John,

I want to share with you our New Year’s Resolutions at Empower Texans. 

Communications experts say you should never repeat an accusation that is made against you. I hold to that as a good practice, but let me this one time repeat the accusation many in the sewer-like culture of the state capitol level against us. They say we want “access” to elected officials and to be “relevant” in the Capitol.

This is the only way they know how to explain why we report on the goings on at the Capitol. It’s the only reason they can fathom why we make endorsements, and have a political action committee that spends money in elections.

You see, there’s one thing everyone in the corrupt Capitol culture want in Austin: a seat at the table. This is where deals are made trading away your money, property, and liberty. 

At Empower Texans we have made it clear we don’t want a seat at the table. We don’t want “access” to the backrooms.

But it doesn’t stop them from trying to offer us what they desire.

It is, fundamentally, what disgraced House Speaker Dennis Bonnen was trying to do when he invited me to a meeting at his Capitol office this past summer. He brought me, literally, into a backroom of the Capitol to offer a deal. If I would do political favors beneficial to him personally, he’d take an official government action giving our Texas Scorecard team a seat – literally – at the press table on the floor of the Texas House.

I’m not sure which bothered Bonnen, the Austin lobby, and their sycophantic allies more: that I had the temerity to record and report on Bonnen’s offer... or that we so emphatically and publicly said no.

The response to the Bonnen scandal has been revealing. Texas’ state-level politicians have been more concerned with you finding out about the corruption than the corruption itself. They were more troubled by mean things being said about other politicians behind closed doors, than about potentially illegal activity being conducted in the Texas Capitol.

One of our “friends” in statewide office recently told someone he thought was a donor that the spill-out from the Bonnen scandal likely means Empower Texans will be “irrelevant” and very few Capitol officials would want to meet with me. 

My response? Good! 

Our mission at Empower Texans is to promote self-governance by serving the grassroots. This means we must keep the citizens informed, not appease the sensitivities of politicians. While the establishment media colludes with the corrupt Capitol culture, we actively work to expose it.

Rather than regurgitate and repackage the excuses politicians give for not delivering on their campaign promises, we help citizens hold their elected officials accountable.

We don’t want a seat at the cronies’ table, we want to overturn it. We don’t want to make deals in the backrooms, we want government exposed to sunlight. We don’t care what politicians think of us, we want to be relevant to Texans. 

In 2020, we resolve to say “no” even more loudly and forcefully to the cronies... because we are saying “yes” to self-governance and the grassroots.

In 2020, we resolve to more boldly serve Texas’ grassroots movement, because Empower Texans exists to serve the people – not gain access to politicians.

In 2020, we resolve to help citizens build an army that will reclaim Texas from the cronies who have captured the Capitol.

Do you agree with these resolutions? There are two ways to let us know: 

1. Pray for us and our work! Each of us at Empower Texans are weak and fallible. We need God to strengthen us to do the work to which we have been called. Will you do that?
    
2. Make an end-of-year contribution today of $25, $50, or $100. It’s only with your support that we will have the ammunition needed to fight for a better Texas. 

Thank you for letting us partner with you in 2020 in the bold and still revolutionary work of making government accountable to you. 

For Texas!
Michael Quinn Sullivan

P.S. If you prefer to make contributions by check, please address it to:
Empower Texans
PO Box 49730
Austin, Texas 78765​