My Pick: Ted Cruz For President

Nobody loves an underdog story as much as I do, and Ted Cruz's story was that of an underdog in his bid for US Senate.  I supported him when he had 2% name ID in the polls against David Dewhurst back in 2012.  Dewhurst was predicted to win.  By a lot.  The grass roots rallied around Ted because we needed Ted in the Senate badly. 

We needed someone who would represent the values and the concerns of Texans and Ted Cruz was that man.  Now, as he makes his bid for President of the United States, we need a president that will represent the best interests, values and concerns of United States citizens and I still think that Ted Cruz is that man.

I hear you starting to shake your head in disagreement, and that's fine.  You're entitled to your own opinion, but let me finish.  Ted Cruz kept the promises he made to the people when he went to Washington, D.C.  He was and still is, the grass roots candidate. He has defended the constitution time and time again and referred to said document at his 'touchstone'.  "My touchstone for every question is the constitution."  Probably hadn't heard that from many if ANY of our current or former legislators.

He was and still is (to me) the rallying cry for the American people to be listened to and heard by their representatives.  He recognized the frustration of the people when he and his staff fashioned the hashtag #makedclisten.  Some folks claim that it was a 'fake' filibuster, but when Senator Rand Paul was there for his filibuster to delay the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ellen Kagan, Senators Cruz and Lee were right there with him, standing shoulder to shoulder to keep the confirmation of a legislate-from-the-bench, liberal justice from taking place.

I understand now, that folks want to call him 'establishment' and so on.  I'm curious what that word means to those who are calling him that.  To me, the establishment Republicans were the guys who didn't want to change anything about how politics were done in Washington, D.C.  They didn't want push back or questions from 'we the people', much less wanting us to be involved at all.

That has not been the case with Senator Cruz.  He has reached out to the grass roots to ask for help when the Senate wanted to usher in a bill to take away our second amendment rights.  He teamed up again with Senator Mike Lee to send a letter to his Senate colleagues regarding the second amendment rights and asked the grass roots to help support his efforts.  Here he is in a video, explaining how thankful he is for the help he received and what it was like to be yelled at by senior Senators for not being a 'squish'.  Hmmm...

I've heard complaints about Cruz saying that he can't build coalitions or bring teams together.  My friend Erin Anderson had this to say in response to the naysayers when the news broke that some of the Bush family was going to join the Cruz finance team, "Y'all, what did you think coalescing behind a candidate would look like? Of course people from other campaigns are now joining Team Cruz. You better believe he'll need and want support from all across the GOP spectrum in the general election. It doesn't means he's "selling out" - they are coming to him, and together they are broadening the coalition.
If you were for a more "moderate" candidate, doesn't this show "extremist" Cruz can work with others? If you're Team Trump, isn't this exactly the kind of deal-making your guy promises?"

Which brings me to my next point.  Now that he's made a run for President, he's been called all kinds of names; from liar to the establishment.  As a Ted Cruz supporter, now I'M establishment or a RINO, if you will.  What makes it wrong to support the candidate or the would-be incumbent when he or she actually does what he or she says they're going to do?  Are we still just a bunch of Outragers Anonymous, or are we actually looking for good and decent legislators?  Are we sending the wrong message to our legislators by never being satisfied with what they've done, saying that good isn't good enough?  I wonder.

I won't be deterred.  I haven't given up on the possibility that Ted Cruz will be the GOP nominee for President.  I'm still working at the grassroots levels of government and will continue to do so, because our future and our children's future is too important to quit.  As Ted Cruz signs in his photo pictured above, "The fight for Liberty never ends."

Outragers Anonymous

The title of this blog used to apply to me, in that I was an outrager.  I was 'mad as hell and I wasn't going to take it anymore' when I first got involved in politics.  I was taking out my anger on any and all incumbent office holders.  They were, after all, the ones who got us into this mess in the first place, right?  Not entirely, and before you dismiss me and call me a RINO, let me explain.

I think that I have a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to office holders of any sort and I've done my share of anti-incumbent voting, BUT WITH REASON!  I think that if anyone is anti-anything whether it be anti-incumbent or anti-big government, they should have a reason for it, not just to be contrary or spiteful. 

Something that I'll give a nod to my good friend, Felicia Cravens on is her new project, Chaos Theory.  She came out with a short video, called Outragers Anonymous (hence the title of this blog) whereby it depicts those mad as hell folks, who might not even know they're doing it!  Those who constantly complain and make the office holders their enemy and where tea partiers and activists alike may have found common ground in the beginning of the movement.  That only gets you so far.

What'll get you farther, you ask?  Working on the problem, that's what!  I could go down the list of things to actually DO, but I've done that before.  I know that I'm personally doing what I can to influence voters and legislators alike, and it takes more than raging!  Remember, the first step to recovery is admitting there's a problem!

*Check out Free Radical Network's YouTube Channel for more Chaos Theory Fun!

Trump Logic Translated into Mom Logic

For those of you who are supporting Trump and can't possibly understand why others don't join in with you, I'd like to explain it from a mom point of view.






"Kids, tonight, we're going to make homemade pizza for dinner!"
"Mom, you've never made homemade pizza before..."
"I know, but it's gonna be the most beautiful pizza you've ever seen!"
"We don't have any of the ingredients here at home, Mom."
"I know, but it's gonna be GREAT! It's gonna be better than Papa John's, Little Caesar's AND Ci Ci's Pizza! We're gonna make pizza great again!"
*sigh*


Please, go and vote on Tuesday, but NOT for Trump!

James Lloyd: Conservative for Congress

From the news desk...

James Lloyd announces his run for Congressional District 7. 

Dear Fellow Conservative,

I am pleased to announce my candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives representing Texas’s 7th Congressional District.

It’s time to hold Washington accountable for reckless government spending and a crippling $18 trillion national debt. We cannot afford career politicians who endanger our country’s financial stability and force future generations to pay the bill. If we keep electing the same people, nothing is going to change.

After nearly 30 years in elected office, John Culberson has become part of the problem. He lives in Virginia and is out-of-touch with our district. He fails to live up to his promises—consistently voting to increase the size of government, grow the national debt, and satisfy special interests that bankroll his campaigns. It’s time to replace complacency with courageous conservatism.

I am running to solve problems in Washington, not pass the buck. I know what it takes to drive economic growth and keep America safe. As an energy attorney, I worked on the region’s largest oil and gas projects and understand the detrimental impact of ineffective government policies and excessive regulation. I served on the national security staff at the White House and witnessed firsthand the threats that confront our nation and how we must respond.

I bring the fighting spirit of the grassroots. I have served in leadership roles in the conservative movement for over 15 years and have worked to inspire a new generation of conservatives in Texas. Now more than ever, we need new leaders to advance the conservative cause and stand up for traditional values.

I am a proud seventh-generation Texan and lifelong resident of the district. I am committed to strengthening our community, from serving veterans as a volunteer attorney to helping grow the congregation at my church. In contrast to our current representative, I will continue to live in our district and focus squarely on the issues impacting our community and the future of our country.

Please join me and support the campaign by visiting LloydforCongress.com. Together, we can hold Washington accountable with new conservative leadership.

Thank you,

Government Overreach vs. Back to Basics

I love it when an organic idea or a Facebook post turns into a blog, don't you?  Well, that's what spawned this blog idea in particular.  Well, that and a city election that just happened this past Tuesday.  Mayor, comptroller and city ordinances as well as Texas constitutional amendments made an appearance on the ballot and trust me when I say there was no shortage of controversy on the ballot centered around one HERO ordinance.

The HERO ordinance, or Houston Equal Rights Ordinance went down in flames, only getting thirty-eight percent of the vote.  Say what you will about the ordinance, or the wording or the good or bad of it, I'm simply of the mind that this is not something that the city government should be dabbling in.  At. All.

So, on Saturday morning, I started thinking about it and here's my 'organic' Facebook post that I posted on my wall: "What is the world coming to? We're now fighting as a city and a nation over whether or not men and women should be using the same public restrooms and now contemplating the need for a transgender bathroom? I never actually made my opinion on the bathroom issue public, but I am glad that the ordinance was shut down on Tuesday. I also think that the City government shouldn't even be dealing in this kind of matter. I endorsed Bill King for mayor and like his slogan, "Back to Basics" seems to fit the bill. Infrastructure, pensions, drainage, is the business of the city. NOT a liberal, leftist agenda by a lesbian, soon to be ex-mayor. And, no, I don't believe that anyone should be discriminated against for whatever reason, but how do we take a small segment of the population and somehow elevate their rights over the rights of a majority? Oh, wait, I'll just go one step further and offend everyone today, you could apply that same logic to black lives matter. ALL lives matter! Is this still America?"

Back to basics.  I like the sound of that.  I'm sure it's been used before in other campaigns, but to me it resonates because we're facing a time when government overreach is at an all time high.  The overreach we see is at EVERY level of government; city, state, and federal.  Here's an idea, governing bodies, if it's not in your wheel house, then you don't need to get involved!  



Another question that we have to ask ourselves, or our governing bodies should be asking themselves, is "..how do we take a small segment of the population and somehow elevate their rights over the rights of a majority?"   It's true that most people overestimate the amount of the population that identify and gay or lesbian.  Most think that at least 20% of the population identify as gay, lesbian or transgender, when it's actually less than 4%.  Less than 4%. 

And speaking of back to basics, I think that Ted Cruz has it right when he refers to the United States Constitution as his 'touchstone'   To quote him, he says, "My touchstone for every question is the Constitution."  It's just too bad that more legislators and governing bodies don't put their own special interests on the back burner in order to better represent their constituents according to the Constitution.

Put YOUR Boots on The Ground October 17th, 2015

Boots on the ground.  We've all heard that phrase before.  Do we live it, or do we sit in front of our computer and read the headlines and complain?  Even in the midst of all of the despair and hopelessness that can be spread among the ranks of the local GOP and beyond, I believe that there are activities we can engage in to grow our party.  Like what?  Like the basic nuts and bolts of campaigning; things that we can do to help boost our local party affiliate.  I have to warn you, it's not for the faint of heart.  Are you ready?
BLOCK WALKING!!

I know, I know, block walking is not glamorous or sexy.  It's not as much fun as a high dollar fundraiser at a fancy house with big donors and champagne flowing from gilded fountains.  Matter of fact, it's quite the opposite.  It's hard work; it's sweaty work.  You expose yourself to the elements and people, and did I mention the Texas sized mosquitoes??  So why do it?  Why bother getting out in the heat and rain and humidity to knock on a few doors and present Republican ideas to the masses?

Because it works!  I'll even prove it to you.  Here's one reason why to do it: Mike Schofield, State Representative for House District 132.  Mike knocked on over 7,000 doors during his primary run and his run-off combined, and he (obviously) won his race.  He also had a good campaign, but the fact that he knocked on so many doors (dressed in a suit and tie, I might add) had a great deal to do with his victory.

I asked Representative Schofield to give us an inside, a reason as to why block walking is so important.  He shared this, "Even the biggest presidential campaigns know that elections are won by having volunteers talk directly to voters.  They spend millions of dollars targeting precincts and individual voters for phone banks and block walking because it determines who will win.  Anyone who wants to have a real say in their government can do that most directly by knocking on doors in their neighborhood and phoning their neighbors."

And that's exactly why Katy Libertea is teaming up with Harris County Republican Party on Saturday, October 17th.  We need to build an army of grass roots volunteers for 2016!!  So what are you waiting for!  RSVP and join us on the 17th by clicking on the link here.  The time to act is NOW!!

Apathy Is Not Just For Politics

Hello, Political Chicken fans!  It's been a few months since my last piece and I missed you!  Yes, all of you!  I love writing, but there just hasn't been a whole lot of time for it lately.  However, I'm dusting off my computer keyboard to bring you a special message.

I'm sure that any one of us that have been around politics for any length of time have heard the word apathy used in relation to voter turnout during an election.  To me, apathy is a general sense that the voters just don't care anymore about getting out and voting or campaigning for their favorite candidate.  They don't feel that their voice or vote counts or matters, so they just stay home.  Hmph.

Apathy as defined by Wikipedia is "lack of enthusiasm, interest, or concern".  As a hardcore political activist, I'm someone who lives, eats, and breathes elections, campaigns, etc.  Although, I can certainly understand why someone would be apathetic, considering the condition we find ourselves in as a country.

Take that word, 'apathy' and apply it to one's walk with Jesus.  Are you like me and find yourself with a less than enthusiastic approach to your faith sometimes?  Things get busy and your spiritual bank is running on fumes, you know what you need to do, but there just isn't time!  Or you hit that place where you aren't even really concerned about your walk with God.  Ever done that?  You think, "God will be there when I need him."  I gotta tell you, from experience, that's a dangerous way of thinking.

The reason that I'm even bringing this up is because of a new Bible study I started attending recently called "The Armor of God" and it's amazing.  See, in the very first study, the lady who leads the study on the videos and the author of the book, Priscilla Shirer mentioned the word, 'apathy' and it hit me.  Apathy is not just for politics. 

Sadly, it is true.  And unlike the arena of politics when be blame our apathy on our leaders and representatives, we can't blame our spiritual apathy on our spiritual leader.  Jesus is the same today, yesterday and he's the same tomorrow, too, in case you're wondering.  He loves you no matter where you are or what you've done.  Take that with you as you go into your places of worship on Sunday.  I know I will.