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Hey, everyone!
Governor Greg Abbott has made some headlines the past couple days, hasn't he? First we heard from Tucker Carlson calling Abbott a fraud, and we all cheered. Then Trump announced his endorsement for Abbott and our jaws hit the floor. When Sean Hannity endorsed Abbott, we all pretty much just rolled our eyes. What's funny is that all of this is happening as the legislators and Abbott are insisting this was the "most conservative session ever" but the grassroots have given Abbott a flat-out F. Here's a question: how can Abbott give praise for the best session ever while at the same time saying the legislature did not do its job and he's going to have to call them in for a Special Session? Which is it? The best ever... or imcomplete? Well, take a look. What do YOU think?
If your student passed 2 out of 8 classes, would you be bragging about his best semester ever???
It is worth noting that at least four of our seven Board members have endorsed former State Senator Don Huffines for Governor (I haven't checked with the other 3!). That includes myself, President Fran Rhodes, PAC President Fred McCarty, and Vice President Charlie Levitt. Additionally, Jonathan Stickland and Matt Rinaldi have endorsed Don as well. Though some are saying it is too early to endorse since perhaps not all candidates have announced yet, Fran and I interviewed Don extensively. He checked all our boxes -- from legislative priorities, to voting record, to activism efforts, to fundraising ability. There simply was no reason to keep looking. And there is a lot of wisdom and strategy at jumping in early.
However, with that in mind, I also want to let you know that there are other good people that have or perhaps will announce their candidacy. I know who they are and have already compared their voting records to Huffines's record, and they fall short. BUT... We want you to do some research and make an educated choice of your own! There is no reason to fear having multiple candidates, though some seem to be panicking about it. I want you to read what I posted on Facebook in this regard:
The Primary is the time to put forward the best candidate possible on the R ticket. It is ok to have multiple candidates. It does not mean in any way that we will split the vote and hand it to Abbott or a Democrat. I'm NOT belittling those who think so. At one point I didn't understand the Primary vs General elections either. The more candidates in the Primary, the more votes that are peeled away from Abbott. We just have to get Abbott below 50%. It's very doable if we work hard and keep educating. Always, always, always keep your fire aimed at Abbott...not at the other candidates and not at each other. If we get Abbott below 50% and into a runoff, we all rally behind whomever is in the 2nd runoff spot. Stay focused. I don't care what Tom, Dick, or Harry runs in the Primary. Aim at Abbott.
And of course, that begs the question, why are we so eager to get rid of Abbott in the first place. Well, I started putting together a little list. Ok, it's not so little, and it could definitely be longer if I had more time. This is just off the top of my head.
- He launched his campaign priorities at True Texas Project...and has not completed them 8 years later. This includes taxpayer-funded lobbying, which he killed.
- He strong arms, bullies, and threatens State Reps behind closed doors. And we aren't talking about simply a tense conversation between people on opposing sides. We are talking about serious threats.
- His top legislation...the only thing he's ever really fought for...was adding taxpayer-funded, all day daycare and calling it "Pre-K".
- Of course there are several things to list under Covid alone...closing small businesses, closing churches, throwing a woman in jail where she was full-body -cavity strip-searched multiple times for opening her shop so moms could feed their kids, mask mandates outside his authority, refusing to bring in the legislature to make emergency decisions and thereby doing away with checks and balances to become King, picking essential businesses willy nilly, leaving elderly all alone in nursing homes and banning family from visiting, granting a $295 million contract to a company to do contract tracing, following instead of leading, etc
- Snowmageddon and the failed grid that lead to dozens of deaths...which he still has not addressed, in spite of the fact that he knew about it for several years. This is of course because he likes money from wind farms. We are told to expect blackouts all summer, but Abbott did nothing during session.
- Huge tax breaks for Hollywood and big business while small businesses get shuttered and all the rest of us face ever-rising property taxes. I don’t know any Texans excited over all the CA and NY businesses he's flooding the state with.
- Fails to push GOP priorities (only 2 out of 8 passed, and those are flawed; 2 out of 8i s a failing grade by any standards) but prioritized rural internet and Dem priorities like bail reform instead. Is that what he campaigned on?
- Embarrasses Texas by letting Florida lead the way on every issue
- Pushes red flag laws (those are anti-gun laws that hinder your 2nd Amendment right to bear arms)
- Has not stopped the flow of dangerous and diseased criminals pouring in through our border, though yes, he does have the power to do so. He merely speaks in sound bites to make it appear that he is doing something, when in reality, the situation gets worse and worse.
- Took a million dollars from companies that mutilate the genitals of children so that they cannot have children or normal marital relations, and in return killed the bill banning such practices
I could go on. This is just a start. So you see, it's not just that we are never pleased, or just that we are obsessed wtih one or two issues. These are major things. We have one year to help make low-info, Fox News voters see the reality.
Ok, that's all for now. I just wanted to address this issue while it is hot. I know this is a lot of info to take in. Please read it a few times. Hopefully it will help you answer the questions of friends who mistakenly thought Abbott was a good governor.
Thank you for reading!
Julie McCarty
Volunteer CEO
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