brazosconservative.comTexas Conservative Politics

As a Texas political junkie I look for positive things in each cycle. Last November I will say other than Cornyn winning I did not see much Republican hope in Texas.

What I was asked on Tuesday was how to switch parties. Which considering I live in one of the last yellow dog counties I was thrilled. Knowing that my name will be on a ballot soon I refrained from answering. I wanted the next judge to answer. He did a bang up job.

I reflect on how all eleven amendments could have passed, many read the amendments for the first time in the booth. Many did absolutely no research, many thought they could figure out what the language meant. But many brought “cheat sheets”, they would clutch and go down the ballot. I encourage cheat sheets, it is a lot to vote on.

The reality is had even 1% of my precinct turned out the outcome could have been different. Prop 11 passed with flying colors, many that I did not support did not pass in my precinct or county. But we live in a big state, and what I consider a huge reach of government a 25 yr old might think is a great idea.

Please show up on March 2nd, and vote your conscience.

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The Secretary of State has a wonderful searchable website for election results. Go HERE to find out the results statewide or county by county, or issue by issue.

It looks to me that our state constitution will be changed. After working my last election I know I am too tired to do much else other than take it all in.

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As I have reread the amendments I have changed my mind yet again. I will be voting no on all amendments up to #10 and #11.

There should be better bills out there if they want my vote.

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As I prepare to work the election I am very conflicted. Much like the US Constitution, I really like the original Texas constitution. I think our forefathers did a great job. So basically after rereading and chatting with different Texans all I really want to do is vote in a few things.

I am using the Womens League of Voter primer with the link I posted to decide what to do.

Prop #1 No I don’t want the counties and cities to issue bonds to take on land from others.

Prop #2 Yes  This one looks like it evens the playing field for taxes.

Prop #3 I was for it before I was against it.  No, our taxes are high enough. Austin, Dallas and Houston have sky high rates, I don’t want their rates in my county. It gives Texas too much power.

Prop #4 Toss up, one part of me wants far more research based universities in Texas, the other part of me knows Texas has limited funds to spread for research. This amendment may be in the wrong time for economical reasons, I have no idea what lever I will pull.

Prop #5 No, because as written some other county could write your appraisal. That is a no go in our county, we want local people doing the job they know.

Prop #6 No. Any bond possibility is not okay with me. Plus this is a mix between the State of Texas and the federal govt.

Prop #7 No, One job at a time. There is a reason our constitution was written this way. A county or city job is important, and being in the Texas National Guard would take away people from a job that may require on call service which would make a county or city suffer.

Prop#8 No, not because I don’t support veterans, because I am a realist. They are former federal employees, the federal government or donations should do something for the veterans. Texas has no extra funds with all the illegals we are dealing with.

Prop #9 No This would allow the state if it wants to take land that storms have eroded. I am a property first eminent domain protector.

Prop #10 Yes, many counties struggle to find and keep qualified appraisers, I see nothing wrong with this choice.

Prop #11 Yes, it is better than nothing. It is not perfect considering Perry may win but he did veto this bill, after it passed the house and Senate.

I reserve the ability to change my mind about all of these except 11 if I think longer about them.

I will be working the election tomorrow so no post on Tuesday. I expect Texans to vote tomorrow!

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The Proposition as it reads the first time will be about leveling the playing field for property owners. Texas has an outrageous game of property taxes where they raise your rate one year and your value the next.

Here is the difference in the wording they want to change:

First is what the ballot wants to say:

Administrative and judicial enforcement of uniform standards and procedures for appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes shall be prescribed by general law.

Now to what the wording was before:

(b) Administrative and judicial enforcement of uniform standards and procedures for appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes, as prescribed by general law, shall originate in the county where the tax is imposed, except that the legislature may provide by general law for political subdivisions with boundaries extending outside the county.

That being said some say this is a back door way for Texas one day to have a state income tax. It did pass unanimously in both the house and senate.  So it has by partisan support.

There is always good and bad when you clean up language on a bill. This may be our best best to have lower property taxes. Or our first hint of a state income tax. My personal belief is Texans will do anything before a state income tax, but the state is changing so that could be a wrong take.

I will be voting for this bill, and hope for the best.

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Well we are right smack dab in the middle of a divide. It has been coming for a very long time for the Texas Republican Party. If we as conservatives, fiscal and social don’t get our collective heads out of the clouds we will be feeling like the lone kid not invited to the cool party.

My belief that conservatives look like all things is proven each and every Texas Convention I attend. There are motorcycle riders, plain clothed (close to mennonite except they do vote), dressed to the nines country club Republicans, and every day hardworking committed conservatives that fall in the middle somewhere on the line. Guess what they all vote Republican, or make that they have in the past. 2010 will be the year of the test for Texas Republican Party field test, does endorsing a gubernatorial candidate before you become head of the party help or hurt the turnout? Will it trickle down to local elections and turn off conservatives that may not fill the full republican platform?

I can only hope and pray that Cathie is willing to work with someone like me. That she can get the vote out while insisting Kay must resign, while backing a man that bought and contributes to the domain “washingtonkay”. Perry has made it clear he wants Kay in DC, he doesn’t want a real race. He wants an ordination, and I for one think he is off base.

What I as a long time very conservative Texan want is conservatives that hit a list of issues. Pro-life, pro gun, pro family, pro fiscal, pro Ag, pro small business. I want people I elect to be qualified and have like values. It is not hard to find qualified candidates in Texas, it is hard to hold a score card to each person and then say “you are worthy”. With each election I have tried to look at the job, what we had in the past and figured out why I am for or against someone. Yes they have taken on different looks, and frankly different views. I am not doing it because I have changed I am doing it because until we get some balance in the Texas Republican Party it will be a very small party.

We need one simple thing in March and November, conservative votes. Those conservatives can be Fiscal conservative but socially liberal for all I care, the reason is simple. I want more Republicans than Democrats in both elections. Do I wish more were down the ticket? You bet, but I am a realistic, and a conservative pro-fiscal vote counts just as well as a pro-life conservative vote.

Cathie ran for the job to build the party. It will not be easy, but I do wish her success because I want Republicans to win in 2010.

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Prop #2 is murky as well to me. The reason is simple, two editorial boards I like have conflicted opinions. Houston does not have zoning laws, for them it is protection from the big companies trying to take over. Most cities have zoning laws.

That being said the Amendment has bi-partisan support. Blue Dot Dems, as well as some very conservative Republicans are supporting #2.

The Houston Teaparty Patriots have a great quote.

YES. “This is a property rights and taxpayer protection issue. … This is key to homeowners to keep their property from being taxed at a higher rate in some urban areas where the land might be more valuable as a shopping mall or other enterprise.”

So with that I am going to support it. I want property right protection, and I am not into giving away money I prefer not to.

As I stated a few days ago, I will be posting on each Amendment until I work my way through them.

Every voter is allowed a “cheat sheet” either printed or hand written. The only problem is when two spouses want the same piece of paper. My suggestion is to look into each and every amendment, then decide, then make sure you make a cheat sheet for the election.

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I am conflicted by this amendment. I will share with you why. Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas Farm Bureau all support this bill. Terri Hall and TURF (TTC grassroots fighter) is against it.

There are times I think the lawyers know best, and many times I would be wrong. This bill for instance is a start on more protection of property rights in Texas. It is not enough in my mind after dealing with Rick Perry and TTC. I want much more legislation so that no other Texan will feel trampled by a Power Hungry Governor.

What this Amendment will do is define “public use”. Rangers Ballpark, Cowboys Stadium and Texas Motor Speedway were used as “public use”, now try going in without a ticket! The Texas Constitution was dependent on Texans knowing that Texas is a free state, and it is clear many think public use means it is for profit. When I think of the millions attempted to be made by TTC and Rick Perry I get nauseous, our founding fighters did not think about that type of interference in a land owner.

Does this Amendment fully protect the land owner, nope. It does allow the government to take land you may or may not want to be taken. It would keep the bear from taking huge lots of land by a group of people, but if they want your 100 acre nest, good luck in trying to stop the Government.

I have wanted to post this for some time. Land owners in Texas in the past have been gracious and giving when it comes to land needed for roads. Hubby’s grandfather allowed his original land to be split for a road so farmers could haul grain and livestock where they needed to go. He also gave land for a cemetery, a school, and a church. He saw the need and was able to provide. Now as his descendants see Texas as a power hungry animal good luck in getting them to give a dime they don’t have to. Hubby’s grandfather was not alone in his giving of land for public use, I am sure there were many that did the same. As his family bought six thousand acres in the middle of Texas, it was the closest land to Galveston where they got off the boat that was available. But imagine all the roads between here and Galveston, you know many cotton, corn and wheat farmers gave land to ship goods.

Greed breeds Power. Right now I consider TxDOT greedy and power hungry. I will for yes for Amendment #11, but I don’t plan on stopping there. Too many times in the past I have rested thinking that Somebody would kill TTC, only to find it not dead. So that being said #11 is better than nothing.

Here is a link I link that details what Amendment #11 does and does not do.

Look HERE.

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As a conservative, amendments are extremely important to Texas. While I hear many say if you are conservative you have to vote this way on each amendment my gut tells me to research it first. My State Representative spoke recently in my county. As he spoke about what he had done, he would reference that Texans had passed an amendment for it. A few times I wiggled in my chair, funny I didn’t remember that being on the ballot or how Texas had used the power.

It was that night that I decided his voter bulletin I would never use again. If he didn’t explain it well enough, I am not going to rely on him.

I am going to be doing a series of “information” pieces on the amendments. Many have already said certain things that concern me about a few. Perry, Texas Farm Bureau and Kay Bailey Hutchison are all for Prop 11? But Terri Hall and TURF are against it, I need to get clarification on what power it gives the state.

I rely heavily right now on watchdog groups, and personally that is where I plan on finding the information. I will not tell you how to vote, but I do plan on exposing what may or may not be evident. After listening to some of things I had given Texas power to do I will no longer rely on conservatives alone. I need real information, not what some politician wants to tell me.

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This post is because a friend of mine asked, more like begged me to post it. They don’t have a blog but have decided from time to time that they want me to vent because they cannot.

With that being said, what I am about to post is the absolute truth. I wish for the sake of our government it does not exist. I wish for those paying tax this was a misunderstanding, but it is not. So let me say that I have gotten information from multiple sources, the amount of fraud is probably sky high. It has to be if little old me knows about it, it has been scuttlebutt for a while.

In Texas you get what they call the LoneStar Card for food stamps. Each month at the first of the month Texas loads it up. The amount of money on these cards is staggering. I had heard $700, then I heard $900, the last amount I heard is $1500. Now remember this is for food alone, this is not for utilities or housing. They get another amount for welfare to include housing and utilities. This is a monthly food budget alone.

The amounts are far more than I ever spent. When I did some more digging I found out a few interesting items. First off, Food Stamp Fraud is rampant and here is why. If they don’t use the full amounts of the card the amount is dropped. And no one wants less money when it is free. Now this is the part I have heard about for months, I had hoped it was only in bigger urban cities. But it is our little rural area as well, the fraud is happening all the time. The way it works is let’s call her Althea. Althea has  $900 on her card, this month she has tried to spend as much as she needed but she has a balance of $500 left over. Althea knows what I have found out, if she doesn’t use it Texas will lower the amount. Next month Althea is going to throw a BBQ for her family and friends, so she will use the money next month.  Althea knows also what I know, people that work and pay taxes have far less money for food. Althea makes a decision to sell her $500 Lone Star Card, now she doesn’t have to sell it for $500. Althea can let it go for $200 and shop somewhere else like for clothes. Althea sells the card, gets the cash, and gives the pin number to the person buying the card.

Problem is Althea has been doing it for a long time, and will continue to do it. See she doesn’t have the need to earn money, or pay for groceries. There is nothing that makes her think twice about it, it is “her LoneStar card”, and it is free.

The LoneStar card is supposed to have anti theft devices on it, but whatever they are they don’t work.

When something is free for the taking, abuse will happen. If you do nothing it will get worse. The lack of fraud prosecution is revealing. I have not read or heard about huge cases of food stamp fraud being stopped.

Texan tax payers need to be aware of this, they need to speak out because if we don’t it will not go away. We are the ones buying the groceries for people unwilling to work, and frauding the state. This is one of the main reasons I would never want National Healthcare, I know what happens when the government tries to fix something. It gets worse, and fraud sky rockets.

Those of us who pay our grocery bills are being used and abused by the system and the food stamp users.

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