We Need New Representation in House District 132

Welcome back to the mind of the Political Chicken.  Why the title, Political Chicken?  I am normally shy about sharing my honest opinion with others.  Shocking, isn't it?  And, as stated in my first blog post, I don't normally try out new things; maybe it's a fear of the unknown.  Well, bring on the unknown, baby!  It's time to 'molt' out of our comfort zone and try out new representatives for size. 

For example, this primary election cycle, there is a challenger to Bill Callegari in Texas house District 132.  Bill is a nice man and has been the representative for House District 132 for ten years.  I have met him several times, but only recently with the dawn of the tea party movement.  He's a rather quiet, laid back man and that's fine.  But I am looking for someone with a spark inside of them, and if you are too, then look no further than his challenger Randy Brown.  Don't take my word for it, let Mr. Callegari's voting record during the 82nd legislative session speak for itself, shall we?

Mr. Callegari says he's conservative, but actions speak louder than words.  Just last year he received a conservative rating of 32% from Texas Eagle Forum.  Last time I checked, 32 is an 'F'.   Something else that is noteworthy; upon looking at Mr. Callegari's website, he has listed Texas Eagle Forum as an endorser of his.  So, like any good blogger would do, I called Texas Eagle Forum to verify.  Upon speaking with their parliament, they said, no, that they had not endorsed ANY candidates this cycle and that they had not even spoken to Mr. Callegari.

He also favored federal encroachment on Texas sovereignty and to expand government bureaucracy, favored new laws infringing on personal liberty and law enforcement abuse for the purpose of raising government revenue through fines and fees; all found under HB 243, HB 1395, HB 2678 and HB 882.  Folks, this is the kind of stuff the tea party has been railing against since it's inception!

If you're a small business owner, you may find it interesting that Representative Callegari was  also in favor of more regulation on businesses and the reduction of private sector competition.  This does not fit within the parameters of the tea party philosophy.  The tea party is about limited government, and encouraging the free market system, not stifling it.  He also voted against Texas' 10th amendment rights. Seriously?  State's rights?  With the political climate we are in, with the federal government breathing down our necks as states and individuals?  Come on, that's a no brainer, especially in TEXAS!   This next one caught my attention since I have personally volunteered for Parental Rights.org; he favored legislation that reduced parental rights, individual rights and increased power to educational bureaucrats.  Mr. Callegari also voted to raid the rainy day fund HB1. He was also not supportive of religious liberties on SB 7.

You may ask, why am I picking on Mr. Callegari?  I'm not.  I just think that we should all know our representatives.  We should really know who we are electing to represent us and then vote our conscience.  He has a voting record as OUR representative, and if the votes that I have shared with you don't measure up to what you were expecting from Mr. Callegari, then I urge you to vote for Randy Brown.

Randy Brown is a newcomer to the scene of politics, but don't let that get in your way of voting for him.  To be quite honest, I wasn't totally sold on him at first either.  It took me some time to listen to him and get to know him before I decided that I would support him.  He has shown time and time again that he has the backbone that we need to stand up for what's right.  Randy has a young family and he works hard for them.  He's one of us.  He's never run for office before and that's okay with me.  (Insert groans of those who want 'experience'.)  Randy is the kind of guy to stand up to the entrenched establishment.  He's the guy you want fighting for your rights and keeping the cronies at bay in the Texas House of Representatives.

So, git along, little doggies!  Ya!  Get out to those polls and pull the lever for Randy Brown on May 29th, 2012.  We don't want the same old 'few' folks who turn out to control the results of the elections, do we?  The time is now!