Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

The stakes are high in Texas

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My Fellow Texans,

The history of the United States of America can be defined as one of great individual and collective achievement. It was our ancestor’s hard work that built our many cities and farmed millions of acres of farmland. It was their steadfast determination and intellect that lead them to continually push beyond the boundaries of the impossible. They reshaped our world with the steam engine, telephone, light bulb, automobile, polio vaccine, desktop computer and smartphone. It was their love of freedom and faith in America that sustained them through trials, hardships and through wars, and it was their courage and self-sacrifice that enabled them to always prevail.

If Texas is to lead in the 21st Century we need this kind of American spirit and achievement and with this same kind of American spirit that I intend to seek the office of Texas Comptroller.

Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

That is what I wish to talk with you about today.  I wish to share with you what I think we must do to make Texas great. But, in order for us to be great” we must be willing to talk about the issues, yes even the difficult ones, that impact all of us in Texas.  We must do this with an open mind, we must be willing to examine and implement big, bold ideas, and we must be willing to change how government works for the people.  Change is not often a welcome word, but it is necessary if Texas is to “become excellent.”

Let me begin by saying we have, in our lifetime, done more to feed the poor, heal the sick, and liberate those living in tyranny than any people who ever lived on this earth. Yet, despite all this good, millions in America are struggling to get by.   Our families are hurting  and the gap between the rich and the middle class is getting wider by the day.

As I travel on the campaign trail people all over Texas are asking for simple answer to our complex problems.  They want a leader who believes in them and who is willing to remove the barriers government has put in their way so they can do what our ancestors once did.   The people are ready to build, create, and do the impossible once again in America.  They also want to keep more of their money because they are over taxed.  I want to make this possible more than anything I’ve ever wanted to do and it’s something that I believe with God’s help I can do.

raul-torres-speaking

During the past two years the White House has been telling us that a solid economic recovery is taking place.  It claims a slight drop in unemployment from 9.1{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} in June 2011 to 7.6 {997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} this year.  Washington says that prices aren’t going up as fast, but they are still going up, and that the stock market is another indication that our days of economic trouble are over.   Meanwhile, in May the Texas Legislature approved the highest budget in our state’s history. According to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Austin, the budget for FY 2014-2015 spends $22 billion more in total funds than just two years ago.

I believe both Washington and Austin are gambling with our children’s future. They are betting that this wave of recovery will last for many years. Everyone in Austin knows that the primary driver behind all this economic prosperity in Texas is predominately due to the huge increase in drilling for oil in Texas. In the past two years, Texas’ oil production has gone up 71 percent. Texas is now home to one-fifth of all drilling rigs worldwide. The Eagle Ford, which stretches 400 miles from Laredo northeast into East Texas, is attracting more capital investment than any other oil field on the planet. Yet, less than seven years ago the Eagle Ford was little more than a blotch on a geology map.

Nevertheless, I get this uneasy feeling about our Legislature’ growing dependence on all this prosperity. I am afraid that without common sense restraints and limits on spending we will not be able to meet our financial obligations in the near future.   You see my friends, if you read the papers and all the press releases that come out of Austin they want us to think that all is well in Texas. Well, don’t you believe them for one minute.   The truth is that over the past 20 years during the time Texas was creating thousands of jobs Texas government has been grown dramatically in size and in the amount of taxes it collects and spends.   This trend is not good for our future.

There is no doubt Texas is a state that has done a great job creating more jobs than the rest of America and this is something we all can be thankful for and proud of, but we also must acknowledge that Texas is confronted with many serious problems that need solving. These problems are not the result of any failure of the people; it is a failure of big government.  It is big government that has gotten us where we are today.

I am not here to cast stones or point fingers, because that doesn’t solve any problems. Rather, I want to talk to you about what we must do to ensure that Texas stays on a course that leads to long-term economic prosperity.

Everyone knows that as government grows bigger our liberty is diminished and the people end up picking up the tab from the increase cost of more regulations, fees, taxes, and the increase cost of some government bureaucrat knocking on the door and saying to us, “I am from the government and I am here to help!” Once again, don’t you believe them for one minute.

As you can see the stakes are high in Texas.  That’s all for now.  Next week I will present another segment of my conversation  with Texas.  To learn more about the Raul Torres campaign visit us on the web at http://electraultorres.com or http://www.texastomorrow.org.

I just thought you should know.

For Texas and Liberty,

raul-torres-signature-wide

Why the far right is losing influence at the Texas Capital

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If you read the news about the current session of the Texas Legislature, much of it is focused on the newly discovered Republican “centrists”. In reality, they aren’t centrist at all, but with the redefinition of “conservative” over the past few years, ignoring the traditional definition and moving it so far right it has almost left the building, “centrist” will have to do for now. If you are on any of the mailing lists from the far right wing of the Republican Party, you get emails daily about how “bad” the current session is for “conservatives”.

I received such an email today from the Young Conservatives of Texas. This group has been around for a long time and used to provide a great service to conservative voters with their “scorecards”. These “scorecards” are used to show how legislators voted on conservative issues. The past few years has seen them “jumping the shark” in their choice of issues and today’s email is a prime example of that. For whatever reason, they decided to put out an early “budget scorecard” bemoaning the “total failure” for conservatives in the House on the appropriations bill. This scorecard is so bizarre that I thought I’d share it with you so that you can understand better why the far right is losing their influence. Click here to read the entire “scorecard”.

83RD SESSION HOUSE BUDGET SCORECARD

The most important bill passed each session is the appropriations budget. This bill determines how much money the state will spend the following biennium and where the money will be spent. Each session legislators dedicate at least one day to determine the budget and there are almost always hundreds of amendments offered to move money around.

This Session the House budget process was a complete and total failure for conservatives. There were few victories on good amendments and numerous failures on bad amendments. Below we have chosen 5 important votes to show you how your legislator performed on budget day.

YCT will use at least one of these votes in our end of session legislative ratings.

THE VOTES

Amendment 2 (Record Vote #145)

Limits transparency in higher education through preventing the University of Texas Board of Regents from spending appropriated funds to conduct any investigations into executive management in any of the system’s institutions.

Amendment 12 (Record Vote #150)

This amendment requires the comptroller to “include in the tax policy e-newsletter notification of the right of a mother to breastfeed her baby in any location in which she and the baby are authorized to be.”

Amendment 51 (Record Vote #161)

After the Republican House Caucus voted to hold the line against medicaid expansion, an amendment on the budget to do just that easily passed with 86 votes.

Amendment 95 (Record Vote #169)

This amendment prohibits the use of appropriated dollars to go towards school choice, potentially ending the topic’s discussion this Session.

Amendment 118 (Record Vote #174)

This amendment would have restored some of the funding to volunteer fire departments by reducing the appropriations that go towards bingo compliance watchers. This vote was just one of several that demonstrated a lack of knowledge and ability to both prioritize and determine the proper role of government.

The idea that a once proud conservative organization would pick these five votes as bellwether votes to judge whether or not conservatives are having a good session is ludicrous. Under the leadership of Speaker Joe Straus, the 83rd House is tackling tough issues head on – water needs, transportation, and education to name just a few. But what does the YCT focus on? A notice in the Comptroller’s report about breastfeeding? Are you kidding me?

The representatives that they champion with scores of “100” have had virtually no impact on the session, while those that are driving the agenda and addressing serious issues are given scores of zero to 40. BTW, to read the ratings, you have to reverse most of the votes. For instance, my rep, John Davis, voted “NO” on the school choice amendment (meaning he wanted students to have choice) but the scorecard has him voting “YES” because the YCT happens to agree with him on this issue. Click here to look up all of the Record Votes mentioned above.

Kudos to Speaker Straus and the chairmen he picked for ignoring this nonsense. Representatives should always vote the best interests of their districts –  that is the definition of good representation. Thankfully, most of the Republicans are doing just that, which is why this session is focused on serious issues and not rhetoric.

TSTA Poll: Texans happy with Gov. Perry, Republican Legislature

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You’ll probably recall that last week the Texas State Teachers Association issued a press release touting a poll that claims that Texans overwhelmingly support using the Rainy Day Fund to “restore” cuts in public education spending. Predictably, it was picked up by the Texas press and presented verbatim – the dean of the Texas political media presented it without critique, saying “This was a very good poll for supporters of public education.”

But what struck me was that the press release didn’t link to the poll questions. In fact, you won’t find them listed anywhere on the TSTA.org website. Well, I take that back – you will find three charts that support the press release. Somehow, Charles Kuffner over at his OfftheKuff blog obtained a Powerpoint presentation about the poll  that is very interesting. So interesting that Kuffner didn’t talk about it much.

First off, guess what? Texans are happy with Governor Rick Perry, the Republican controlled legislature, and the direction of the state. How about that? You think the dean will talk about that? How about Kuffner? I’m guessing not because that would destroy the perception that they spend most of their time pushing – in fact, look at what Kuffner wrote in the very piece that included the Republican positives:

It’s great to have public opinion on one’s side. But there’s a disconnect right now between public opinion and what’s happening in the Capitol. Part of that is a function of the way legislative lines are drawn, since the opinion of Republican primary voters is so often at odds with the opinion of everyone else, including Republican non-primary voters.

Except that there is no disconnect according to the very poll he cites, which was paid for and published by the very left leaning TSTA. From the poll:

  • Political Mood:  State Direction and Governor Perry Rating – Voters remain happy with the status quo; only Democrats are negative.
  • Rating of Texas State Legislature – As with Perry, a majority are positive toward the Legislature with Republican voters leading the way.

No disconnect at all. In fact, after reading this line:

Awareness of 2011 Education Budget Cuts – A 58{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} majority claim recall of the $5 Billion school funding budget cuts of 2011.  Independents (64{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}) and Austin market (70{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}) voters are most aware as are Republican Primary voters (66{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}).

I’d have to say that the biggest disconnect in Texas politics is the one in which “progressive” bloggers like Kuffner claim that Texas Republican primary voters are “stupid”, “dumb”, “idiotic”, etc. After all the attacks on us, it is nice to see that we Republican primary voters are the most informed group in the state. We already knew that, of course, but it is nice of the TSTA to confirm it. Not that they wanted anyone to know about it but still, it is nice.

Now, about the whole “Texans overwhelmingly support using the RDF” nonsense. Take a look at the questions and you’ll see why they got the results they wanted.

QUESTION: Next, some background information about this.  Two years ago, the Texas Legislature CUT over 5 Billion dollars in public school funding in order to balance the state budget while at the same time maintaining 6 Billion dollars in the state’s reserve Rainy Day Fund.  Since then, the Texas economy and tax revenues have grown so that now the state’s surplus Rainy Day Fund is now nearly $12 Billion. Given this, would you FAVOR or OPPOSE having the Texas State Legislature restore the 5 Billion dollars they cut in public school funding by putting that money back into public schools?

Well, isn’t that special? The big bad Texas legislature took away money from schools even though they had plenty in the bank. Now the bank fund is twice the size! NOW can we have it back? OF COURSE we favor giving the money back to the children! We aren’t mean!

Or take a look at this one:

QUESTION: Which is closer to how you feel about the impact the 5 Billion dollars in spending cuts had on Texas public schools over the last 2 years?

•  These cuts hurt the quality of classroom instruction

OR

•  These cuts were absorbed by cutting waste and overhead without really harming the quality of education Texas students receive

That’s laughable.

What if the question had been worded this way?

QUESTION: Allen ISD built a huge football stadium, several superintendents received pay raises even as they laid off teachers, and most graduates have to take remedial courses in college. The state spends 60{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of it’s budget on schools. Given those circumstances,

•  Should we put more tax money into these failing schools

OR

•  Hold the budget line and tell them to improve at educating children?

Wonder what the answer would be to that question?

I converted the Powerpoint to a PDF if you want to read the whole thing:

TSTA Poll on School Funding

I also find it interesting that the same people that trash Comptroller Susan Combs for “missing” the revenue forecast for the last biennium are taking her word as gospel for the upcoming one. If we shouldn’t have cut funding based upon her inability to forecast revenue two years out, then we darn sure shouldn’t increase funding based on her forecast this time. The prudent thing for the legislature to do would be to keep funding about where it is now and if the revenue does increase, spend it at that time . That way, if revenue doesn’t increase as projected, we won’t have to hear the “progressives” whining about budget cuts.

Sarah Davis rocks LCRH Lincoln Day Dinner!

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Michael Baker, Rep. Sarah Davis, Christopher Warner
Michael Baker, Rep. Sarah Davis, Christopher Busby

If you didn’t make it to the second annual Lincoln Day Dinner held by the Log Cabin Republicans of Houston, you missed out on good food, lots of fun, and great company! What a refreshing evening being around a group dedicated to improving government without the type of negativity I see at most Republican events I attend. I tell people all the time that they need to balance their political work and never forget to celebrate the victories they’ve had . And the LCRH has had plenty of victories to celebrate!

Starting with their early support and tireless work to elect Rep. Sarah Davis (R-134). During her keynote speech, Rep. Davis acknowledged the hard work of the group as one of the keys to her success. Rep. Davis singled out Chapter VP Christopher Busby, noting that he was one of the first volunteers in her first run in 2010, and also his help in keeping Equality Texas neutral in her re-election race in 2012. After watching the activities of the LCRH on behalf of Rep. Davis over the two election cycles, I can personally vouch for their hard work.

Rep. Davis also gave a brief update on her activities in Austin early in the 83rd session. She talked about the committees that Speaker Straus assigned her to, which, in my humble opinion, are awesome. Very few second term reps have been given the responsibility that she has been given by the Speaker: Appropriations, Calendars,  and Public Health. FYI, those first two? The most powerful committees in the Texas House. In her role on the Appropriations committee, she is on the Article II Subcommittee, with oversight of the Texas Department of State Health Services. Like I said, heady stuff for a second year rep. Kudos to Rep. Davis for earning the trust and respect of Speaker Straus and her peers.

This was the first time my wife has had the opportunity to meet Rep. Davis. Remember, my wife is an “expert” in health care (as well as the smartest person I know). On the ride home, she told me that she was impressed with Rep. Davis’ knowledge of healthcare issues and, most importantly, her ability to convey her knowledge in simple terms so that people not involved in the field could understand her. Very high praise indeed. Trust me on that. 😉

Prior to Rep. Davis’ keynote speech, chapter President Michael Baker presented a few awards and talked about the club’s growth. They have formed an alliance of Texas Log Cabin Republican groups with the Dallas and Austin chapters and will soon hold a conference. The best thing about Mr. Baker’s speech was his statement that they are there to expand the Republican Party and will work to persuade any group, be they GLBT, Hispanic, Black, or Caucasian – they just want to promote smaller government and maximum freedom for all.

Congressman Ted Poe sponsored the event. He couldn’t make the event but sent Heather Cook from his staff to represent him. Also present was Houston City Council member Jack Christie, several Harris County Republican Party precinct chairs, and the always charming Felicia Cravens of the Houston Tea Party Society. And that fabulous Top Hat cake was provided by Renee Williams of CRUMBdiddlyumptious – I was REALLY hoping to win the raffle because it was a gift certificate to that bakery!

Overall, an excellent evening. I wish I could provide you more details, but honestly, I didn’t take notes because I was there to enjoy the evening. Didn’t even take my camera out – all photos are courtesy of the Treasurer of the Log Cabin Republicans of Houston, Antoine B. Taylor, for which I am most appreciative!

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Dr. Mark Jones and Jolly discuss the 83rd Texas Legislature on Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall

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That’s right folks, you can catch Dr. Mark Jones and Big Jolly with host Khambrel Marshall on Newsmakers tomorrow morning! The show airs on Houston’s NBC affiliate immediately following Meet the Press. Jones and Jolly will be talking about the 83rd Legislature – don’t miss it!

David Jennings, Dr. Mark Jones, and Khambrel Marshall
David Jennings, Dr. Mark Jones, and Khambrel Marshall

In addition to the discussion on the Texas Legislature, Khambrel will be talking to Texans President Jamey Rootes about the playoff game with the Patriots, and the Houston real estate market with John Guess, III, president of The Guess Group, and Danny Frank, Chairman of the Houston Association of Realtors.

Remember, tomorrow, 10 am, Channel 2 in Houston, Comcast channel 12.

Dr. Mark Jones! Can you believe it? Dang, Khambrel brought out the big gun!

Former Rep. Raul Torres releases plan for Texas

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Raul Torres

Ah, what could have been. If only the voters of South Texas had been willing to take a chance on former State Rep. Raul Torres in his bid for Senate. If only the “powers that be” in the Texas House had not redistricted him out of his seat. If only.

Oh well, such is life. Fortunately, Raul Torres didn’t take his ball and go home, he decided to release his plan for Texas in the form of an E-book titled:

Prioritize, Stabilize, and Incentivize.

Early in the plan, you get a glimpse of why the “powers that be” decided to send him packing from the Texas House:

During the 82nd Legislative Session, Texas faced an unprecedented budget shortfall, a hole that was caused by over spending and kicking the can down the road. Last session those who voted for the appropriations bill deferred Medicaid spending, cut funding to education, did not fund k-12 enrollment growth, and did not use funds for their purpose in order to certify the budget. Now we face the prospect of closing another budget gap of up to $6 billion.

Not being a go along to get along guy will get you going along. The thing is, Raul Torres never advocates higher spending – rather, he advocates prioritizing spending and eliminating non-core functions of government. Here is a sample his suggestions for prioritizing spending:

  • The Texas Legislature should form a statewide citizen-legislature commission to identify and prioritize the core functions of government;
  • The Texas Legislative Budget Board in concert with the Texas Department of Information Resources should develop a web based interactive website to seek input into what citizens feel the priorities of government should be;
  • Texas should reexamine its budget process to ensure that it provides policy makers and budget writers with the information necessary for them to make informed decisions regarding program funding;
  • State agencies should be required to include information about how they plan to evaluate the effectiveness of their programs and link their disbursements to evidence;

He also provides some commonsense examples of how to save businesses money while at the same time providing more benefit to the state:

While many of the regulations Texas businesses must face are federal, the state can reduce the burden to those businesses by being smarter about how it regulates. For instance a dry cleaner is required to pay a yearly $2,000 fee to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in case of ground contamination due to a chemical spill. That dry cleaner could purchase a $1,000 insurance policy that would provide much more coverage than $2,000 if remediation is needed. Another example of the problem is getting permits needed to construct an industrial plant. Many projects require local, state, and federal permits. The most onerous are required by the Clean Air Act, and some require multiple state and federal permits. The cost to business of these lay not only in the consultants and staff time devoted to navigating these regulations, but in the delay of construction. Texas has a model in place that can cut the wait time down while meeting state and federal regulation requirements.

Perhaps Raul Torres will get another opportunity to run for office. Perhaps not. But he is showing us that it is possible to lead even if you are not one of the “powers that be”. I urge you to read his ebook and forward it on to others in your network and to your state representative and senator. We need more people like Raul Torres to step up and present viable alternatives to the status quo of kicking the can down the road.