EmpowerTexans Has No Business Running Texas
On Friday afternoon, I paid a quick visit to my actual office for the first time since Monday, and noticed something on my desk, which is half-covered with documents that I haven’t decided what to do with, including this one. It was a copy of a letter that EmpowerTexans sent to subscribers in Denton County on April 13th, which an unamused (and conspiracy-minded) recipient had forwarded to Texas Monthly’s general mailbag, which you can see below the jump.
I don’t remember when exactly I received it, or whether I gave it much thought at the time. The letter was clearly a sinister mishmash of lies, illogic, and typos, but the same could be said of most EmpowerTexans essays. And between JudicialWatch’s fabrications, AgendaWise’s feverish imaginings, the Lieutenant Governor’s Grassroots Advisory Board unhinged analysis of public education, Molly White’s response to her critics, the open-carry advocates who flipped out at Dan Patrick for telling them a truth they didn’t want to hear, the right-wing carnie who set her internet goons on me when I disputed her assertion that my April feature on this year’s open carry debate was “sexist”, etc, etc, etc, it’s not in itself the most lurid, risible, or wrong-headed thing I’ve read all session. But I do remember why I held on to this letter. And on Friday, as a result of intervening developments, I was glad I did; in light of subsequent events I’m afraid this is a fairly disturbing document.
Here’s the letter:
Since I tweeted about the letter on Friday, a number of House Republicans have confirmed that this broadside wasn’t specific to Ron Simmons, who was elected to represent HD65 in 2012. These letters were apparently sent to about 80 House districts, represented by Republicans from all points along the ideological spectrum, but with one common denominator; I bet you can guess what it is.
But first things first. I held on to the letter because it happens to be an attack on Ron Simmons. That struck me as odd, because of two things I know about Simmons. First, he is one of the few legislators of either party, in either chamber, who appears to be universally well-regarded as a man of principle, intelligence, and good character. I was impressed by him in 2014, when he took part in a panel that I moderated during the Texas Tribune Festival about the future of road funding, and although I haven’t been paying close attention to him this session, I’ve had a number of sources tell me about Simmons doing something respectable and constructive, despite being well out of view of any television cameras. I’ve literally never heard anyone say anything negative about the guy, other than in this letter. Even as a sophomore, he’s become one of the relatively few legislators whose involvement alone confers credibility on issues. And here’s the second thing about Simmons: He happens to be a conservative Republican with impeccable Tea Party credentials. EmpowerTexans, in fact, supported him when he first ran for office.
Read more: http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/empowertexans-has-no-business-running-texas
