Time Rewind: A Look Back at My First Year With Texas GOP Vote

We're gonna party like it's 1999...Wait, not really.  As radio stations and music video shows do year end countdowns, I thought I would do a play on a countdown, sort of a look back, at my time as a blogger at Texas GOP Vote.  It's a fun look back at what I've done and which posts got the most attention and which ones, although they may have been my favorites, did not get quite as much attention as I thought they would.

I'll mix it up and start off with some of the not so popularly viewed ones beginning with my personal blog, "Politics and Motherhood: Making It All Work" which was a post about my decision not to run for a party elected position.  It wasn't an easy decision, but as I said in that one particular blog, "Politics will always be there, however, the youth of my family will not."  It only had about twenty page views total.

My very first blog for Texas GOP Vote was titled, "Everything's Bigger In Texas-Including Government" and that had 300 page views.  If you don't remember what that was about, I wrote it about the medical directives and end of life care and the changes that the state was trying to make to laws regulation patient choices when it came to care of their loved ones.  Some argued the new bill would make things better, but I disagreed, and still do.  Thankfully, the bill didn't make it out of committee, so nothing to worry about.  Until the upcoming session starts, that is.

Think back again to the 83rd legislative session, the sweeping pro-life bill that got held off until the very end and caused quite the stir at the capitol building in Austin.  Yep, SB 5 as it was referred to then, was something that I wrote about and that article had almost 1900 page views!  If I remember correctly, after "Will SB5 Have a Fairy Tale Ending" was published, the article made it to the top of Google news.  Needless to say, I was stoked!

Fast forward a bit to the special session that was called as a result of the failure to pass the pro life bill I referred to in the paragraph above, I wrote yet another article titled, "While Texas Senate Talks About Abortion Bill (HB2), Let's Talk About Sex "  Yeah, I did.  I wrote about how abstaining from sex takes abortion out of the equation.  Save yourself for marriage and no need to worry about perceived overreach of the government.  Heh.  That one got over 5200 views and nearly broke the server at Texas GOP Vote.  That was a home run blog that only took thirty minutes to write.  Hey, when you're hot, you're hot!

 If you haven't already figured out that I'm an advocate for citizens to get involved in their local government, then you haven't been reading my stuff!  To back up that claim, my article titled "March 2014 Texas Primary: Why Local Elections Matter" got almost 1300 page views!  Surprised me a little that so many people were interested in that same topic.  Glad I was able to write it and share!


A few more blogs I'd like to highlight that are recent additions to my repertoire are all about Common Core and the Glenn Beck event.  I was fortunate enough to be chosen, along with four other bloggers, to be present during the Make Common Core History Event put together jointly by Glenn Beck and FreedomWorks.  I did some preparatory work for myself and my readers before the event and the article titled, "Common Core FAQ's: Your Questions Answered" had over 1900 page views. Sweet!

I've had some more additions since I got the stats from Texas GOP Vote, mostly centered around the Texas House Speakers Race; Scott Turner vs. Joe Straus.  I am firmly on Team Turner, and win or lose, I'm proud to say that Ive been a part of their team and all of the hard work we've done together.  My first article titled, "Turner vs. Straus: Who Will Emerge Victorious?" had almost 250 page views, followed by "Is It Murphy's Law To Support Joe Straus" had almost 200 page views.

My work here within the conservative political movement is far from over, however.  This is my first year and a half with Texas GOP Vote and I didn't share all of my blogs.  Thanks to all of you out there who have read and shared and 'liked' my articles.  Thanks to those who have even disagreed with me and shared their views. No such thing as bad publicity, right?   Head on over to www.texasgopvote.com/users/kelly-horsley and check out the rest of my work.  Hope you like!

Politics and Christianity: Can the Two Work Together?

Let me ask you your opinion on something: should Christians be involved in politics?  Moreover, should Christians vote?  There are all kinds of ethnic and religious groups involved in politics, but what about Christians?  Well, I'm a Christian and I see nothing wrong with it.  I've heard other opinions about whether Christians should be involved, often to the contrary.  I have to wonder though, what would those who disagree suggest that we do?

I personally feel that we are co-workers with Christ.  For example, if you need a job, you can certainly pray for a job, yes?  However, you need to submit resumes and make phone calls in order to obtain a job.  You need to put forth some effort on your part.  You can trust that God will help guide you to find the job that's right for you, but YOU have to do something in order to get the job.  Here's a little something that the Bible says about work: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…” Colossians 3:23

How about all the people that God used throughout the Bible to accomplish His work?  How about David and Goliath, one of my favorite stories.  What if David hadn't stepped up to defeat Goliath?  In that same vein, what if conservatives had stayed home and decided NOT to help elect Ted Cruz to win the U.S. Senate nomination against David Dewhurst?  I. Can't. Even.

Christians are involved and have been for a while in the pro-life movement.  I would have to say that there are definitely 'politics' involved there; shaping legislation and staging protests.  So, should Christians stop standing up for life?  Something else that Christians generally stand for is traditional marriage; marriage between one man and one woman. Let us not forget that often times, these are convictions the people feel in their heart that they should fight for.  So, should Christians then also stop standing up for traditional marriage? 

I don't feel that being a co-worker with God to find a job is any different than being a co-worker with God for influencing legislation or attempting to maintain our freedoms.  I can even use another example of a group headed up by a person who listened to the Lord direct his career path and how God has blessed him with many successes.  Ever heard of Liberty Institute?  A man by the name of Kelly Shackelford is the president and CEO of Liberty Institute.  They are a Christian ministry dedicated to providing legal assistance to those being discriminated against when it comes to their first amendment rights and the ability to freely express their faith.

From their website, "In 1972, Liberty Institute began as a small advocacy organization under a different name and advanced the cause of liberty, including religious liberty. In 1997, we added our legal division, once known as Liberty Legal Institute, and Kelly Shackelford became President and CEO. In 2009, we brought our policy and legal division together under one name—Liberty Institute.What began nearly 40 years ago has grown into an influential non-profit law firm, dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty across America. Liberty Institute is now the largest legal organization in America dedicated solely to defending and preserving religious liberty in America, with clients, attorneys, and donors all across the nation."  If you want to read more about this amazing organization, click on the link here.


To further drive home my point, I looked at the U.S. Pastors Council Website where they have an outline listed for a project called, "Every Christian Votes".  Here are some stats that are somewhat disturbing:
Every American Christian who is eligible to vote does so:
a) By one’s absence; Failing to vote and allowing elected officials to be chosen by those who do not share the same values,
or
b) Thoughtlessly; By voting out of ignorance, self-serving motivation, etc., or
c) By becoming informed; Studying candidates’ positions on key issues, praying and casting a knowledgeable vote for candidates who most closely conform to Biblical standards of character and on the vital issues of the day.

Here comes the disturbing part:

Most pastors would agree that options A and B are poor stewardship and have led to ungodly, unjust and corrupt leaders being chosen, resulting in unrighteous government. 

It is still an accepted statistic that less than one out of three churchgoing citizens vote in each election, a fact of which we should be ashamed.

Now, don't get me wrong, there has to be a balance of things.  We shouldn't put politics or political involvement before God and our faith.  Prayerfully considered political action is certainly acceptable, because if there's ever been a time for Christian influence needed in the halls of D.C., the Texas Capitol and our local municipalities, it's definitely NOW.  Don't hold back on letting your voices be heard.