing a screen shot, accusing the man whose name appears of writing the letter.That may seem a logical assumption to anyone who is already looking for conspiracies  and goes to the trouble to open the Property folder in the first place.

. However, it seems that no one called Mr. Grimes. Mr. Grimes says he didn’t write the letter. He said he used the computer at one time, but doesn’t work for that firm anymore:

I had absolutely nothing to with this letter,” Grimes told Roll Call. “And if the Cruz folks had called me beforehand and asked me, I would have told them, but they didn’t.”

Other sources say that the letterhead was designed by a staffer at a consulting firm called The Eppstein Group. Grimes, who is no longer at the firm, once used that computer and the sources say that is how his name surfaced in the computer software.

Cruz didn’t need to go to all the trouble of working up a conspiracy between the City of Austin and the Lieutenant Governor. (Is he at all familiar with Austin politics? The City of Austin is farther to the left than the cities surrounding his almae matres,  Princeton and Harvard). Erick Erickson of RedState.org has already figured out what happened and wrote that “arm twisting” was going on in the Senate. They, along with everyone else in Austin, are supposedly afraid that they’ll never get another Bill passed if they don’t back up the Lt. Governor.

So, let’s get this straight:18/19 Republican Senators – an easy majority in the 31 member Senate – didn’t mean what they signed their names to — because they are collectively – all 18 of them – afraid of David Dewhurst? They can’t gang up on Dewhurst, but can on Cruz? Without mentioning his name in the letter?

Even Jane Nelson, one of the most poised and competent Legislators in the Nation? Even Florence Shapiro and Steve Ogden who aren’t running again? We’re supposed to believe that Chris Harris, Dan Patrick and John Carona are afraid of anyone? Do they all lie out of fear?

Well, there’s one Senator that Cruz believes. The unnamed “senior Senator,” who was anonymously quoted by that reliable source, the Texas Monthly — and now, Ted Cruz, the Baptist preacher’s son. Now we all know that it’s a badge of Conservatism to be named among their Worst List. We also know that unattributed quotes from the TM are worth less than the paper this blog isn’t printed on.

Nevertheless after listing his distortions once again in the “Open Letter” to David Dewhurst, Cruz gratuitously went farther:

“. . . if the Texas Senators had to vote on whether David Dewhurst should be considered one of the Ten Worst Legislators in Texas, the vote “would be 31 to nothing.”” (link included in original)

So much for diplomacy. Or even Christian decency.

Which Senator lies to support David Dewhurst but can be trusted to tell the Texas Monthly anything truthful?

One thing is certain. He has no idea how much he’s going to need these people, whether or not he wins on July 31. If there’s “fear,” perhaps it should be on Cruz’ part: that they’ll hang him out to dry on Augut 1 and in January if he does get to DC.