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Volume XI Number 3 - January 30, 2012     RSS Feed   
A Periodic Newsletter for Committed Texas Conservatives


In This Issue

Have We All Lost Interest In The Texas Primary?

Do Not Jump On A Bad Redistricting Deal Just To Save The April 3rd Primary

Yes, Perry For President Ought To Pay Texas Back

Message To GOP Presidential Candidates: Stop The Mud Slinging

Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Obama Leading From Behind

Dead To Me by Bruce Bialosky, Contributing Editor

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Have We All Lost Interest In The Texas Primary?

With the primary election date uncertain at best, TCR detects that GOP primary enthusiasm is not currently present. This makes it difficult for candidates to raise money, get voters to come hear them and leaves them wondering, does anyone care? Once we know who is running, in what districts and the candidates start spending real money, hopefully we all get excited as the elections this year are too important to neglect.

Do Not Jump On A Bad Redistricting Deal
Just To Save The April 3rd Primary

Rumors this past weekend is that Attorney General Greg Abbott is about to surrender all 4 new Texas congressional seats to the Democrats to keep the present primary date and this rumor is ringing alarm bells among conservatives all over the state. TCR's advice is, don't do it. The U.S. Supreme Court is sympathetic to our maps and so we can give up a little, but not a lot. If we do, what exactly was the point of all this effort?

Yes, Perry For President
Ought To Pay Texas Back

The Rick Perry for President campaign is now over and they need to pay Texas back for expenses directly incurred in the Presidential campaign for security traveling outside Texas. It is not part of the job of the Governor of Texas to run for President, it is something Rick Perry decided to do and he successfully raised north of $15 million dollars. Is it asking too much to reimburse the State the estimated $798,000 spent (which doesn't include security salaries)?

Surely, the campaign fund has enough to make the taxpayers whole. If not, the Governor can raise the money and TCR will help with a check for $250 once the fundraising effort starts.

Message To GOP Presidential Candidates:
Stop The Mud Slinging

Have the GOP Presidential candidates forgotten who we are really running against?

We at TCR are really tired of all the whiny, mud slinging, condescending attacks by fellow Republicans. It is time to get back to President Reagan's 11th Commandment "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican." It is time to stop it or all our remaining announced candidates will be scorched so much we will end up with a dark horse. Which by the way, sounds like a better idea every day this train wreck continues.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform,
Obama Leading From Behind

It is comical to listen to the Obama administration talk about all their efforts to achieve immigration reform. Are we missing anything here? The Democrats controlled both houses of Congress for the first two years of his term and they accomplished exactly nothing in this area. Since all we hear is hot air and no action, don't be fooled, there is no reform coming from him.

Dead To Me
By Bruce Bialosky, Contributing Editor

In life, there are occasionally moments of great clarity. Sure enough, in the past couple of weeks there was a defining moment that patently identified who truly represents Republican principles and who are just impostors. Ironically, the pretenders turned out to be the supposed conservatives in the race for the Republican nomination for President, and the candidate who stands for the most fundamental principles of the capitalist system is the one accused of being squishy.

I'm sure you've heard that two gentlemen (Gingrich and Perry), each vying for the mantle of the "true conservative" in the Presidential race, in what was characterized by many as an act of utter desperation attacked the methods by which Bain Capital earned money while their opponent, Mitt Romney, was at the helm. They used pejorative terms - such as "vulture capitalism" - to describe the investment activities of Romney and his crew. What Gingrich and Perry have proven is that they will readily abandon our most important values for the sake of personal gain.

Both Perry and Gingrich are career politicians. They may be Republicans, but they are still career politicians who only understand our economy through the eyes of government. Both men have attained powerful positions during their careers, in which they have had the opportunity to influence the largesse awarded to their constituency. Some people call this "crony capitalism"; others label it "socialist capitalism". Either way, it portrays leaders who make bets with other people's money - with no personal risk of their own. Mr. Gingrich's delusion is so deeply embedded that he actually believes that the company he formed to influence government spending (glad-handing) was equivalent to free enterprise.

This is exactly why the Tea Party began - they were sick of Republicans acting like Democrats. They were fed up with Republicans who participated in the expansion of government by handing out the public's hard-earned money to those who twist the arms of the people in power. The situation had gotten so bad that most liberals were puzzled. Even my brother-in-law, a deeply confused left-winger, asked "What do Republicans stand for if they don't control spending?"

Gingrich and Perry show what a lifetime in government can do to anyone. If you've never experienced risk, you develop a disdain for the entrepreneurs, the business-builders, who actually take risks. Romney spent the best part of his life putting his name, his family, and his well-being on the line to create financial success for himself - and he understood that the only way he could achieve that success was if others succeeded as well. If companies in which he invested grew and expanded, their value would grow along with their profits. This is what is called capitalism - an American system that Romney lived and in which he succeeded. He truly gets it. Only individuals who view our economy through the prism of government would criticize his actions.

The left, given voice through the mainstream media, question the values of capitalism. They advocate the expansion of our society's safety net not just for the truly impaired, but for the morally challenged. They believe that government should choose winners and losers; much like Obama did by crushing the shareholders, bondholders, and owners of dealerships at GM to reward his favored constituency - the unions. Or they rejoice in "investing" government dollars in "green energy" companies like Solyndra because it's the "right thing to do" - despite the fact that no one risking their own money would ever dream of funding these projects. These government-centric transactions are reminiscent of the failures of the Soviet system, whose capacity for picking losers was legendary.

These people are truly misguided. They deified Steve Jobs after his death, but conveniently forgot that without venture capital, he would likely have remained an unknown hippie. They bemoan deregulation of capitalism, but fail to realize that we would probably be walking around with six pound rotary phones without the free market at work. They hate capitalism's effects, but worship the productions on HBO that would never exist without government getting out of the way.

Gingrich and Perry have finally brought clarity to this election. They have drawn a bright line for Republicans - are you a capitalist or are you for government making decisions. Are Republicans just the same as Democrats, just a little less, or do we believe that economic choices are best left in the hands of individuals? Thankfully, neither of these two candidates will be doing anything other than licking their wounds - and hopefully, reading Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom. Who knew that Romney would turn out to be the true conservative in the race?

We now know what this election is going to be about: We're going to put capitalism on trial. Romney will be running as the capitalist. Obama will be the cradle-to-grave government guy. Now as the great boxing referee Mills Lane would say "Let's get it on."

But God forbid for the future of this country and the free world if Romney and capitalism do not win.


Bruce Bialosky is the founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition of California and a former appointee of President Bush.


TCR on the Air

Red, White & Blue featuring TCR Editor Gary Polland and liberal commentator David Jones, Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and replaying Sundays at 5:00 p.m. on PBS Houston Channel 8 and on the web at www.houstonpbs.org.

Upcoming shows:
02/03/12: Meet the new Houston City Councilmen.

For a fun feature go to www.houstonpbs.org and under Red White and Blue, you can see commentary about the show and its guests by Gary and David each week. The current show as well as past shows are also available on YouTube.

About Your Editor

Gary Polland is a long-time conservative and Republican spokesman, fund-raiser, and leader who completed three terms as the Harris County Republican Chairman. During his three terms, Gary was described as the most successful county Chairman in America by Human Events - The National Conservative Weekly. He is in his fourteenth year of editing a newsletter dealing with key conservative and Republican issues. The last eleven years he has edited Texas Conservative Review. As a public service for the last 8 years, Gary has published election guides for the GOP primary, general elections and city elections, all with the purpose of assisting conservative candidates. Gary is also in his ninth year of co-hosting Red, White and Blue on PBS Houston. Gary is a practicing attorney and strategic consultant. He can be reached at (713) 621-6335.

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