Citizen Advocates do hard things.  I say this in our workshops all the time.  The things we ask activists to do are not hard – show up, speak up, make a phone call, write a message – but sometimes it requires sacrifice and a bit of personal hardship in order to get it done.

• They get up at 3 am so that they can drive for hours to be at the Capitol for an 8 am hearing
• They sit through 14 hours of testimony in a hearing waiting for their chance to speak for 3 minutes.
• They write endless notes and postcards to committee members trying to convince them to do the right thing.
• They run all over the Capitol delivering those notes and post cards and position papers to legislators’ offices.
• They sit on hard, stone floors waiting to testify when there are no seats in the hearing room
• They show up at school board meetings EVERY month to send the message that they are watching and paying attention.
• They make thousands of phone calls and send thousands of emails!
• They attend County Commissioners Courts and City Councils even after a hard day at work.
• They do research, digging in to not only the what, but the why and how so that they can prove and defend their position.
• They give up time with their families, sometimes away from jobs without pay, or time for the millions of things that need doing.

Yes, Citizen Advocates do hard things.  Unfortunately, our grassroots conservative army sometimes suffers from a case of the “summer soldier and sunshine patriot” disease.  They participate when it's convenient for them, and not interrupting their lives.  I think they truly want to be engaged, but they allow too many things to get in the way.  Things that could be handled by others, rescheduled, or rearranged.

Folks, we just can’t afford to let that happen!  The stakes are too high.  We can all make Citizen Advocacy a priority.  We just need to understand the enormity of the situation.

Not to get too preachy here, everyone has to make their own decisions and we do understand that there are plenty of other things in life that can get in the way.  But we just think saving Texas is worth the effort, whatever that may be.

I asked a few busy citizen advocates to tell me in one sentence why do they do what they do.  Here are some of the responses.

Jim Baxa, Lubbock County:  “I'm politically active because I follow the biblical command to love my neighbor.”

Ginger Mikeska, Brazos County:  “I’m finding that sometimes even more personal sacrifice is needed to make things happen for the greater good.”

Devin Pipes, Tarrant County:  “I am a citizen activist because I was blessed by being born in the greatest state in the greatest country in the world, but It is quickly falling apart and everyone has a role in saving it, so I try to use the gifts God gave me and help where I can. Isaiah 6:8

Beth Abel, Travis County – “I carry a vision of how God wants me to be His presence in daily living and taking constructive action to improve this world is a big part of that vision.”

Bob & Kathy Davis, Brazos County – “Kathy and I are TTP citizen activists because we view it as an important ministry.  It’s an opportunity to shine the light into the very dark world of politics to give our leaders the courage to follow the path of righteousness.”

Charlene Reagan, Travis County – “I do this because I want my children (and their someday children) to have their freedom, liberty, and constitutional rights.  I also do this because I see our freedoms being stripped away at an accelerating rate and I need to do whatever I can to help stop this country from sliding into the totalitarianism abyss.”

Hollie Plemmons, Tarrant County - "I do it for America, for continued freedom, for our future, our children; if we don’t protect our greatest resource in this country, our children, from the unbelievable overreach of the government then we are guaranteeing our next generations won’t know freedom. I also do it for my own children, the government messed with my 3 cubs & my role as their mama; that was it for me, game on."

Cheri Wilkerson, Blanco County - "Although the battle belongs to the Lord, the army must  still march forward. For me, True Texas project is that army."

Consider for a moment, the original and most important Citizen Advocates – the founding Fathers and the Continental soldiers who fought against the tyranny of King George III and demanded liberty and the right to self-govern.  Think about the sacrifices those people made to achieve their goal. 

Those 56 people who signed the Declaration of Independence were literally committing treason against the King, and they knew they would pay a heavy price for it.  And pay they did! Five signers were captured by the British and brutally tortured as traitors. Nine fought in the Revolutionary War and died from wounds or hardships. Two lost their sons in the war, and two others had sons captured. At least a dozen of the 56 had their homes pillaged and burned.   Ben Franklin famously said after signing his name “We must indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately.”

Those men did hang together, pushed back against a tyrannical government, took up arms against the largest and most powerful army in the world, AND WON!   We can win too!  We just have to have the will and the determination to make it happen.

Julie and I both believe that we’ve all been placed on this earth for such a time as this, and that God does and will continue to bless us for our efforts.  But the time for Summer Soldiers and Sunshine Patriots has passed.  We need fighters, committed to the cause and willing to make the sacrifices necessary.

No one is asking us take up our guns and fight on a literal battlefield against an attacking army (yet), but we are truly in a cultural, social, and political battle with our opponents.  It seems like spending a day at the Capitol, attending a few school board meetings, or making a dozen phone calls is a very small price to pay.

We’ve all been watching what is unfolding in the Texas Senate this week at the Impeachment Trial of Ken Paxton.  I hope you understand what a serious issue this is – and not because of anything Ken Paxton did or didn’t do.  It’s important because this impeachment is politically motivated.  I've expressed my reasons for that belief many times, as has Julie.  It's government overreach and weaponization of government, and it must be stopped.

Now we have to make a choice.  Are we going to speak out against it?  Or are we going to just sit by and watch it happen?  Polls show that a majority of Texas citizens want Ken Paxton to continue as Attorney General.  We need everyone of them to put their money and their time where their mouth is.  Convince the Senators to vote for acquittal.

ACTION ITEM -  IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

Now that the trial is going forward, and the motions to dismiss have failed, we need to be continually contacting Senate offices urging them to vote for acuittal.  Contact all of them, but focus especially on what we consider the swing votes(Especially if they are your Senators).

Drew Springer
Mayes Middleton
Pete Flores
Kelly Hancock
Phil King
Bryan Hughes
Brian Birdwell
Robert Nichols
Kevin Sparks
Charles Schwertner
Charles Perry

According to Luke Macias, the GOP Senator Pushing Impeachment is Joan Huffman.

 Angela Paxton is prohibiting from voting. (sorry, folks in SD8 - you get no representation in this trial)

Don't condemn them for those early votes, just convince them to do the right thing in the end.  We believe that grassroots pressure on this issue will win the day.

Send thank you’s to Bettencourt, Campbell, Creighton, Hall, Kolkhorst, and Parker. (they voted consistently on Tuesday to dismiss)  Contact the Democrats as well as the Republicans.  They all need to hear what you have to say. 

You can call, write, email, or do all three.  Burn up the phone lines, and flood the mail with post cards, and letters, and make their email servers over heat!

All Senators can be emailed using this address:  [email protected]

Use this link for contact information to write or phone the offices.  This directory includes the phone numbers and addresses for Capitol offices as well as any district offices.

Tips for contacting Senators:  Keep it brief!  Written messages should be no more than one paragraph.  Bullet points are good.  Phone messages should be quick and to the point.  If you go on and on, they will quickly stop reading or listening.

ACTION ITEM – LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

All the governments with taxing authority are in the process of setting property tax rates for 2024 fiscal year.  Please pay attention to YOUR local school, city, county, college district, hospital district, and whatever other taxing authority trying to take your money!  Show up at the meetings and hearings and just say no to higher taxes!  It’s not hard. They all have a website with information on meetings,  agendas, budgets and tax rates. I've been highlighting the ones I know about in the Facebook chat groups, but each of you should be taking responsibility for knowing what's happening in your own area.

ACTION ITEM - CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

In November, we will be asked to vote on 14 Constitutional amendments.  TTP has a summary of the amendments, a brief description, and voting recommendations on the website under 2023 November Elections.  Check it out and let us know if you have questions.  I published this list a couple weeks ago, and you’ll notice that this list has some different voting recommendations than the original.  I originally had quite a few that I listed as “Neutral”.  But I’ve done some deeper research and talked to some people in the know and changed my mind about them.  Only one is left in the “Neutral” position.  I hate being neutral!  I always take a position and go with it, but this one has to be up to all of you.  Just vote your conscience.

That's all for this week.  (I'm sure you're saying "that's enough!")  I want you to know how much I appreciate all the hard working citizen advocates in the TTP army.  There are hundreds of you who work hard, stay committed and do whatever you can, and I thank you for it.  We just need a few hundred more!

Stay Engaged!

For Texas always,

Fran Rhodes, President

PS:  Just as I was about to post this message this morning, I read Michael Quinn Sullivan's Friday Reflection in the Texas Minute.  It's kinda relevant to my message this week.  He talks about being a leader and how each of us are leaders in some way as we set examples for those around us. 

"What about you and me? How are we ruling? How are we leading? In times of peace and plenty, do we lazily point people to the false gods of the day, or are we zealously encouraging them to pursue self-governance under God? 

Whether we want to admit it or not, each of us are leaders. For better or worse, we influence people around us. Let us resolve daily to make it for the better."

I hope you will join us in resolving daily to make it for the better!