Tag Archives: Tea Party

Can We have Their Names Please?

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Gov. Greg Abbott signed a sweeping border security bill that will cost the state over $300 million to fix a problem that may not exist anymore. Statistics show that crime in the Rio Grande valley is at an all time low. But that doesn’t matter to Abbott who justified the massive increase in police presence by claiming that, “Here in Houston, there are more than 20,000 dangerous gang members that are associated with cross border traffic crime.”  Abbott went on to claim that there are more than 100,000 such hoodlums In the state. Abbott cited no source for his numbers.  It’s becoming more and more clear that Abbott will say anything because Texas Tea Party voters who control the electorate clearly will not hold him accountable. Need a stat to support throwing money at a problem- just make one up.

If at First You Don’t Succeed – Waste Some More Time and Money

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Rick Perry announced his candidacy for President today.  Just what we needed – another Presidential candidate with Texas roots.  The Wall Street Journal, Red’s favorite source on all things Rick Perry, speculates on his chances.

He faces a sizable challenge to separate himself from what looks to be a crowded field of GOP contenders in 2016—and overcome the impression he left with national voters during his initial campaign for president, when he raised a large war chest and briefly led the field before suffering a memory lapse in a debate in which he forgot one of the three federal agencies he proposed to eliminate.

Mr. Perry also faces a pending felony indictment related to a veto he issued as governor. He has denied wrongdoing, calling the prosecution a witch hunt by political opponents, and has filed a motion to dismiss the indictment that is pending before an Austin appellate court.

Mr. Perry has played down the headwinds he faces and emphasized the attributes he believes will help distinguish him in a crowded Republican field, including his military background (Sen. Lindsey Graham is the only other current candidate in the GOP field with a military record) and his long tenure as chief executive of a large state.

“I led the world’s 12th largest economy,” he said Thursday. “The question of every candidate will be this: When have you led?

Red never thought he would say it, but Greg Abbott is making him miss Rick Perry.

Ted Cruz – Needs a Punch

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP – Texas) took a tasteless and crude swipe at Joe Biden at a GOP function in Michigan mere days after Biden lost his son to cancer. Cruz was reported to have attempted an old joke in a speech.

“Joe Biden. You know the nice thing?  You don’t need a punch line. I promise you it works. The next party you’re at, just walk up to someone and say, ‘Vice President Joe Biden and just close your mouth. They will crack up laughing.”

Cruz then went on to make fun of Biden’s comments about defending himself against intruders with a double-barrel shotgun.

Ted Cruz. You know the nice thing? Synonymous with asshole.  Try it at a party sometime.  I promise you, the person will punch you in the face.

Ted Cruz Against All Spending – Except When it Might Cost Him Votes

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) will apparently support federal funding to help Texans affected by the recent disastrous flooding.  When the good citizens of New Jersey and New York needed such funds after Hurricane Sandy, the good Senator was not so understanding.  He claimed that the relief bill was loaded with pork (a dubious claim in light of the history of such measures) and voted against it.  But when it comes to protecting his base in Texas, Cruz will apparently have no qualms about federal money pouring into our fair state.  That evil federal money will soon start to flow and you can bet Cruz will be claiming credit.  The Washington Post reports on Cruz’s hypocrisy.

Sen. Ted Cruz showed his support for federal disaster relief in the wake of devastating floods in Texas last week — two and a half years after voting against a disaster relief bill for victims of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the East Coast in 2012.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Cruz said that it appears as though the disaster money will come through due to the magnitude of the floods, which killed 15 people in Texas.

“The governor has entered a disaster declaration, which is the first step in federal emergency relief,” Cruz said. “There are a series of federal statutory thresholds that have to be satisfied initially. It appears that those thresholds will be satisfied by the magnitude of the flooding.”

Bring Your Textbooks, Notebook, LapTop, Pens and .38 Special

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The Texas Tribune reports that the conservative quest to have more guns on Texas campuses is still alive.  Despite repeated admonitions from university administrators across the board (except shamefully for John Sharp at Texas A&M), the Legislature is more interested in kowtowing to its extreme right wing than doing what is in the best interests of our state universities and their students.

Campus carry legislation lived to fight another day as a last-minute deal saved Senate Bill 11 just before a midnight deadline in the House to take initial votes on bills originating in the Senate.

The dramatic scene occurred close to 11:30 p.m. The House had just spent 30 minutes considering a point of order raised by San Antonio Democrat Trey Martinez Fischer. With about 100 filed amendments awaiting debate, many had already started writing the obituaries for the legislation that would require public colleges and universities to allow concealed handgun license holders to bring guns on campus.

 

Abbott and Legislature Miss the Mark on Real Tax Reform

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The illusory tax reform package cobbled together by the House, Senate and Gov. Gregg Abbott promises to deliver almost nothing in the way of real tax cuts for average Texans.  The House plan to cut the state sales tax would have actually put money back in most Texans’ pockets.  The illusory tax reform of increasing the state school tax property exemption by $10,000 will likely never put another nickel in anybody’s hands.  The additional exemption is very likely to be eaten up quickly by rising appraisals.  And while you can argue that taxpayers will be paying less than they otherwise would, the bottom line is that no real savings are coming from this deal.  The Tea Party has failed to deliver any meaningful tax relief to the average Texan.

Countdown to Jade Helm 15

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Only 57 days until the Federal Government starts to take over Texas, round up our women and children and most critically take our guns!

Here is a quote from the official US Army Special Operations Command circular explaining Jade Helm 15.

Under the Heading – Why Texas? – the USACOC explains:

The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM )has conducted numerous exercises in Texas, because Texans are historically supportive of efforts to prepare our soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors to fight the enemies of the United States.

That is, as long as a Democrat is not Commander in Chief.

Is the Hole Getting Deeper for AG Ken Paxton?

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Off the Kuff does an excellent job of detailing the latest from the continuing saga of possible criminal activity by Attorney General Ken Paxton – so Red doesn’t have to.   Meanwhile, it seems no one cares that the state’s top legal official may have engaged in felonious conduct when he referred his legal clients to a financial advisor for a referral fee that was not disclosed to those same clients.  For the first time some of the clients speak up about Paxton’s conduct – and as you might have guessed they are not happy that Paxton failed to fully inform them of the arrangement.

The Inmates are Running the GOP Asylum

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The embarrassing fallout from the Jade Helm 15 conspiracy theorists of the Texas Tea Party continues to mount.  The International Business Times reports that 32% of GOP primary voters nationwide actually believe that Jade Helm 15 is a secret plot of the federal government to take over Texas.

Hey morons, listen up!  In case you hadn’t noticed, the federal government already controls Texas and has for over 150 years now and has over 50,000 troops stationed here to boot.  We tried to secede once and it didn’t work.  And if the number is 32% nationwide, one can only imagine what it is in Texas since this is the nest.  What is troubling is that these are the people that have an outsized say in how this state is governed since winning the GOP primary is tantamount to election in any statewide office.  Unbelievable.

A conspiracy theory that the U.S. military is plotting to invade Texas and impose martial law has gained some traction among Republicans. A poll by Public Policy Polling released on Wednesday found that 32 percent of GOP primary voters nationwide believe that the federal government is in fact trying to take over Texas.

The conspiracy centers on an exercise the Department of Defense is planning to conduct, known as Jade Helm 15, across several Southwestern states including Texas. It’s not uncommon for the Pentagon to conduct practice missions with troops, but this one is large-scale and meant to simulate entering a hostile country.

Pointing to briefing documents the military had provided the public to explain the exercise, a group of conspiracy theorists began arguing that it wasn’t an exercise at all, but an excuse for the military to deploy troops in order to take over Texas, seize guns, arrest political opponents and impose martial law. The conspiracy theories gained more traction after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to send the Texas State Guard to monitor the U.S. military’s movements. And Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running for president, was criticized for further stoking the fire after he asked the Pentagon to clarify their intentions and said the concern was justified because no one trusts the administration.

But it didn’t appear to give Cruz a boost among those who believe the conspiracy theory. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was leading among the Texas-takeover believers, winning 23 percent of that constituency compared with Cruz’s 18 percent.  

Well, there is a silver lining.  At least Ted Cruz is not benefitting from pandering to these nut jobs.  One can only imagine the anguished looks of disappointment on the faces of these fools, when they realize that the jack-booted thugs of the federal government haven’t actually come to take away their women, children and most importantly guns.