Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Ben Leman: the Pro-Life Choice for State Representative

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joe pojman
Joe Pojman, Ph.D.

by Joe Pojman, Ph.D.

Ben Leman is right for House District 13. He is staunchly pro-life, he supports the many pro-life laws that the Texas Legislature has passed, and he will vote for a total ban on abortion when that will be upheld by the federal courts.

He has the conservative values, the leadership abilities, the experience in public service, and the devotion to honesty and integrity to effectively protect innocent unborn babies and their mothers from the tragedy of abortion at the Capitol in Austin.

That is why Texas Alliance for Life PAC and other state pro-life leaders strongly support Ben for State Representative.

Wide Support from Pro-Life Leaders

We are proud that our executive director is included with prominent, pro-life leaders who support Ben Leman.

  • Dr. Joe Pojman, founder and executive director of Texas Alliance for Life PAC. Dr. Pojman has been lobbying in the Texas Capitol for more than three decades.
  • Abby Johnson, the former director of the Bryan, Texas, Planned Parenthood abortion facility. She is now among the most effective pro-life leaders in the nation.
  • Kyleen Wright of Texans for Life and Life PAC. Kyleen is a 43-year-veteran of the pro-life movement and has decades of experience lobbying for pro-life laws in Austin.
  • Karen Garnett, North Texas pro-life activist.
  • Andrew Smith, State Director, Texas Pro-Life Action Team.

False Information from Texas Right to Life

We regret that Ben Leman’s opponent and a Houston-based political action committee, Texas Right to Life, funded by West Texas billionaires, have resorted to baseless attacks against Texas Alliance for Life as a way to attack Ben, calling us a “fake pro-life group.” That is a complete falsehood.

Unfortunately, Texas Right to Life has spread so many falsehoods about elected officials that in February of this year, the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops issued a statement to all Catholic Churches in Texas urging them to sever ties with Texas Right to Life. The Bishops recommended that the churches not participate in Texas Right to Life’s activities or allow the organization to use church facilities.

Texas Alliance for Life: A Premier Pro-Life Organization

The reality is that Texas Alliance for Life is among the premier pro-life advocacy organizations in the state and has worked to pass pro-life bills in the Capitol for 30 years. The pro-life bills we have helped to pass are almost too numerous to count. But here are some examples:

  • A ban on abortions after 20 weeks, including abortions on babies with disabilities like Down syndrome, spina bifida, and cleft palate
  • Fourfold increase in funding for the state’s very successful Alternatives to Abortion program.
  • A ban on grisly partial-birth abortions and the sale of baby body parts after abortion.
  • A requirement that the precious remains of the victims of abortion be humanely cremated or buried and not treated like medical waste.
  • Increased protections for patients against euthanasia at the end of life.
  • Protections for unborn babies in their mothers’ wombs from violent crimes of murder and assault by recognizing their personhood.
  • Parental consent for abortions on minor girls.

Among the measures we are most proud to support are the 2011 law and the ongoing budget provisions over the last seven years that resulted in defunding Planned Parenthood by 90%, shifting some $30 million to providers of comprehensive women’s healthcare who do not provide or promote abortion.

Most recently, 2017 had sensational successes as the Legislature passed, and Governor Abbott signed into law, 10 new pro-life bills.

As a result of these pro-life laws as well as many others, more than half of the abortion facilities in Texas have closed, abortions are in steep decline in Texas, and countless lives have been saved.

Bryan Planned Parenthood Closed Planned Parenthood Defunded
The closing of the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Bryan, Texas

 

Governor Greg Abbott had this to say about Texas Alliance for Life: “Because of you, Texas leads the nation in defending those who do not have a voice.”

Pro-Life Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Alliance for Life’s Executive Director Dr. Joe Pojman at the 2018 Texas Rally for Life

Ben Leman Is Right for House District 13

Ben Leman strongly supports all of these legislative achievements. We need him in the Capitol in Austin to continue to advance protections for unborn babies and their mothers from abortion. We urge all Republican voters to get out and support Ben Leman for your next State Representative. You are eligible to vote even if you did not vote in the March Primary Election. Since turnout can be very low in special and runoff elections, your vote will make a huge difference.

Special Election Voting Locations: Saturday, May 5, 7 AM – 7 PM

Austin County
  • Austin County Tax Office (Pct. 101, 102, 103, 104), 804 E. Wendt St., Bellville, Texas 77474
  • Sens Activity Cetner (Pct. 205, 206), 200 Briar Ridge Dr., Bellville, Texas 77418
  • West End Elementary School (Pct. 207,208 209, 210, 211) 7453 Ernest , Industry, Texas 78944
  • W E Hill Community Center (Pct. 312, 313 314) 1000 Main St, Sealy, Texas 77474
  • Wallis Community Building (Pct. 415) 6810 Guyler St, Bldg C, Wallis, Texas 77485
  • Sealy American Legion Post 442 (Pct. 416, 417 418) 1630 Meyer St, Sealy, Texas 77474
Burleson County
  • Voting Precincts 113 & 305 will consolidate to JP 1 & Constable Ofc. Deanville – 6399 FM 111 Caldwell 77836
  • Voting Precincts 207, 211 and 215 will consolidate to JP 2 & Constable Ofc. Snook – 9434 Slovacek Rd Somerville 77879
  • Voting Precincts 114, 203, 204, 301, 308, & 309 will consolidate to the Burleson County Courthouse – 100 W. Buck St. Caldwell, 77836
  • Voting Precincts 406 & 410 will consolidate to JP 4 & Constable Ofc. Somerville – 16955 SH 36 S, Somerville 77879
Colorado County
  • Colorado County Services Facility (Pct. 101, 102, 103) – 305 Radio Lane, Columbus, Texas
  • Weimar City Hall (Pct. 201, 202) – 106 E. Main, Weimar, Texas
    Agriculture Building (Pct. 302, 303, 304 305) – 316 Spring Street, Columbus, Texas
    Eagle Lake Community Center (Pct. 401, 402)- 100 N. Walnut, Eagle Lake, Texas
Grimes County
  • Anderson Courthouse Annex (Pct 1) – 114 W. Buffington, Anderson, Texas 77830
  • Iola Community Center (Pct 2) – 7264 Main St, Iola, Texas 77861
  • Plantersville Town Hall (Pct 4) – 11335 Lodge Lane, Plantersville, Texas 77363
  • Courtney Community Center (Pct 5) – 16162 6th Street, Navasota, Texas 77868
  • Navasota Center (Pct 6) – 101 Stadium Drive, Navasota, Texas 77868
  • Bedias Civic Center (Pct 7) – 3652 Main Street, Bedias, Texas 77831
  • Shiro Civic Center (Pct 8) – 9594 Volunteer Ave, Shiro, Texas 77876
  • Keith Community Center (Pct 10) – 8808 C.R. 172, Iola, Texas 77861
  • Millican Fire Station (Pct 16) – 3030 Wingfall Street, Millican, Texas 77866
Lavaca County
  • Lavaca County Courthouse (In conjunction with City of Hallettsville)
  • Hoffie & Lank Public Library (In conjunction with City of Shiner/Shiner ISD)
  • Moulton High School Gym (In conjunction with City of Moulton/Moulton ISD)
  • Yoakum First United Methodist Church
Fayette County
  • La Grange Church of Christ (La Grange-01 East, Rutersville-02) 646 E. Highway 71, La Grange, Texas 78945
  • La Grange City Hall (La Grange-01 North) – 155 E. Colorado St. La Grange, Texas 78945
  • La Grange St. Paul’s Lutheran Church(La Grange -01 West Hostyn-20) 427 S. Washington, La Grange, Texas 78945
  • Fayetteville Community Center (Ellinger-03, Fayetteville-04, Willow Springs-05) 202 West Main, Fayetteville, Texas 78940
  • Round Top Courthouse (Warrenton-06, Round Top-07, Carmine-08 Nechanitz-09) 102 Main St, Round Top, Texas 78954
  • Warda Holy Cross Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall (Warda-10, Winchester-11) 600 FM 1482, Warda, Texas 78960
  • Plum St Peter and St Paul Parish Church Hall (Plum-12, West Point-13) 136 Plum Church Rd, Plum, TX 78652
  • Muldoon Baptist Church (Muldoon-14, Cistern-15) – 300 Cochran St, Muldoon, TX 78949
  • Flatonia Civic Center (Flatonia-16, Praha-17) – 208 East North Main, Flatonia, TX 78941
    Swiss Alp Farm Bureau Building (Swiss Alp-21, Ammannsville-22) – 6899 N. US Hwy 77 Schulenburg, TX 78956
  • Holman Parish Hall (Holman-23, Mullins Prairie-26) 9937 FM 155, La Grange, TX 78945
    Precinct 4 County Building (Dubina-24, Schulenburg-25) 312 Paulus St, Schulenburg, TX 78956
Washington County
  • Washington County Event Center (Pct. 101, 104, 109, 115, 117, 121) 1305 E. Blue Bell Road, Brenham, Texas 77833
  • VFW Hall (Pct. 202, 203, 205, 208) 1200 E. Tom Green Street, Brenham, Texas 77833
  • Nancy Carol Roberts Library (Pct. 307, 311, 312, 316, 320) 100 MLK Jr Parkway, Brenham, Texas 77833
  • Blinn College Student Center (Pct. 406, 410, 413, 414, 418, 419) 1007 Walter Schwartz Way, Brenham, Texas 77833

(note: this post was first published on the Texas Alliance for Life website (here). The post is republished with permission.)

Harris County Republican primary results are interesting

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To say that the Harris County Republican primary results are interesting is to understate the confusion that I have regarding the results. It was certainly a mixed bag around the county, with the traditional slates doing quite well but losing in their attempt to replace the party chair. While we wait for the gurus to tell us what really happened, here are a few observations.

Sarah Davis kicks Greg Abbott’s ass

I said that I hoped for a blowout and sure enough, the voters in HD134 delivered. Sarah Davis creamed Greg Abbott and his hand picked opponent Susanna Dokupil by 13 points. In a way it’s a shame because Dokupil is not the caricature that she became due to Abbott’s thin-skinned personality and his lying attacks on Davis. But she chose to lie in bed with the governor, so she deserves whatever happened to her.

And for those of you saying this was Abbott’s attempt to push his conservative principles over Davis’ liberal tendencies, just stop. Does Greg Abbott have any core principles? Besides raising money and keeping the office? If he does, he surely hasn’t shown it. Make no mistake, the attacks on Sarah Davis, Lyle Larson and Wayne Faircloth were about their attempts to stop his shameless cronyism.

Money can buy love but sometimes it can’t buy an election

In a way, the fact that Kathaleen Wall spent at least $6 million to buy a seat in Congress and then didn’t finish in the top two is a shame. It’s a shame because of the way her consultants fleeced her – I’m betting that each of her consultants made their entire yearly budgets off of their failures to run a good campaign. Clearly there was no ground game, as her campaign was solely based upon saturating broadcast radio and television, as well as sending a mailer a day. And those consultants get 10-15% of those media ad buys.

Is no one in her orbit capable of telling her the truth? She needs new friends, real friends that will speak honestly and are not there simply to make a buck or three.

37% of Harris County Republicans do not want to abolish abortion

That 37% is only 5 points higher than the statewide vote. Are corrupt groups like Texas Right to Life turning Republican voters away from the abortion issue? Are voters beginning to understand that for some anti-abortion groups, such as Texas Right to Life, money trumps the moral issue?

The blue wave didn’t happen?

I find it perplexing that Republicans around the state are saying that there was no “blue wave” in Texas. Perhaps they have given up on Harris County and are content to rely upon the rural vote? That would be short term thinking given the growing influence in the urban areas.

And if it is perplexing to me to see statewide candidates saying that, it is shocking that Harris County Republican officials are saying it. Do they not understand what happened?

November is a long ways away and perhaps things will change and Republican voters will outnumber Democratic voters as they normally do in gubernatorial cycles. But honestly, just between me, you and the fencepost, what energy are Republican candidates going to bring to the table?

At the top of the ticket, we have Sen. Ted Cruz. Admit it, Ted no longer has the outsider aura that he had when he first ran and nobody knew him. Now we know he is just another politician, albeit one that probably reflects the values of Texans more than his Democratic opponent. But is that exciting? Make you want to run to the polls? I can tell you anecdotally that Beto O’Rourke has a buzz surrounding his campaign and while it probably will not help him statewide, it will surely help him in Harris County – which means down ballot Republicans have a problem.

And then we have Greg Abbott. Whatever.

Next up is Dan Patrick. Excitement much? I don’t think so. While Dan did better in Harris County than he did around the state, he still had double the number of Republican voters vote against him than voted against Abbott.

Ken Paxton? Seriously?

Well, we always have Ed Emmett to fall back on, right? Perhaps there will be enough crossover voters to keep him at the helm of the county. But are those crossover voters going to vote for other Republicans? Stan Stanart? Chris Daniel?

The slates did their thing but what about November?

The Big 3 slates did okay for the people that paid them. We’ll take a deeper look at that later but for now it is probably enough to say that they weakened the party’s chances in November. Why?

For one thing, they were able to get lesser qualified judges over the finish line. On an individual level, that really doesn’t matter as judicial races in November aren’t about individual qualifications. Think Kevin Fine. The problem is at the macro level where Democrats are going to be able to message that Republicans nominated candidates that simply aren’t qualified. You really should read Judge Jay Karahan’s piece about this.

The irony is that the judges that did pay to help elect unqualified candidates put their own jobs in jeopardy with their decision to fund the slates. You are only as strong as your weakest link when you do that. And my oh my, there are some weak links that got nominated last Tuesday.

So Paul Simpson stays chair, now what?

You want to know who the luckiest guy is in this election? Chris Carmona. He probably doesn’t think that right now but then again, he isn’t the guy that has to be the front man for a group of dysfunctional Republicans. There are Republican nominees up and down the ballot that do not know how to raise money. And it is going to take a LOT of money if Republicans are going to be able to overcome the Democrat enthusiasm in November.

Obviously, I’m talking about the county wide races when I talk about the possibility of Republicans losing in November. The gerrymandered positions should be fine. For all of the bluster from the Democrats about beating John Culberson in November, it is notable that Republican turnout vs Democratic in CD7 was 53.8%-46.2%. And in Precinct 2, Republicans turned out 30,204 voters while Democrats had 27,176. Jack Morman will have a tough race but if he runs a good get out the vote campaign, he should be fine.

So who does Simpson turn to for help? The slate guys haven’t shown any willingness to work with him. Several of the consultants that we normally look to ran very poor campaigns for their clients and lost. Maybe, just maybe, it is time to ask people like Sarah Davis and Patricia Harless for their thoughts on winning in Harris County. And perhaps it is time to break the county into smaller units with different messaging to different segments of the county. But hey, what do I know?

Texas Right to Life supports Chris Carmona by claiming that Paul Simpson supports pro-abortion candidates

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I can’t even begin to describe how offensive this is to me:

texas right to life paul simpson

Forget the misspelling of the name of the county for which Chris Carmona is running to defeat the incumbent Paul Simpson. Focus on the fake grassroots pro-life group spending hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking incumbent Republicans around the state that Texas Right to Life themselves rated 100% pro-life.

If you don’t think that the Texas Right to Life political action committee is a fake grassroots organization, you need to read this, which was put out by the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops. Here is a snippet:

3.Texas Right to Life’s voter guide. Finally, Texas Right to Life publishes a scorecard that purports to show which Texas legislators are pro-life. We believe this publication is not based on a fair analysis of a legislator’s work, but rather upon whether the legislator has followed voting recommendations of Texas Right to Life. Unfortunately, a number of legislators who have consistently voted for pro-life and end of life legislation have been opposed by Texas Right to Life.

And if you somehow still believe that TRTL is a grassroots organization, consider that of the $1,930,810 the group has raised this election cycle, 93% of it came from 5 large donors. Read this article in the Dallas Morning News if you want to see how much money is pouring into three political action committees focused on reshaping the Republican Party of Texas.

I guess that this issue is personal to me so you can disregard whatever I say if you choose. My wife and I attended our first protest against the Supreme Court ruling in Rove v Wade in the early ’80’s. If we had been older, I have no doubt that we would have been on the streets in the ’70’s, after the illogical ruling by the Supreme Court. We first met Randall Terry on the streets of Houston in 1986 after the birth of our oldest child. Being against the atrocity of abortion is not a new thing to me.

And it certainly isn’t new to Paul Simpson. As I mentioned here, I first met Paul in 2007. Some of our first conversations were about the travesty of abortion. For anyone to say that Paul Simpson supports pro-abortion candidates is not only absurd but literally sickening, as I felt today when reading the fake grassroots group Texas Right to Life’s tweet. Saying that Simpson is a RINO as the Carmona shills are doing is one thing. Saying that he supports the atrocities of abortion is in another league altogether.

When will voters fight back about these types of lies?

Yes I’m passionate about this. Yes I did ask Chris Carmona if he would denounce this group’s slanderous comment about Paul Simpson. He has not. That speaks volumes to me.

Legislative Session

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The 85th Legislative Session was different in many ways. Two things changed the narrative this session. First, Empower Texans successfully augmented the mainstream media with the conservative perspective. Social media is important and our friends at Empower Texans are mastering it. Michael Quinn Sullivan and Empower Texans covered the session well and kept viewers well informed on the progress of conservative legislation as it moved through the House and Senate. The weekly live broadcasts by Sullivan and Jim Graham of Texas Right to Life really enhanced this session and highlighted the defects in House leadership. Second, the Texas Freedom Caucus led the charge against liberal legislation and successfully thwarted Straus and his henchmen. Conservatism had a voice this session.

Houston conservatives lost this session with the passage of SB 2190 – the pension bill. Turner ran his bill through the legislature with the assistance of Lt. Dan, Senator Joan Huffman, and House members supported by the Houston Police Officer’s Union (HPOU). This bill may help HPOU in the short term, but at what cost? Our city and our firefighters were ignored this session. HPOU has 750 million dollars in bond proceeds in the bill to pay for their Deferred Retirement Option Plans (DROP). These DROP benefits often contain millions of dollars per officer in addition to their 95{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} retirement pay for life. Now you know why the City of Houston is 10 billion dollars in debt. There are a lot of officers wishing to retire and run out the door because they negatively view the shift in criminal justice policy (i.e., Kim Ogg as DA and Art Acevedo as Chief of Police). This November, Houstonians will vote on the bond and repeal of the property tax cap.

On a much lighter note, the Texas Freedom Caucus (TFC) kicked butt and proved much more fun to watch than the Houston Rockets. Jonathan Stickland made a name for himself this session and helped the conservative cause against Straus and his liberal policies. The caucus is composed of a group of freedom and liberty loving conservatives from around the state who waged a war with the liberal agenda (including some “Republicans”) all session. The TFC revolt was entertaining and important. This revolt led to some great floor fights between impassioned, true conservatives fighting with liberals over the policies that govern our state. I say great because the TFC push revealed the weak, false conservatives à la Straus henchmen.

Dan Huberty

The TFC revealed a number of local representatives who are weak on conservative issues. For example, a number of local representatives worked against Houston Fire on the pension bill. This list includes Jim Murphy, Dan Huberty, and other (current and/or former) clients of Allen Blakemore like Dennis Paul, John Zerwas, Kevin Roberts, and Mike Schofield. Blakemore’s tentacles are a sure sign of poison in the water. Thanks to these folks, Houstonians will need to hold on to their wallets with all their might!

I truly do not understand why Sarah Davis keeps up this charade. Davis does not have a conservative bone in her body. I bet that the Fox News Channel has been removed from all of the televisions in the Davis home. Please remember that the Harris County Republican Party, under the leadership of Paul Simpson, placed the entire countywide campaign on the shoulders of Davis. And Davis was all in with Devon Anderson (the DA who jailed a sexual assault victim). As you know, this experiment failed miserably.

Davis fought against every pro-life bill this session – and seemed to enjoy it! Simpson’s effort to keep Davis in office cost every Harris County Republican in 2016.

Briscoe Cain and Valoree Swanson were our local superstars this session. Both quickly aligned themselves with the TFC and became valued members of this merry band of rebel rousers. Throughout the session, I turned to Brsicoe to find out what was going on with particular items of interest. Valoree provided crucial support to pro-life bills and had a good session. The liberal media attacked both and now you know why – they were effective in moving conservative legislation. Importantly, both members voted against Turner’s pension bill.

Throughout the session Lt. Dan worked hard to position himself for a run against Governor Abbott. Yesterday, Governor Abbott proved that he can handle Lt. Dan when he named twenty issues for the July Special Session. Put your chin straps on because it will be a ride

Big Jolly will keep you informed throughout the summer.

Texas Right to Life PAC targets Devon Anderson, Sarah Davis

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The Texas Right to Life PAC is running radio ads in Harris County targeting District Attorney Devon Anderson and State Rep. Sarah Davis.

Hello, I’m Jim Graham, President of Texas Right to Life. Please listen carefully about two fake Republicans on the ballot right now. If you vote a straight Republican ticket, I ask you to unmark two politicians who stabbed pro-lifers in the back. Unmark Devon Anderson and unmark Sarah Davis. While in office, these two have sided with Planned Parenthood and turned their backs on unborn babies. They don’t deserve to be reelected. No political party owns your vote. Join the resistance. Fight the establishment. Vote pro-life.

Former HCRP Chair Woodfill on Sarah Davis

Enough is Enough! Demand that State Rep. Sarah Davis
Disavow Her Planned Parenthood Endorsement

Jeremiah 1:5 states, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.” During his day, Jeremiah the prophet had spoken out against a people who were building altars to Baal in order to sacrifice their children. (Jeremiah 19:4-5) This biblical pro-life truth is adopted in our 2016 Republican Party of Texas Platform where it states,”Right to Life – All innocent human life must be respected and safeguarded from fertilization to natural death; therefore, the unborn…have a fundamental individual right to life, which cannot be infringed.” (2016 RPT Platform p. 11) The RPT Platform further states, “Abolish Abortion – We call upon the Texas Legislature to enact legislation stopping the murder of unborn children…” (2016 RPT Platform p. 11) In fact, the abortion industry’s leading provider/advocate, Planned Parenthood, has fought Republicans on the life issue from time immemorial. Our RPT Platform also addresses this organization specifically, stating, “Planned Parenthood – We support completely eliminating public funding for Planned Parenthood.”

Republicans, save one (Rep. Sarah Davis), have supported the sonogram bill, defunding of Planned Parenthood, parental consent and other limits on abortion. While most of us have spent our time and resources fighting for the life of the unborn and opposing Planned Parenthood, State Rep. Sarah Davis, Republican District 134, Harris County, has chosen to embrace the abortion industry and its figurative head, Planned Parenthood. During this election cycle, Ms. Davis has taken her pro-abortion agenda one step further, bragging about her Planned Parenthood endorsement. The most recent mail piece sent to over 30,000 voters in House District 134, states the following:

sarah davis

sarah davis

“In 2013, Sarah Davis stood alone again: she was the only Republican in the entire Legislature to vote against abortion restrictions…” The flyer quotes Ms. Davis’ pro-abortion statements from the floor of the Texas’ House of Representatives, stating, “We are here, and the nation is watching what we are doing today on the floor…now is not the time to play political football with women.” In the mail piece Ms. Davis describes these statements as, “Our Voice, Our Values.” Clearly, she has disdain and disrespect for the grassroots activist who created our Pro-life Party Platform. Her pro-abortion values are not our values!

Not surprisingly, Ms. Davis is a key part of Speaker Straus’ leadership team, serving on the powerful Calendars Committee. I want to encourage you to call (512) 463-0389, email, tweet, and post on Ms. Davis’ Facebook page to disavow her Planned Parenthood endorsement. Let her know that we are the party of life and we will not stand by idly and allow Planned Parenthood to push its radical agenda on Harris County or the state of Texas. Thank you for your taking action. It is time for our grassroots army to engage. Enough is Enough!

Thank you,

Jared Woodfill
President, Conservative Republicans of Texas

Web – Email – Facebook

I guess the overall message is to think twice before casting that straight Republican ballot.

Devon’s Last Gasp

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On Thursday, Commissioner Steve Radack came to the Downtown Pachyderm to deliver the “vote straight Republican” message. Steve announced that all Republican slates are supporting straight ticket voting. Commissioner Radack went on a rant about bloggers who were supportive of Democratic candidates. Steve brought his trusty sidekick Jack O’Connor, the least articulate man in America, with him to the meeting.

Steve’s appearance was timed exactly one hour before Rusty Hardin’s press conference concerning Jenny, one of the jailed sexual assault survivors. At his press conference, Hardin claimed to represent Nick Socias, the prosecutor who jailed Jenny. The problem with that statement is that Hardin is not the attorney of record.

The purpose of Rusty’s press conference is clear – a Hail Mary for his friends in the Anderson administration. Unfortunately for Socias, he does not see that he is being sacrificed. His supervisors, likely the same people who authorized the writ of attachment, are the true offenders.socioshardin

The only question is how high up the totem poll did the decision go? My bet is Craig Goodhart. You may remember his name from the prosecutorial misconduct allegations in the Linda Carty case. Or the David Temple case. Interestingly, Devon Anderson denied any collusion between Hardin and her campaign on the issue. It just so happened that Anderson released a videotaped statement strikingly similar to Hardin’s press conference the night before Hardin’s presser using the exact same emails.

Hardin was not the only high profile attorney chiming in on the election. Randy Schaffer also released a letter asking for Anderson’s resignation. It should be noted that Randy Schaffer practices law with his son Josh Schaffer, the Planned Parenthood lawyer, I call it the Et tu, Brute? letter. Think about that, the Planned Parenthood lawyers are asking Devon to resign.

hotzewoodfillLet’s get back to Commissioner Radack. His little buddy Jack O’Connor asked a prepared question about why so-called Republican bloggers (i.e., Big Jolly) are supporting Kim Ogg for District Attorney. O’Connor bolstered his argument by pointing out the fact that Charles Kuffner, a local Democrat and blogger, never attacks his own.

Radack was very careful with his words. He made no excuses for Devon’s bad behavior, which includes jailing rape victims; charging pro-life activists for investigating Planned Parenthood; allowing a grand jury to no bill Doug Karpen, a notorious abortionist whose own employees came forward to say he was murdering children after they were born; covering up misconduct by an HPD homicide investigator; and failing to notify defendants of evidentiary problems. Steve Radack did not defend Anderson’s record. Nor did Steve ever point out that Texas Right to Life sent out a mailer encouraging the pro-life community not to vote for Devon Anderson or Sarah Davis. Steve’s message was simple: vote “straight” R. I am sure that Commissioner Radack’s message was not coordinated by Devon Anderson either. I wonder what Allen Blakemore has been up to the last few days.

Meanwhile, when I got home, I had several slate mailers encouraging me to vote a “straight” R ticket. The Hoopers were first in line to vote on Monday morning; so any good campaign should delete us from their mailing list. Alas, the mail has continued. The one piece that got my attention was from Steve Hotze and Jared Woodfill. They may want to be more careful in the candidate review process if they want a “straight” R ticket.