Places to be, people to see

At first glance, this doesn’t look like a strong week for attending political events. But if you look a little closer, this week has the makings of a landmark week in Harris County if you are a Republican primary voter.

One of the most intriguing events is a public meeting of the United Republicans of Harris County.

Tuesday, 4/30

United Republicans of Harris County – Ed Emmett

Time: 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Place: Sosa Community Center 1414 Wirt Road Houston, Texas 77055 (map)

Please join us Tuesday evening, April 30th for our first General Meeting of 2013, to hear from our speaker, County Judge Ed Emmett. United Republicans of Harris County is committed over the 2014 election cycle to strengthen its historic transparent and fair evaluation of Republican primary candidates, and to expand our efforts in other areas to help our party grow. Please join our efforts.

United Republicans of Harris County – Harris County Judge Ed Emmett

I say “intriguing” because URHC has a new board and is trying to combat the “pay for play” primary voting slates in Harris County. If anyone can knock some sense into the heads of Republican primary voters, it is Ed Emmett. This should be very, very interesting.

Thursday, 5/2

Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club – Jerry Patterson

Time: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Place: Spaghetti Warehouse

And/or

Jerry Patterson’s 2nd Amendment Celebration at the NRA Convention in Houston

Time: 5:00 – 7:30 pm

Place: 8th Floor – One Park Place, 1400 McKinney St, Houston, TX 77010

Come join Jerry Patterson, Texas Land Commissioner and 2014 Texas Lieutenant Governor Candidate, for food, drinks, and great gun conversation! This event is FREE!

You might even win a North American Arms .22 magnum, 5-shot, stainless steel revolver like the gun that Patterson holsters in his boot!

Start the convention off with a “bang” by joining us for a conversation with Patterson, a Marine Vietnam veteran and the author of the Texas Concealed Handgun Law, Texas Republican Precinct Chairs, Texas CHL instructors, and many others!

(You should probably RSVP for this one by clicking here because I didn’t ask the campaign if this was open to the public. Or email info@votepatterson.com to find out.)

Obviously, Texas Land Commissioner and candidate for Lt. Gov. next year Jerry Patterson is coming to Houston while the NRA convention is in town to leverage his reputation as the King of the Second Amendment in Texas. But it is really much more than that. Current Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is having a rough go of it this session, which is very disappointing for those of us that support him. I mean, seriously, it is so bad that I received this email from his “campaign” (a misnomer?):

David,I wanted to make sure you had a chance to read the email below from the Texas GOP.I have been proudly leading the Texas Senate in passing landmark bills to drug test welfare recipients, end CSCOPE, and raise the caps on charter schools to give our children more opportunities to receive a first-class education. And we’re just getting started!The success we have already achieved in this session would not have been possible without the leadership of conservatives in the Texas Senate, but, more importantly, it’s because of Republican leaders like you. Thank you for all that you do for the State of Texas!For Texas,David Dewhurst Legislative Update – 83rd Session on Track to Further Conservative Priorities It’s not often that everyone in Austin agrees, but this session there is agreement on at least one thing – that this session has so far been one of consensus building. Congratulations to our leadership in the House and Senate for successfully building broad coalition support in order to pass legislation addressing some of the challenges that Texans face. Both Chambers have passed a budget with differences to be worked out in conference committee. There are a few commonalities between each budget – neither version raises taxes or fees, and both leave a substantial balance in the Rainy Day Fund. The RPT has made it clear to members that we adamantly oppose any tax or fee increase as well as any effort to drain the Rainy Day Fund. The House has also passed a water plan and education funding bill. The Senate has passed legislation to fund higher education, overhaul Medicaid funding, and require drug testing for welfare recipients. They also passed terms limits for statewide offices that will require voter approval in November. In addition, just today the Senate passed legislation to reform CSCOPE, which, if signed into law, makes that curriculum accessible to parents and closes the non-profit group that currently promotes the teaching of this curriculum in some Texas chools. With plenty of time left for these bills to receive debate and a vote in the opposite chamber, it looks like the 83rd Session is on track to further the conservative cause of responsible government. At the Republican Party of Texas, we have been working with the legislature to voice the opinion of the grassroots. As previously mentioned, Chairman Munisteri sent a letter to members of the legislature asking them to support any form of school choice. And, students in the approximately 100,000 families currently on a waiting list for charter school transfer deserve an opportunity to move into a school where they can succeed. The Senate, under the leadership of Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick, passed a Charter School bill (SB2) that lifts the cap of charter schools in Texas from 215 to 305, and includes funding for those additional schools. Congratulations to the Senate and we’ll work to voice our support of the bill through the House. Also, the RPT is supporting a few bills that change the election code to allow state parties more flexibility in writing party rules. In fact, the Republican Party of Texas and the Texas Democratic Party distributed two letters to the legislature supporting SB1398/HB2273, HB3102 and HB3103, three pieces of legislation that allow the parties to determine how to allocate our national delegates, give the parties more flexibility in writing convention rules and bring the election code into the 21st Century, allowing parties to electronically submit primary filing and canvass reports. Last week, RPT Executive Director Beth Cubriel testified to the Senate State Affairs Committee, along with Rep. Glen Maxey from the Texas Democratic Party, in support of SB1398 regarding national delegate allocation. Yesterday afternoon the bill was adopted by the full Senate. We are grateful to Sen. Estes for sponsoring SB1398 in the Senate and to Elections Committee Chairwoman Geanie Morrison for sponsoring all three of these bills in the House. Also last week, RPT Vice Chairwoman Melinda Fredricks echoed the message from a previously distributed letter from Chairman Munisteri to Senators regarding the expansion of gambling in Texas when she testified to the Senate Business and Commerce Committee in opposition to SJR 64. Melinda reminded members that our party platform, adopted by the party’s 9000 delegates to the state convention, strongly opposes any expansion of gambling in the Lone Star State. But Melinda didn’t stop there. The pro-gambling lobby in Austin is promoting this bill as “Let Voters Decide”, as the bill is an amendment to the Texas Constitution and therefore, if it passes, will be on the ballot in November. Melinda reminded lawmakers that anyone who is opposed to gaming should oppose this bill, just as they would oppose any legislation that would allow Texans to decide on a state income tax. The bill was left pending in committee. We’ll continue to track these bills and keep you posted if we think a call to action is needed on any of this legislation. In the mean time, if you have any questions about our efforts at the Capitol, please let us know. For further information on these or other bills of interest to you, please visit the websites of the Texas House of Representative or State Senate.  Alternatively, you can track legislation through the Texas Legislature Online. ###

Pol. ad. paid for by David Dewhurst Committee

I admit that I was flabbergasted by that one. Deja vu all over again as in inept campaign all over again. The best his campaign can come up with is drug testing po’ folks on welfare, ending CSCOPE, and upping the cap on charter schools? Hey, I’m all for upping the cap on charter schools but holy cow, is that it? What about school choice, tax cuts, and holding the line on spending? Plus, the email features Sen. Estes, who pushed that TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE secret tribunal bill through the Senate! I think what this shows is that Lt. Gov. Dewhurst and his campaign are delusional about the impact of a very narrow definition of the “tea party” when Ted Cruz defeated him last year. While the Texas House, under the leadership of Speaker Joe Straus, is focused on improving transportation and making sure that Texans have water in the future, the Senate is focused on drug testing po’ folk and holding secret tribunals? Wow.

And on one of the signature issues of the King of the Second Amendment, Campus Carry, the Lt. Gov. assigned that bill to Democrat John Whitmire’s committee where it will be bottled up and put in the dust bin of the 83rd Legislature’s history books.

Screenshot of Jerry Patterson ad appearing at TexasGOP vote.

Yeah, you might want to go and meet Jerry Patterson this week if you are a Republican primary voter. I know that Lt. Gov. Dewhurst is trying to work on transportation, water, and TWIA bills, and can certainly explain each of those issues better than anyone currently in state government, but it won’t matter much if his campaign is focused on po’ folk that might be using drugs. All people are going to see are those reports of increased state spending and draining the Rainy Day Fund of $6 BILLION so that pigs can line up at the government’s trough. As well as a few well placed ads from the Patterson campaign about some po’ daddy that lost his little girl because she couldn’t protect herself on a college campus. Take it to the bank.

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