Back to Basics?

Sunday, June 27, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2010


Democrat PAC Advertising in Violation of Ethics Rules

AUSTIN, TX - An attack ad which premieres today on KVUE TV is being
run in violation of the Texas Ethics Code. Back to Basics PAC is a
newly established PAC primarily funded by a single large donor to
oppose Governor Rick Perry's reelection campaign. Apparently the
basics they want to get back to do not include a basic adherence to
Texas ethics rules.

Under the elections code of the Texas Ethics Commission a PAC must
wait for 60 days from the time of its establishment and have at least
10 contributors before running any advertisements. Back to Basics was
created with a single $250,000 contribution from wealthy trial lawyer
Steve Mostyn on May 19th and is now running its first ads only 37 days
later. It plans to expand this campaign from Austin into the Houston
and Dallas areas, though whether that will be done in violation of the
ethics rules is not clear.

Under TEC regulations the PAC may be fined and its treasurer, Dallon
James, is guilty of a Class A misdemenor and could be jailed as a
result.

The Travis County Republican Party has filed a complaint with the
Texas Ethics Commission and hopes that the Back to Basics PAC will
decide to play by the rules before the TEC has to take action against
them. TCRP Chair Rosemary Edwards observed that "The smears and cheap
shots featured in their advertisement are Democrat politics-as-usual,
but actual violations of the ethics code are unacceptable and
illegal."

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Austin Legislators Sell Out Texas to EPA Bureaucracy

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 23, 2010
CONTACT: Travis County Republican Party at 512-302-1776
or Dave Nalle, TCRP Communications Director at 512-656-8011

Austin Legislators Sell Out Texas to EPA Bureaucracy

AUSTIN, TX – Big government is coming to Texas and Austin area legislators are putting out the red carpet. Not content to keep their failures confined to the national level, Washington bureaucrats are determined to expand their influence and control within the states. With unfunded mandates and coercive legislation they are working to shift the burden of big government onto state governments like ours which have been responsible and limited their spending and protected their people and businesses as much as possible from the economic downturn.

The latest target of the power-hungry bureaucrats is Texas' remarkably successful clean air program which has us well ahead of nationwide trends in the reduction of pollutants like ozone and nitrous oxide, and has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by more than 48 other states despite a population which has grown by 1000 people a day since 2000. We have even built more wind power generation capacity than any other state at the same time as creating more new jobs than any other state.

We've gotten clean air right and done it without sacrificing jobs or damaginc our economy. Washington ought to be commissioning studies on how other states can be as successful. But instead, activists at the EPA are trying to expand their power at the expense of Texas' energy industry because we don't do our paperwork the way they want us to. They have ruled that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's permitting system is in violation of the Clean Air Act because its Flexible Permits Program, which has allowed our energy industry to prosper and create jobs while still having the cleanest air in the nation, is not "consistent" with their bureaucratic requirements.

Republican officials like Attorney General Gregg Abbott and Governor Rick Perry have refused to knuckle under to yet another effort by federal bureaucrats to violate the sovereignty of our state. As they did with Obamacare, they are looking out for the best interests of the people of Texas and have filed a legal action to defend the state's rights and block this interference with our regulatory practices.

Yet four of our Travis County legislators; Dawnna Dukes, Donna Howard, Elliott Naishtat ad Eddie Rodriguez, are not standing up for us. They have signed onto a letter to President Obama applauding the EPA for their actions against Texas. For these legislators the best interests of Texas and the citizens of Travis County come second to their loyalty to the Obama administration and the federal bureaucratic machine which it has already increased in size by more than 30% in just a year.
Texans know how to stand up against tyranny, and we have to stand up to the EPA and those who support it. This effort to break down our control over our own environmental regulation is just the first step in expanding the power of the regulatory bureaucracy. Its ultimate goal is the unconstitutional implementation of cap and trade regulations and carbon taxes which will massively increase energy costs for every Texan.

We urge everyone in Travis County who believes that government is best when it is limited, local and taxes us no more than is truly needed, to contact these legislators and urge them to support Governor Perry and Attorney General Abbott in opposing excessive regulation that hurts Texans and Texas business.
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Proud of our Party

Monday, June 14, 2010

Back in Austin to do the heavy lifting in order to carry our party to Victory in November. We undoubtedly have our work cut out for us, but we do it with a song in our hearts and a smile on our faces!

THANK YOU to all our delegates, alternates, candidates and guests who made the trip to Dallas and participated in the 2010 RPT Convention. It will be one for the record books in many ways, but most importantly, one for propelling us to new heights of success in the upcoming election in November.

I strongly encourage each of you who attended to offer your constructive suggestions about how we can make the next convention and caucuses go more smoothly. And please reach out to new participants in the state party to encourage them to stay engaged. We need to maximize our energies now to get more voters and activists engaged in supporting our candidates.

Ones in leadership positions have a challenge and an opportunity to move the party with our great slate of candidates to victories in the fall. We need everyone's positive commitment to work as hard as you possibly can to get out the votes for ALL our Candiates on the ballot!

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