I know, I know, you’re thinking, of course! But honestly, I approached the race to unseat Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst with a very open mind. I met each of the candidates. I listened to their arguments. Some of those arguments are valid. At the end of the day, however, none of the candidates were able to overcome the single most important issue in this race: David Dewhurst has a record that can’t be beat.
You can talk about term limits and one vote here or there but you can’t honestly do that without talking about the Texas miracle. There is a reason that Texas is number one in jobs and economic activity and a large part of that reason is David’s ability to understand the Texas economy and apply legislation that increases economic activity. I’ll never forget the time that David called into Dan Patrick’s radio show (circa 2005) during Dan’s campaign to send all of the money in the Rainy Day Fund back to taxpayers and explaining to him and the listeners why that was a terrible idea. Dan learned the lesson so well that he is now a champion of keeping the Rainy Day Fund intact. No other elected official in Texas can talk about the Texas economy and how the budget affects it on a level even close to David. The San Antonio Express News also recognizes this:
Dewhurst is a serious man who digs deep into the state issues. He actually enjoys working on complex policy decisions….
Dewhurst is a true conservative, and he has the best interest of Texas at heart.
And after listening to his professional staff in his loss to Ted Cruz, David has ditched their advice and is now one of the most accessible politicians you will find. And he’s not just accessible, he actually listens and understands the concerns of the various groups that he talks to. All during that campaign, I kept imploring David to just be David. And that has worked so well during this campaign that some of the most vicious campaigners against him during that losing campaign are now publicly endorsing him and working hard for his campaign.
Look, David is never going to be a great, bloviating orator like our current President. But he is a down to earth guy that can sit in on the back porch or in a boardroom and talk policy for hours and help you to understand policy and how to implement it effectively.
The other guys in the race all have good attributes that they would bring to the office. Jerry Patterson is a rock solid conservative that never wavers on anything. Todd Staples would bring a lot of energy to the office. And Dan Patrick’s fiery personality would allow him to drive the media message for his brand of conservatism.
But none of these men have made the case that Texas would be better off with them in charge. None of these men have a record that can match David’s.
For that reason, I’m sticking with David Dewhurst and voting to give him another term as Lt. Governor of Texas. I think that after you get past the rhetoric of the campaign and look at David’s solid record, you too will vote for him.
Candidate websites:
Hey Dave…did you not hear Dewhurst state in debate for no reason other than, we’ll not sure why really, that Texas teachers earn an equitable salary. I would invite you to come out and wear a teacher’s shoes for one day and see if you still agree. Bring Dewhurst with you. Help dig public education out of the mess it is in by saying an emphatic no to Patrick and Dewhurst.
I am supporting Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst because he has listened to me. He took time to sit with me at dinner in Sioux City, IA when we were both there to support Governor Perry in his attempt to be President. He understood the idea I was pitching about returning to apportionment of taxes so that all federal tax collection would cease in Texas and the state would have to raise the share of the non-deficit budget by the whatever means the state thought was best. Not a one-size-fits all but a size that fits Texas and Texas economy. His opponent and I actually sat on the floor together at the National GOP convention. During our convention stay I had the opportunity to discuss the same idea with him. His response was when we were waiting for our bags at Bush on our return from Tampa, He said “Marc. I cannot support your plan. I don’t want to have to figure out how to raise taxes to cover the federal taxes.” This was even after I told him my numbers showed Texans taxes would be reduced overall by $5 billion dollars a year. Last weekend, Lt. Governor Dewhurst specifically said he liked my idea. Given that Attorney General Greg Abbott signed the cover of a presentation of my plan at the State Convention in 2012, I would like to see it have a chance. Senator Cornyn’s aid said I needed support of the state officials to get the bill introduced in the Senate. McCaul claims to have introduced it to the House Ways and Means but Chairman Camp was reported to be holding it up . So if you want the IRS out of Texas, and to let your state legislature decide how to raise all your state and federal taxes ( and also for the state to get the benefit of holding the federal money for even 30 days at a time which can be substantial), then vote for Lt. Governor Dewhurst. A vote for the other guy is a sure vote not to get it. P.S. IF there is no federal taxes to be collected, then where is the teeth for the Obamacare individual mandate. IT IS NOT THERE!