On To The Runoff-Simpson vs. Ramos

It's bound to happen. Your favorite candidate is forced into a runoff election. So now what? You do this: 

That's right, Paul Simpson, candidate for Harris County GOP Chairman was forced into a runoff by Hotze slate backed candidate Rick Ramos. As you know, I've supported Simpson for the last six years and was a part of the campaign that led him to victory. This time, in a contest with three candidates, two of whom were put up by Hotze, there was almost no way to a path to victory without a runoff.

I had a chance to read some of Rick Ramos' platform for his candidacy, and, I've got to tell ya, I had a good chuckle when I read some of the claims he made. I'll list and debunk them here so you don't have to actually go to his website. Ahem.

Rick will:

Stand up for the values that make our party great. Hmmm...and Paul Simpson hasn't? Paul has stood up numerous times for conservative values. Paul is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, and pro-second amendment, and he's not afraid to share these values with the voting populous at large. He appeared on FOX 26 to discuss Planned Parenthood. He also responded to the Goforth shooting AND the SCOTUS ruling on gay marriage.

Rick will hold Republican elected officials accountable when they fail to represent our Party Platform and conservative values. Really? What about fighting Democrats and holding off the advances of the left and Battleground Texas? He hasn't even mentioned the fight that Harris County is involved in to maintain election integrity, etc. He wants only to attack Republicans, which is something that Hotze endorses and encourages. We don't need more circular firing squads. More proof that Rick is just a puppet for Hotze.

A letter penned by Sara Tracey of The Link Letter, one of the paid slates that endorsed Rick for County Chair claims that, "...Rick has great plans to influence the African American community and Asian-American voters." So, what about Texas Asian Republican Club (TARC), who has endorsed Paul for his bid for reelection? Paul Simpson and many other activists and precinct chairs serve in BOTH the GOP AND TARC. Paul has also recently made inroads with the conservative arm of the League of United Latin American Citizens, also known as LULAC. Here he is just days ago at a LULAC council luncheon discussing our shared conservative values. 

"He believes the threat of ISIS is real and very close to our borders." Okaaaaaay, and? I didn't know that border security fell under the job description of GOP County Chair.

Another issue that Rick cares about is illegal drug use. "...He is NOT in favor (of) legalizing marijuana, which he considers a 'gate-way' drug to other hard core, addictive drugs. Rick promises to firmly appose any legislation that will promote or legalize the use of marijuana." I'm not sure if the author is insinuating something here, but Paul Simpson is NOT for drug legalization either.

This to me is more proof that Rick has NO concept of what the job description of the Harris County GOP Chair even is. The GOP Chairman position is there to facilitate the quarterly meetings, to represent the party and its values to the media, to recruit and train precinct chairs through the committee structure that exists, something that Rick also knows nothing about. "The true measure of a leader is not how many followers he has but how many new leaders he develops."

The county chairman also helps with get out the vote efforts around the county, one in which is larger than some states! We just had a record turnout for the primary—higher than any of the last 10 GOP primaries. Paul also worked with Ballot Security Chairman on tightening rules for voter assistance and by doing so, improved election integrity and cutting down on voter fraud. Can the same be said of his opponent? His opponent didn't even go to the polls and vote himself, let alone work to improve election integrity.

Rick is part (a small part) of the "Take Back Our Party Back Movement", led by none other than Steven Hotze and Jared Woodfill, former Harris County GOP Chairman. You remember Jared, the guy who left the party flat broke? Hotze and company want to weaken the party, and they are doing that now, by putting up two candidates and forcing a runoff. If Paul had won the election outright, he would have more time to fund raise for the party instead of campaigning for reelection.