"If Voters are unhappy with results, then that's what elections are for."
-- President Obama, February 25, 2010, at the Healthcare Summit
Early voting opens tomorrow, October 22. A schedule of
where and when you can vote is attached.
Many people are going to the polls anxious for their
country, and wanting a new President. However, a President alone does not
run this great country. We must vote straight
party Republican when we go to the polls. Otherwise, you put
into office at lower levels people committed to opposing the policies of the
President you elect at the top. We need conservative coherence, not
conflict and gridlock.
Why do I even tell you this? Surely you all know this
already? Rural Texans will frequently tell you they vote for the person,
not the party. If they know and like a person, they will vote for him
without regard to that person’s philosophy of governance. I know
card-carrying, primary-voting, volunteering, donating Republicans who from time
to time tell me they are going to vote for Democrat so-and-so because they know
him. Friends, that thinking has nearly driven us to the brink. It
is the person’s philosophy, and not their likeability or personality, that give
direction to this country. It’s time to take a zero-tolerance position
toward Democrats in our voting while we struggle to rebuild our land. You
don’t owe your friends votes, you owe your country good leaders.
Here is what is at stake on your ballot:
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President/Vice-President: Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan-------------------------------
Democrats nationally seek socialism, government control,
regulation, taxation, and ruination on our capitalist system. They seek
to replace free markets with a socialist state. They attack success, and
protect, defend and subsidize failure at our expense. They fail to
protect our embassies, blame free speech for pre-planned terrorists attacks,
look the other way as radicals sweep the Middle East, and yawn as Iran seeks a
nuclear weapon while planning to reduce our own arsenals unilaterally.
Republicans, on the other hand, believe the economic potential of a free people
pursuing their own interests is near limitless. Smaller government,
involved less in persons lives, will open opportunities that regulation merely
crushes. Budgets must be in balance and pay down the debt. Those
who would be our enemies must fear our might. Additionally, the judicial
appointment power of the next President could be substantial. Economic
recovery hangs in the balance while the current administration has demonstrated
it cannot turn things around despite trillions of dollars of spending and two
years of super-majority political strength at its disposal.
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US Senate: Ted Cruz-------------
Winning the Presidency has far less impact if we do not win the Senate. Congress holds the purse strings of the nation. Since Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, we have not seen a single budget passed by Congress, and spending has skyrocketed. Curiously, the “financial mess” President Obama is so fond of saying he inherited from President Bush began under a Democrat-controlled Congress. Since taking back the House of Representatives in 2010, the Senate has stood as a road block to any Republican bill that is passed out of the House. The Senate Democrats won’t even take up the bills for consideration. We must take back the Senate to restore fiscal sanity to nation. Effectively, there can be no repeal of Obamacare if we do not take back both the Presidency and the Senate.
------------------------------------
US House of Representatives: Bill Flores, Michael McCaul,
Blake Farenthold------------------------------------
A significant portion of our County was under the
respresentation of liberal Democrat Lloyd Doggett. That is no longer the
case. Every citizen of Bastrop County has the opportunity to vote for an
incumbent Republican Congressman. Two of the three Congressmen we will
vote upon are seeking re-election for the first time, having first been elected
as part of the 2010 reaction to Obamacare. We must support these men who
have fought against this administration. All tax bills, and any
impeachments, originate in the House of Representatives.
-------------------------
Railroad Commission: Christi Craddick, Barry Smitherman-------------------------
This commission is responsible for Texas energy policy and
overseeing the energy permitting process. Democrats have demonstrated
nationally that their agenda is to suppress energy production in
preference to their misguided and misinformed environmental policies. If
this Commission were in the hands of Democrats, it would turn from being an
advocate for, to a suppressor of, Texas energy.
---------------------------
Texas Supreme Court: Don Willett, John Devine, Nathan Hecht---------------------------
This Court hears only civil appeals, and is the court of
last resort in any civil state issue. This Court selectively hears only
those cases likely to have impact on the jurisprudence of the State of Texas as
a whole. Republicans hold all the positions on this Court, and have
demonstrated a respect for the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas as
written. Have you ever noticed how little you tend to hear about
them? They quietly and faithfully referee our legal system without
making themselves the issue or supplanting our laws with their own
philosophies. Such a system requires us to make changes to our laws
through the Legislature. Democrats, however, would use the High Court as
an adversarial advocate to roll back the policies of our Legislature.
-------------------------------
Court of Criminal Appeals: Sharon Keller, Barbara Hervey,
Elsa Alcala-------------------------------
This Court is co-equal to the Texas Supreme Court, and hears
only criminal appeals. Republicans hold all positions on this Court, too,
and it also functions quietly. The Republican concept of criminal law is
that a person is innocent until proven guilty, and that the criminal justice system
should incorporate procedures that fairly allows facts to examined, the truth
to be revealed, and justice to be done. Justice is the ultimate
Republican ideal when it comes to the Criminal Justice system. The
Democrat concept, however, is that procedures should be such that every
criminal is given a fair opportunity to get away with his crime.
Criminals must be understood, not punished. When Democrats hold these
seats, they don’t seek justice as much as excuses. Criminals, to them,
are merely victims who need another chance.
------------------------------
State Board of Education: Tom Maynard------------------------------
State Board of Education sets curriculum standards for
textbooks used in Texas public schools and manages the permanent school
fund. As conservative as Texas is, this is likely the place where the
conservative majority is weakest. Democrats want liberal dogma,
revisionist history, and junk science taught in the classrooms. They are
more interested in social engineering than actual education. They
visualize public schools supplanting parents as a child nurturing and
development center. Republicans believe public schools should provide a
quality education at a reasonable cost that produces an individual capabable of
thinking for themselves and of engaging the workforce and society around
them. Republicans visualize the family as the central child nurturing and
development center, and the schools role is that of assisting the parents in
achieving their goals for their children. Conservatives have been
succesful in recent years pushing back the liberal agenda in our Texas
schools. But recent primary contests have weakened that conservative
base. Its imperative that we elect the Republican in our district to hold
the conservative clout on this board.
----------------
Texas Senate: MIA----------------
We have no Republican on the ballot to challenge liberal
incumbent Kirk Watson. He does, however, have a Libertarian
challenger. The Libertarian will be receiving my vote as a protest vote
against Kirk Watson.
---------------------------------------
Texas House of Representatives: Tim Kleinschmidt---------------------------------------
Because we will have a Democrat for a State Senator, we must
re-elect Representative Tim Kleinschmidt to ensure we have Republican
respresentation in the Texas Legislature. The Texas Legislature has had
an unprecedentd assault from the Obama Administration and Democrats,
challenging the conservative laws they pass. We must press the battle to
ensure ultimate victory on issues such as voter photo ID.
---------------------------
Third Court of Appeals: Jeff Rose, Scott Field, David
Puryear, Bob Pemberton---------------------------
There is no more important Court than this one at this
time. When a trial judge decides a case, any party has the right to
appeal. The Third Court of Appeals is a 24-county district that includes
Travis and Bastrop Counties, and it is required to hear all state-court appeals
that come out of the 24 counties it covers. Their decisions having
binding authority over the trial courts in those 24 counties, unless
overriedden by the Texas Supreme Court. Because this Court includes
Travis County (the seat of the Texas capital), it hears all appeals relating to
disputes involving our government agencies. It therefore has sweeping
impact on the State of Texas. Also, because Travis County is a populous,
Democrat-voting county, it requires a strong Republican showing in the other 23
counties to get a Republican elected to this Court.
The current makeup of the Court is 4 Republicans and 2
Democrats. Three of our Republicans are up for re-election, and we are
challenging one of the incumbent Democrats. A well-funded Democrat
super-PAC has targeted these races for Democrat victory. If successful,
they intend to use the Third Court of Appeals to override the Republican
Governor and Republican Legislature through judicial activism. We must
not give them that chance.
Liberal Democrat incumbent Diane Henson (being challenged by
Republican Scott Field) appeared at a Democrat State Convention and trampled
the rights of two Republicans in public remarks, while simulatneously stating
she would fight to uphold all of our rights. Her remarks can be viewed at
the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYGTx3r8fQM.
Gloating at the thought of presiding over Tom Delay’s appeal, should he be
convicted, is chilling enough. Then she proceeded to call Supreme Court
Justice Nathan Hecht “shameless” for failing to apologize after receiving a
judicial-ethics reprimand for what Judge Henson called “most unethical
conduct.” At the time of her comments, the reprimand had only occurred a
week earlier, and any appeal would have come to her court. He did appeal,
Justice Henson was assigned to his judicial panel, and she refused to recuse
herself. I understand that she was neverthless forcibly recused. In
the end, it was found that Justice Hecht’s “most unethical conduct” of
appearing in interviews to speak about the nomination of Harriet Myers to the
US Supreme Court did not violate the code of judicial conduct, that he had the
free speech right to do so, and if such conduct did violate the Code, then the
Code was either unacceptably vague on that point, or must give way to his Free
Speech rights. So much for Judge Henson caring about the Constitution and
upholding our individual rights as citizens.
----------------
District Judge: Carson Campbell, Reva Corbett----------------
District Judges decide cases and controversies that come to
them by conducting trials. District Judges therefore decide disputes on
property rights, contract disputes, divorces, custody battles, personal
injuries, and criminal convictions. District Judges are also the persons
who decide whether you will be informed as a parent that your minor daughter is
seeking an abortion without your knowledge or consent. They are the
guardians of your rights and the appliers of the law. The philosophy of
your district judge is therefore fundamentally critical to how they apply the
law and resolve conflicts. Democrat judicial philosophy seeks to pick an
outcome, and bend the law to support that outcome. Republican
judicial philosophy is to faithfully apply the law as written to the given
circumstances. Under such a philosophy, it is the law that wins.
Judge Corbett is unopposed. In Carson Campbell’s race,
you have two men with two different philosophies. The Republican (Carson
Campbell) pledges to uphold our Constitution and laws. It is reported to
me that the Democrat challenger pledges to rule from the heart.
---------------------------
County Judge: Paul PapeCounty Commissioners: Willie Pina, Fred Ensinger, Gary “Bubba” Snowden
---------------------------
The Commissioner’s Court presides over all matters of County
business. They set the county budget, tax rate, and maintain the county
roads, among other things. There are four Commissioners who are elected
from around the County and they are presided over in meetings by the County
Judge. The County Judge is mostly a non-judicial role, who is responsible
to set the agenda for the meetings and propose a budget. The County Judge
also serves as the spokesman for the County in many instances.
Paul Pape is the Republican nominee for County Judge, and
owner of Hwy 71 RV Park in Bastrop. He has put forward a positive agenda
of restoring the burned areas of Bastrop and developing a plan to minimize the
chance of future fire, diversifying the economy and broadening the tax base,
building safer roads and bridges in the county, and managing conservatively
while operating effectively. If elected, he will provide conservative
leadership not only for the county, but also for our local Republican elected
officials. His opponent reportedly intends, if elected, to retain his
private employment while also serving as County Judge. The two candidates
gave responses to issues affecting Bastrop County. You can see their
responses in the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdjVt-dzR5U.
The contrast is self-evident.
The Commissioner’s Court has been held by 2 Republicans and
3 Democrats up until Judge Ronnie McDonald’s resignation.
Republicans have the opportunity to sweep this election and lead by
example. Willie Pina, Commissioner for Precinct 1 (Bastrop, LBA and Hwy
71 West corridor), is our incumbent seeking re-election. He was our
faithful no-vote on a tax rate increase. Fred Ensinger is our nominee for
Precint 3 (Cedar Creek, Red Rock, Rockne). He is a former game warden
seeking to bring pro-active representation to Precinct 3, and is challenging a
Democrat incumbent. Gary “Bubba” Snowden is our nominee for Precinct 4
(Elgin, McDade, Utley, north Paige). A businessman from Elgin, he is
running in an open-seat election.
If we elect a Republican County Judge and Republican
Commissioners, we will be able to put Republican principles to work right here
at home.
---------
Sheriff: Terry Pickering---------
Sheriff Terry Pickering won a primary election contest, but
is now unopposed in the general election.
-------------
Constables: Dan “Ranger” Hall, Ron Lundrigan-------------
Constables serve notices of lawsuits on individuals, execute
writs, and can provide courtroom security for the Justices of the Peace if
called upon. Dan Hall, our incumbent Constable for Precinct 1 is running
unopposed.
Ron Lundrigan is our nominee for Constable, Precinct 4
(Elgin, McDage, Utley, north Paige). He has a background in military and
law enforcement service. In this race, you have a Republican nominee who
wants to be Constable, and a Democrat incumbent who wants to be a home
builder. The incumbent runs a homebuilding company and finds it difficult
to find time for his public service duties. We would like to see the
incumbent released from his public-service obligations so that Ron Lundrigan
can put the office of Constable back to work on a full-time basis.
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Now that you know what is at stake, study your options, and
go vote. And when you vote, please vote
straight party Republican. There is not a single office we can
afford to lose. Here are some additional resources to help you study:
http://www.freevotersguide.com/
http://www.texasallianceforlife.org/
http://www.nrapvf.org/grades-endorsements.aspx
Albert L. Ellison, Chairman
Bastrop County Republican Party
"If Voters are unhappy with results, then that's what
elections are for."
-- President Obama, February 25, 2010, at the
Healthcare Summit
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