SREC Updates & RPT Mistakenly Sent Out Wrong Information about Legislative Priorities Report

Hundreds of people (State Reps, SREC members, County Chairmen) have already taken the Poll about the Legislative Priorities Report. If you have not taken the poll yet then CLICK HERE to take the poll and let your voice be heard!

Incorrect Information Sent Out

In an email sent on 10/10/11 from the Republican Party of Texas titled “Scheduling reminder and Notes from last week's Leadership Call,” there was some incorrect information that was put out regarding the Legislative Priorities Report.

I am sure this was not intentional, but I believe it is important that the information be corrected so I am sending out this email. This is not an official email from the RPT. This email and its contents are from David Bellow SREC SD3.

The email sent from the RPT stated that there is no debate that the Legislative Priorities Report violates the Rules and Bylaws.

That is incorrect. There is plenty of debate within the SREC and the RPT.

In fact, The SREC, at the last meeting, decided unanimously to have an ad hoc committee look into whether or not the Legislative Priorities Report would violate the bylaws or not.

The EXACT WORDING of what was passed unanimously by the SREC is “Recommend a special ad hoc committee be authorized to make a report to the Rules Committee on whether the relevant platform plank conflicts with the bylaws or other rules of the Republican Party of Texas” and then based on their findings they will make recommendations.

So why would the SREC UNANIMOUSLY approve a Committee to DETERMINE IF THE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES REPORT WOULD VIOLATE AND BYLAWS if there is No Debate about whether or not the Report violates the Bylaws?

Obviously there is plenty of debate about whether or not the report violates the bylaws and that is why we approved a committee to look into whether or not this report actually violates the bylaws.

Also, the RPT email referenced this Report as a “scorecard” and that is also Incorrect.

The Texas Republican Platform never calls this Report a scorecard. It is NOT a scorecard. Scorecard makes it sound like this report will rank the legislators. That is incorrect. This report will not have any scores and will not judge any officials. The report will ONLY be a list of votes related to Republican Party Platform Values and how each Official voted. Each legislator’s constituents can make their own determinations of how their legislator is doing. By publishing this Report, the RPT is not getting involved in Intra-Party contests and the RPT is simply promoting the Republican Party Values and following the wishes of the Republicans in Texas (our constituents). That is what we on the SREC are elected to do.

Is some of the Opposition to the Report about Money?

At a State Republican Executive Committee meeting last year, the SREC was voting on a resolution that called for the Texas House Republicans to join together and vote for a Republican Speaker of the House instead of letting the Democrats decide who the next Speaker will be. Who in the Republican Party would be against a Resolution that calls for Republicans to pick the next Speaker instead of the Democrats?

Surprisingly, before we were going to vote, it was brought up that a State Legislator was threatening to take back $25,000 he had given to the Party if the Party voted in favor of this resolution.

That incident really opened my eyes.

I suspect that is what is going on here with the legislative priorities report. The Republican Party of Texas does not get much money from Republicans in Texas and that has resulted in some in the RPT and on the SREC being too nice and non-controversial in order to make the big donors happy. It is true that the party should be focused on raising money for Republicans and Chairman Steve Munisteri has done a GREAT job of that. It is also good to cut back on controversy. BUT we should raise money because people believe in our values and we SHOULD NOT raise money from people who only want to give money with the demand that we change our values. We should never stop standing for Republican values just to get more money.

This problem could certainly be helped if Republicans in Texas donated money to the RPT so that the RPT did not rely on a few big donors. Republicans in Texas can help fund the RPT and donate easily to the Party by joining the Grassroots Club for only $8.25 per month. It is easy and will help the party not rely on big donors as much. We give so much to National political Races and we forget about our own Texas Base.

Also, don’t get me wrong, there are MANY big donors who do not have strings attached to their money and those donors have really helped the RPT and we appreciate those individuals.

SREC Members Against this Report are not Automatically RINOs or Moderates

Many Republicans are very angry with members of the SREC who are opposed to this Report. It is understandable that Republicans are angry over the RPT’s resistance to following the wishes of Texas Republicans as stated in the Republican Platform. I believe those SREC members are WRONG for opposing this Report, BUT they are not necessarily RINOs or moderates. Some of them are very conservative and they just don’t want the Republican Party to do the report for one strange reason or another. Some think it would just be too much work and others think it would just cause too much distraction. They are wrong for opposing the report and opposing the wishes of the Republican Delegates who elected them, but they are not necessarily RINO’s. Emails to SREC members should explain the importance of standing up for Republican values and explain that they will be going against their constituents if they vote against this Report. Emails that just call someone a RINO will just cause the email to be deleted without it being read. I am not mad at anyone and I have no problem working with anyone on the SREC. At the same time, I will always stand up for what I believe and I have no problem telling someone if I think they are wrong on a particular issue.

The bottom line is that SREC members will face our constituents at the next State Convention and will have to answer for the decisions they made on the SREC. I believe that all Republican Delegates (the boss) should tell the SREC (the employees) how they feel and what they think the SREC should do. Then, based on how the SREC members vote on the SREC, the Republican Delegates should vote for the same SREC member or for a new SREC member. We are not entitled to be on the SREC. We are elected to serve the people and if we are not doing that then the people should kick us out.

What is the Job of the State Republican Executive Committee?

According to the SREC Bylaws, the job of SREC members is to establish general policy for the Party, subject to the direction of the biennial state convention, to be responsible for the general supervision and management of the Party, and to foster and encourage growth in the Party by promoting the principles as expressed in the platform

That SREC job description makes it pretty clear that we should publish a report. The bylaws tell us that we are to follow the wishes of the last state convention and also promote Republican values in the Platform. The last biennial state convention asked us to publish a Legislative Priorities Report so that Legislators will be encouraged to vote for Republican Values Bills. The SREC should do our job and we should release a Legislative Priorities Report, or change the rules so that we can.

In My Opinion, the Legislative Priorities Report DOES NOT violate the Bylaws

Whether or not this report violates the Bylaws is based purely on OPINION and INTERPRETATION because the Bylaws are very vague and non-specific. My opinion, as well as many others, is that the Report does not violate the Bylaws.

The Bylaws say that the SREC will not use any party resources to directly or indirectly influence an election between republicans. That is VERY vague, but the intent of that bylaw was to prevent the RPT from intentionally doing things like giving money, phones, volunteers, etc. to one Republican and not another Republican in a Primary election. It was not meant to prevent the RPT from following the Platform by publishing a simple, non-biased list of votes relating to Republican values. If publishing this list is against the bylaws because it “could” be considered as getting involved in a primary election, then the RPT should just close its doors because EVERYTHING the RPT does could be considered as getting involved in Primary Contests. The RPT allows Republicans to use Voter Vault. Voter Vault is used by Republicans in primary races. Should we stop Voter Vault? The RPT allows candidates to get name recognition and to speak at SREC meetings by sponsoring the meeting (giving a donation). That “could” be considered as giving an unfair advantage to one candidate over another candidate who might not have money to sponsor an SREC meeting. The RPT supports the new maps in redistricting. This new map puts very conservative legislators in east Texas in the same district so that they have to run against each other. Does support for these new maps constitute approval of kicking out conservative legislators in East Texas? The list goes on and on, but my point is that if this Report is considered as the RPT getting involved in primary elections then, based on that same standard, pretty much anything the RPT does “could” be considered as getting involved in primary election.

Also, just because a legislator votes against something in the Republican Party Platform does not mean it will even be negative for that legislator. Chances are that if a legislator voted against something in the Platform, that legislator probably did it because they were following the wishes of their constituents on that particular issue and it will not hurt them in a re-election.

But that is up to the constituents to decide. No Republican is perfect and not everyone agrees on everything 100% of the time. But still. Republicans should know how their representative votes in regard to the Republican values. Those constituents can ask questions and make their own judgments of the job that their legislator did.

We just need to publish a report this year and then at the next Convention we can correct and problems or issues regarding publishing a Legislative Priorities Report, or the delegates could even remove it from the Platform if they want to. They can decide next year what they want to do, but until then, we should follow the wishes of the last convention’s delegates and publish a report this year. Thank you Wayne Christian for trying to uphold the desire of the Republicans in Texas by giving the SREC a draft Report. You have taken a lot of criticism from people who do not want to the Report, but the fact is that the Republicans in Texas voted to have this report and it was not just you who wanted this Report in the platform. You even got YCT to do the Report so that people would not think you were being biased against any other legislators. You did what you could. Now it is up to the SREC to finish the Report and add/make changes to the Report. Then we need to publish it.

If it is Determined that the Report Violates the Bylaws, the Bylaws should be changed at the December 4^th, 2011 SREC Meeting

The SREC is supposed to create policies subject to the direction of the State Convention. The Republicans at the State Convention voted overwhelmingly in support of this Legislative Priorities Report. If the Ad Hoc Committee determines that this Report violates the Bylaws (which I think they will) then the SREC should follow the direction of the State Convention and simply change policy to allow for the Legislative Priorities Report.

The Next SREC meeting is December 4^th 2011. This meeting will be the meeting that we vote for or against changing the Bylaws to specifically allow us to publish a Legislative Priorities Report. We will finally get an up or down vote and be able to see how many SREC members are for the report and how many are against the report.

The Republican Party is about a set of values and people who prescribe to those values. Not the other way around. Numbers mean nothing if we do not stand for our values. I believe if we are honest to the people and stand for what we believe then the people will come. They will come because they believe in our conservative, family, moral values.

What Do You Think? Take the Survey!

HUNDREDS of people have taken this survey, including SREC members, County Chairmen, Tea Party Chairmen, and even State Representatives. So far, out of hundreds of responses, only 5 people have voted against publishing a report and only 10 people said that this report would violate the bylaws. This Survey was sent to all SREC members and all County Chairmen so it is fair to say that the survey is unbiased. In other words I did not just sent the survey to people for the Report. I sent the survey to everyone including anyone who might be against the Report.

Take this Legislative Priorities Survey! The more responses and ideas the better! Also, Please PASS THIS SURVEY ON to all Republicans in Texas and I will email the results to the SREC and the Republican Party of Texas. This is not an official SREC survey. I am a member of the SREC and will be voting on this issue and debating the issue in the SREC. I want to make sure that the SREC knows what YOU think. So take the survey and pass it on!

If the survey button does not work then go to this website link to take the survey: https://app.icontact.com/icp/sub/survey/start?sid=790&cid=987966

You can also post this survey website link to TWITTER or FACEBOOK and forward this email, or at least forward this link to the survey

We need to hear what all sides have to say on this issue. Whether or not you are for or against this report, take the survey and tell us what you think!

School Indoctrination: Texas Teacher Forces McAllen Students to Memorize and Recite Mexican Pledge

The Blaze has reported that a Teacher in McAllen, TX made her class memorize and recite the Mexican Pledge and Mexican National Anthem.

This is WAY out of line. Learning ABOUT another language and learning another culture is not a bad thing, but making students memorize and recite the pledge to the Mexican Flag has no place in an American Classroom.

Texas Schools are becoming Dangerous Places of Liberal Indoctrinations. Thank God for the Conservative State Board of Education keeping American Education alive

This reminds me of the Lumberton, TX School teacher who chastised her students for watching Fox News instead of CNN. Also, just recently in Texas a student in Fort Worth ISD was suspended for his religious belief that homosexuality is wrong.

Schools are becoming a dangerous place for students because of the Liberal indoctrination they are getting. Whatever happened to just teaching math and science? Now kids in Texas have to be chastised for believing in conservative values.

Thankfully, we have a conservative State Board of Education. The Washington Times recently wrote an article that referenced how the Texas SBOE fought back against liberals who wanted to erase American History and indoctrinate Texas Students with Liberal Ideas. Here is a paragraph from that article: In Texas, the state textbook committee in 2010 angered liberals by rejecting a review panel’s recommendations to kick out Christmas and Independence Day and ignore such famous Americans as Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Neil Armstrong. Texas, the largest purchaser of textbooks after California, has been a thorn in liberals’ sides since 1961, when the late Mel and Norma Gabler began exposing errors and bias. Famous example: One history book had six pages on Marilyn Monroe and only a brief mention of George Washington. The Gablers helped pave the way for the West Virginia revolt in 1974, and they spoke there during the protests.

I certainly hope we can hold on to the conservative majority on the Texas State Board of Education after Republican, Hispanic Charlie Garza had his district re-drawn to make it harder for him to get re-elected.

Anyone coming to America should want to be Americans

There is nothing wrong with people from Mexico legally coming over to America. I have many Hispanic friends, like Republican Hispanic Adryana Boyne, and also some of my mother's sisters are married to Hispanics. It is even just fine for people to remember their heritage back in Mexico or wherever they came from. So don't get me wrong because I am not criticizing Hispanics. What I am saying is that it is NOT ok when people want to come to America but not want to be an American. It is NOT ok for people wanting to come to America and not want to recite the American Pledge or fly the American Flag. Diversity is great, but this is America and if someone does not want to be an American then that is not good for them or for America.

We cannot even fly the American flag or say the American Pledge in many places in America because it might "offend" someone and yet there are too many stories like this one where it is ok to make kids recite the Mexican Pledge.

Students should Learn English in American Classrooms

There is nothing wrong with knowing another language in America, but in order for America to be strong, we need to have a common language. When non English speaking students go to Schools in Texas, they need to be taught to learn English as a priority instead of being taught their classes in Spanish and graduating without learning how to speak English. This is for THEIR BENEFIT as much as it is for the benefit of America. It will help them better assimilate into America and go on to reach their goals and dreams.

Spanish speaking students actually perform and learn better when they are taught English instead of being taught their classes in Spanish.

Fiscally speaking, Donna Garner recently wrote an article showing that it is actually much more expensive ($200-$400 more per student per year) for Texas Schools to pay for Students to be in a bilingual class than to pay for students to learn English.

Violent Mexican Drug Cartels Target Texas School Children for Gangs, Drugs and Death

The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a public warning. Drug Cartels are recruiting Texas kids to join their violent gangs and to traffic drugs and even be beaten to death.

Fox News posted up this story today. The story was originally reported on MyFoxHouston.

Children have been found beaten to death by these Drug Cartels. This past year, in JUST ONE TEXAS COUNTY, 25 Texas Kids were arrested for drug trafficking. Just last month, 2 Texas teens were kidnapped, beaten and ransomed.

When will the Obama Administration open up their eyes? The Border is NOT SAFE.

Tens of thousands are being killed by these Drug Cartels and many of those murders are happening right here in America by the drug cartels and gangs that have set up shop right here on our own soil.
Battles rage just feet from the Texas Border and entire towns are getting killed off. Earlier this year I posted this article with a video and pictures of a massive Drug Cartel Battle in Mexico. This battle was witnessed by thousands of people on the Texas Side of the Border.

President Obama, Send More Troops to the Border! We need more than a moat with alligators.

Thank You Lumberton ISD for Honoring Fallen Soldier David Drake

Lumberton, TX lost a Hero. PFC David Drake, 21 Years Old, was killed in Action fighting in Afghanistan.

He received a Heroes welcome when his casket was flown back to southeast Texas.


The streets were lined with people and the Patriot Guard Riders accompanied the hearse as it made a loop through Beaumont and Lumberton.


I specifically wanted to thank Lumberton ISD for allowing Lumberton Schools to release the students from school to go stand along the road as the casket with fallen soldier David Drake passed by.

That was a great way to honor David Drake and also instill in students GOOD American values of honoring and supporting American Soldiers and the sacrifice that they make when they VOLUNTARILY join the military

Thanks!

Sincerely,
David Bellow

Texas Commissioner Barry Smitherman Says EPA will Turn off Power to Air Conditioners in Summer Heat

Texas Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman spoke at the State Republican Executive Meeting in Austin, TX on October 1^st, 2011.

His message was clear.

Obama’s New EPA Rules will cause Texas to shut down power plants, which will mean that homes could go without power (Lights and even Air Conditioning) in the middle of next year’s 2012 Texas Summer heat.

Texas is fighting tooth and nail to stop this rule form going into effect. Barry Smitherman is fighting too and he is part of every lawsuit that Texas has against the EPA.

It is already enough that Texas has to fight the Federal Government over our right to drill in Texas. The reason the Feds do not want us to drill for our own oil is because of a lizard that is not even endangered. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson explains that situation here

So back to the EPA...

Smitherman says that the EPA could not get Cap and Trade passed though the United States Congress so the EPA is trying to do it on its own without going through Congress.

Back in July 2009, Smitherman wrote an article for the Houston Chronicle titled “Texans Will Pay a Price for Cap and Trade”

Smitherman was right, and even though Cap and Trade did not pass, Texans will still pay a huge price if the EPA bullies their way into controlling the affairs of Texas through backdoor channels.

Specifically, if the EPA has its way, Texas will be forced to shut down many power plants which will cause a shortage of energy. This could be deadly in the Texas Summer heat for the sick and elderly.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, a 2012 Republican presidential candidate, is fighting back against this potential power shutdown and has said that the EPA rule “threatens Texas jobs & families.”

Here is a video of Texas Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman talking to the SREC on October 1^st, 2011 about the EPA threatening to Turn off the Lights in Texas:

Congratulations! Texas Republican Volunteers of the Year from Each Senate District

On September 30th, 2011, the Republican Party of Texas and the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) honored the Texas Republican Volunteers of the Year at a special dinner held at the Austin Club in Austin, TX.

The Volunteers of the Year were each given a special gift (an Official State of Texas Gavel) and each of them got to go up to the front of the room to be recognized, as they so justly deserve.

There were MANY elected officials who attended the dinner and the dinner was made possible by gracious donations from Republican officials in Texas.

The Republican Party of Texas picked 31 of the best Republican Volunteers in Texas. We picked one from each State Senate District in Texas. There are MANY great volunteers so it was difficult picking just 31 in the whole state.

Some of these Volunteers of the Year literally spend the entire election year working over 40 hours a week every single week. It was a full time job except they did it for free!

Of course, there are MANY other wonderful Republican Volunteers here in Texas and we are very grateful for every single one of you no matter how many hours you worked.

Below is the entire list of the Volunteers of the Year, including which State Senate District they belong to.

If you recognize one of these names please tell them thanks next time you see them!

Volunteer of the Year Winners

Senate District 1 – Keith Flowers

Senate District 2 – Paul Hoffman

Senate District 3 – JoAnn Fleming

Senate District 4 – Pearl Maggio

Senate District 5 – W.H. (Bill) Giesenschlag

Senate District 6 – Brian Keith Bishop

Senate District 7 – Norma Jeter

Senate District 8 – Pat Reid

Senate District 9 – Kensley Stewart

Senate District 10 – Marjorie Moffitt

Senate District 11 – Barbara Meeks

Senate District 12 – Beryl Dowd

Senate District 13 – Ron Meinke

Senate District 14 – Cherry G. Haught

Senate District 15 – Margie Forster

Senate District 16 – Bonnie Wells

Senate District 17 – David Rosenthal

Senate District 18 – Linda Hancock

Senate District 19 – Jackie Dowdy

Senate District 20 – Tom Knight

Senate District 21 – Michael P. Hoffman

Senate District 22 – Duke Machado

Senate District 23 – Larry Phillips

Senate District 24 – Capy Alaxander

Senate District 25 – Kelly Donegan Follis

Senate District 26 – David L. Rosa

Senate District 27 – Ida R. Stacy

Senate District 28 – Bradford L. Moore

Senate District 29 – Robert (Bobby) Pena

Senate District 30 – Sharon Van Baale

Senate District 31 – William Sumerford

THANK YOU!

Sincerely,

David Bellow
SREC SD3
mdbellow@gmail.com
www.DavidBellow.com

 

Below are some pictures and video of the Volunteer of the Year Dinner:

Southeast Texas Republican Candidate Campaign Training School is October 15, 2011 in Polk County

Are you a Republican who is running or interested in running for public office? If so, or if you're in office and need a refresher course for an upcoming campaign, this is a great opportunity for you!

     

Candidate Training School 

The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) & the Polk County Republican Party are hosting a campaign school.

Saturday October 15th

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Chamber of Commerce Office in Livingston, TX

Materials Covered

*How Do I Set Up A Campaign*

*Dealing With The Media*

*Formulating & Articulating Your Message*

*Identifying & Motivating Voters To Vote*

*Filing Required Forms*

Please let your candidates and potential candidates know about this school. Don't sabotage your campaign, get informed. Cost only $25 per person.

Please RSVP by email or:

Benny Fogleman

2410 US Hwy. 190 West Ste. C

Livingston, Tx. 77351

936-967-2020

bennyfogleman@gmail.com

SREC Meeting Update: What is happening with Legislative Priorities Report? When is the Vote?

This is an update of what is going on behind the scenes (discussions and votes) at the SREC meetings regarding the legislative Priorities Report

Take the Legislative Priorities Report SURVEY by clicking the link below. If you tried to take the survey before and it did not work then try it again because there were too many people taking the survey at the same time when I first released the survey: https://app.icontact.com/icp/sub/survey/start?sid=790&cid=987966

I was elected to the State Republican Executive Committee last year at the 2010 Republican State Convention. I don't play political games and I just stand up for Republican Values. I have never been on the SREC and that gave me the benefit of being able to see everything in a fairly unbiased way. My votes and decisions are not tied to any friends on the SREC (I did not have any on the SREC when I got in) and I do not play any political games. I just do what is right and stand by Republican values.

When the issue of the Legislative Priorities Report came up, I thought it was pretty straightforward. The Republicans in Texas voted for it (the same people who elected us) and so we need to do it. Little did I know that it would not be that simple.

Here we are now over a year later. I have heard all different reasons for and against the Report. The time is getting close for the report to be done but there are still many SREC members who do not agree on what to do. The big issue is whether or not this Report violates any bylaws.

Before our last SREC meeting on October 1st, 2011, the RPT Chairman, Steve Munisteri (Who I think overall is a great Chairman), created an ad hoc committee of a few people to look into whether or not this Report would violate bylaws.

There was a bunch of chatter on the internet about the legislative priorities report and there were a bunch of calls and emails from Republicans who wanted us to vote for the report at the Oct. 1st, 2011 meeting.

The October 1st SREC meeting was held and we DID NOT vote for or against the report. So before anyone gets mad and thinks that the report was rejected, please know that we did not get a chance to vote on the report yet. At the Oct 1st meeting the SREC voted to allow the ad hoc committee to keep researching and report back to us with enough time so that we can have an SREC vote regarding the report at the December SREC meeting. In the meantime, we did vote to put a link on the Texas GOP website to the Texas Legislature Online so that people can see where to look up bills.

Here is what will Happen Next - The December 4th, 2011 SREC Meeting is Important

I fully believe that this ad hoc committee will report to the SREC that a Legislative Priorities Report would violate the Bylaws.

That means the only way we can do the report is if we change the bylaws

There has already been a proposed bylaw change that has been submitted to the SREC.

I am almost certain that the SREC, at the December 4th, 2011 Meeting, will for sure be voting for or against the proposed bylaw change which would allow for this Report to be published by the RPT.

If the SREC votes to change the bylaws then the report will most likely be published in some form or fashion.

If the SREC votes against changing the bylaws then the SREC will not even be allowed to for for or against publishing the report.

The vote in December to Change the SREC Bylaws is the Important Vote. I do not know if the bylaw change will get a 2/3 vote of the SREC to pass, but it is fair to say that the SREC members who vote against the Bylaw change are against the Report and the SREC members who vote for the bylaws change are for the Report. So even if we do not get to vote on the Report itself, you will be able to know who was for or against the Report based on who votes for or against the bylaw change.

I am not trying to "expose" anyone or point anyone out. I do not know if anyone is a RINO on the SREC. There certainly might be. So far, I think the SREC members mostly great Republicans who mostly vote for Republican Party values and we mostly get along. That does not mean we always agree though and I have no problem telling a fellow SREC member that I believe they are wrong on a particular issue and then moving on and working with them on other issues. I will tell anyone on the SREC that they are wrong if they do not think we should publish a report. That does not mean I do not like them, or think they are a RINO, or do not want to work with them, but it does mean that I think they are wrong on this issue.

Ultimately, the Republican Delegates vote for who you want to represent you on the SREC. I have no problem telling anyone how I vote on the SREC, and this bylaw change vote should be done in such a manner so that everyone knows who voted for it or who voted against is. It is just good to be open and honest.

At the next State Convention in 2012, the Republicans in Texas can determine whether or not they agree with what we did. They can vote for us to be on the SREC again or they can vote for someone else to be on the SREC. That is the way it should work. We on the SREC and all other Republican Officials are not "entitled" to be elected again. We are elected to represent Republican Values our constituents. Our constituents should know how we vote so that they can decide whether or not we represented them, and the Party, properly.

Important Survey on Texas Republican Legislative Priorities Report

Update: There are a bunch of people taking the survey so the survey is not letting everyone take it at the same time. PLEASE just try the link again or wait till later today! It will work, I promise! there are just a bunch of people taking it right now!

Please PASS THIS SURVEY ON to all Republicans in Texas and I will email the results to the SREC and the Republican Party of Texas. This is not an official SREC survey. I am a member of the SREC and will be voting on this issue and debating the issue in the SREC. I want to make sure that the SREC knows what YOU think. So take the survey and pass it on!



If the survey button does not work then go to this website link to take the survey: https://app.icontact.com/icp/sub/survey/start?sid=790&cid=987966

You can also post this survey website link to TWITTER or FACEBOOK and forward this email, or at least forward this link to the survey.


Once the survey is completed, I will email out the results of the survey to the entire SREC, County Chairmen, and my mailing list. I will also post the result on my website http://www.hardincountyconservatives.com/ and also on http://www.texasgopvote.com/

If you would like to get an email with the results please send your email address to mdbellow@gmail.com

Please forward this survey to every Republican you know so that we can get a good sample of what YOU the REPUBLICAN VOTERS have to say about this issue.

Sincerely,
David Bellow
State Republican Executive Committeeman for Senate District 3
mdbellow@gmail.com
http://www.davidbellow.com/

also contact David Bellow on TWITTER: @DavidBellow and on FACEBOOK: David Bellow

Important Survey on Texas Republican Legislative Priorities Report - Also SREC Meeting Update

Update: There are a bunch of people taking the survey so the survey is not letting everyone take it at the same time. PLEASE just try the link again or wait till later today! It will work, I promise! there are just a bunch of people taking it right now!

Please PASS THIS SURVEY ON to all Republicans in Texas and I will email the results to the SREC and the Republican Party of Texas. This is not an official SREC survey. I am a member of the SREC and will be voting on this issue and debating the issue in the SREC. I want to make sure that the SREC knows what YOU think. So take the survey and pass it on!



If the survey button does not work then go to this website link to take the survey: https://app.icontact.com/icp/sub/survey/start?sid=790&cid=987966

You can also post this survey website link to TWITTER or FACEBOOK and forward this email, or at least forward this link to the survey.

What is the Survey About? What is the Legislative Priorities Report?

The thousands of Republican Delegates at the Texas Republican State Convention voted overwhelmingly to approve the Legislative Priorities Report section of the 2010 Texas Republican State Platform.

This Legislative Priorities section of the Platform calls for the Republican Party of Texas (the State Republican Executive Committee and State Republican Chairman) to release a report of how Republican Elected Officials voted on key Republican Party Values and Beliefs. There is no scoring or grading of elected officials involved in this report. It is only to be a list of bills relating to Republican Party Values and the list of how each Legislator voted. Republicans in Texas will be able to see how their Legislator voted on important Republican issues and those constituents can make their own determinations based on their own beliefs. This report will not make any determinations about legislators and will only serve as a factual record of important bills and votes.

Some SREC Members are For Publishing a Report and Some Are Not.

I am not going to point anyone out and we have not even voted on the issue yet at an SREC meeting, but I can tell you that there are some on the SREC, for various reasons, who do not like the idea of the SREC and RPT publishing a Legislative Priorities Report.

There are also some SREC members who (regardless of if they are for or against the Report) believe that this Report would go against the Republican Party SREC Bylaws that prohibit the Party from using resources to get involved in intra-party races (like supporting one Republican over another Republican in a primary election). I do not believe this Report goes against the bylaws. If this report of votes goes against the bylaws simply because there is a "possibility" that one Republican might use it as a resource against another Republican, then most of the Republican Party resources could be considered as going against the bylaws because most of the RPT resources "could" be used by one Republican against another Republican in a primary election.

Even if this Report is seen as breaking the Republican Party bylaws, all that would need to be done would be a simple change of the bylaws to allow the SREC to publish voting records for bills related to important party values. The Republican Delegates at the State Convention voted to publish the Report and so it would be logical that they would also have approved to change the bylaws to have the Report if they thought there would be an issue.

This Report is not target anyone and does not give anyone any type of advantage. Just because the report shows that a legislator voted against a bill does not mean the legislator is in trouble with his voters. The legislator might have voted against a bill because that is what the voters in his district wanted him to do. This Report simply makes government more open and allows for Republicans to see how their Republican legislator voted on important Republican Party Values. After all, being a Republican, having Republican Values, and having a Platform would not mean much if we did not stand by our values, encourage Republicans to vote for Republican values, and make it easy for voters to see how their elected officials voted on important Republican values legislation.

Some have said that the votes are already out there and the RPT does not need get involved. It is true that the votes are already out there and available through other resources, but telling people that they can find it elsewhere is not what we were asked to do. The Party Platform asks us to publish it ourselves.

Some have said that we could just post a list of all bills and votes instead of posting a list of the bills relating to the Republican Party Platform. That is a great idea, but it is still not what we were asked to do. We were asked to publish the list of Republican values legislation/votes. We were not asked to publish a list of all votes and just tell people to search for the bills themselves.

Some have asked, how do we decide which bills deal with Republican values? I do not think it would be very difficult to generate a list using keywords, but of course we would want it to be fair and unbiased so we should ask every legislator to help by submitting to us and bills that they believe should be included or should not be included in the Report and the SREC could vote to approve or reject the request.

Ultimately, we just need to vote in favor of publishing a report and that means changing the bylaws if needed. The last thing we would ever want is for grassroots Republicans (and liberals) thinking that the Republican Party of Texas does follow the Party Platform and does not listen to the Republican Delegates. Let's just publish the Report this year and then at the next convention in 2012 we can figure out if the report should stay in the platform or if it should be changed, corrected, or clarified.

That is What I Think.

Now I want to know what YOU think! Take the Survey!

Please take the survey and pass it on so that others can take the survey.

THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL RPT or SREC SURVEY

I alone am responsible for the above comments and I alone am responsible for this survey. I want to know what you think about this issue.

Once the survey is completed, I will email out the results of the survey to the entire SREC, County Chairmen, and my mailing list. I will also post the result on my website www.HardinCountyConservatives.com  and also on www.TexasGOPvote.com

If you would like to get an email with the results please send your email address to mdbellow@gmail.com

Please forward this survey to every Republican you know so that we can get a good sample of what YOU the REPUBLICAN VOTERS have to say about this issue.

Sincerely,
David Bellow
State Republican Executive Committeeman for Senate District 3
mdbellow@gmail.com
www.DavidBellow.com

also contact David Bellow on TWITTER: @DavidBellow and on FACEBOOK: David Bellow

Important! Texas Senate Democrats Might Pick Next Governor/LT Governor – Call Republican Senators NOW!

Please forward this important message!

Thank you Senator Dan Patrick for bringing this to our Attention!

I am going to make this as straight forward and simple as I can. I am not saying that the current Governor or the current LT Governor will win their elections, but we need to plan ahead just in case. The bottom line is, if the Governor, the LT Governor, or both win their election bids for President and Senate, then the Texas State Senate would be in complete control of picking the next LT Governor and/or Governor.  According to State Senator Dan Patrick, if this happens, it is a once in a life-time constitutional event that would be one of the most important and influential decisions ever. We MUST be prepared if this happens.

Democrats Could Pick our Next Governor! How Do We Prepare Ourselves?

The Republicans only hold a slim Majority in the Texas State Senate. There are 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

If at least 16 Republicans are not Completely United then the Democrats could very possibly pick the next Texas LT Governor and/or Governor! THAT WOULD BE DISASTEROUS. The Republicans hold the majority and therefore the Republicans should make that decision. Would the Democrats EVER let Republicans make this decision if they were the majority? NO!

We have to CALL or EMAIL all the Republican State Senators and ask them to join together and agree that the Republican Majority will be unified if this very important decision actually ends up happening. We also need to tell the Republican State Senators that the vote needs to be a public vote so that we can see how the votes are public because a Senator could tell us he/she is unified but then that Senator can break their promise in a secret vote.

Find your Texas State Senator Contact info Here: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/senmem.htm

Texas State Senator Dan Patrick Spoke to the SREC on October 1, 2011 Regarding a Unified Republican Senate Caucus Choice for LT Governor:

State Senator Dan Patrick came to our SREC meeting on Saturday, October 1^st, 2011. Senator Dan Patrick expressed to us the important and dire nature of this situation. He asked us on the SREC to urge the Senate Republicans to be unified and to have a public vote.

In response to Senator Patrick’s request, I had prepared a resolution to present to the SREC. The resolution was to urge to Senate Republicans to be unified and to have a public vote. Senator Dan Patrick urged the SREC to pass this resolution and called it the most important resolution that this SREC will have ever voted on.

After some minor changes, the Resolution passed nearly unanimously. Only 1 SREC member out of 62 members voted against the resolution.

 The Texas State Republican Executive Committee has Passed a Resolution Supporting a Unified Senate Republican Caucus Choice for LT Governor

Resolution Supporting a Unified Senate Republican Caucus Choice for LT Governor

Whereas, the primary function of the Republican Party of Texas is to elect candidates that embrace the principles articulated by the Republican Party of Texas Platform; and,

Whereas, grassroots Republicans have worked tirelessly to elect Republicans all across our great State; and,

Whereas, if either or both the Governor or the LT Governor win their elections to higher office, the Texas State Senate is required to select their successor; therefore, be it

Resolved, that the SREC urges the Republican members of the Texas Senate to join together and be unified in their selection of the Governor, and/or LT Governor if they are required to make such choices; and, be it further

Resolved, that the such votes in the Texas State Senate be record public votes; and,

Resolved, that a copy of this resolution be delivered by electronic mail to each Republican member of the Texas Senate for their signature or posted on the Republican Party of Texas website in a secure means which allows only those members or certified candidates to sign on electronically.

In Summary: PLEASE CALL or EMAIL YOUR REPUBLICAN STATE SENATOR!

Sincerely,

David Bellow

State Republican Executive Committeeman for Senate District 3

mdbellow@gmail.com
www.DavidBellow.com

 

- If you are not on my email list and you would like to get updates from me about the SREC votes and other Texas Political News, or if you would like to ask me a question then please email me at mdbellow@gmail.com and I will put you on my email list and/or answer your question. Thanks!