Primary Colors – Part 3 – Plugging the Senate Leadership Gap

The March 4th primary is right around the corner and early voting starts Tuesday. This is the third in a series. (This first two are here and here). I cannot overstate the importance of your vote and the impact it has in the primary.

Lt. Governor

Conventional wisdom says there will be a runoff between Sen. Dan Patrick and sitting Lt. Governor Dewhurst. I strongly support Sen. Dan Patrick over Lt. Gov. Dewhurst. Frankly, Dan has proven he is a leader and David has proven he is not. Especially at this critical juncture, Texas and the Nation need visionary leaders standing strong for taxpayers and social values. Dan is such a leader.

I've known Dan for years and followed him long before I met him in person. He has been a clear leader for solid conservative values since BEFORE he was elected to the Texas Senate. He, not Dewhurst or the others, has been the driving force for property tax caps and reductions, smaller government, true education reform including more choices and competition, shining the light on and then shutting down (at least the bulk of) CSCOPE, and strong pro-life legislation that survives court challenges. He’s organized other non-governmental projects like the fantastic movie “The Heart of Texas”, and has raised literally tens of millions of dollars for charity causes. His radio station, KSEV anchored in Houston and now in other markets, is a driving force of conservative ideas in Harris County and beyond. I've seen him vote on principle when he was the ONLY vote in the Texas Senate to do so.

On the other hand, Dewhurst, while a very likable person on an individual basis, has proven to be a weak leader (except by shear intimidation of the power of his office and his ability to make—or not make—appointments). The last legislative session that he headed up (with Speaker Straus), was a disaster for conservatives, with little of substance accomplished. The big bad exception was that the Texas budget grew by a stunning 26% according to the venerable Wall Street Journal, who headlined the story “Texas Goes Sacramento”. The back-story was that the Journal almost issued a retraction and apology to California, as they could not find a similar increase in California’s left-coast budget. Senator Dan Patrick, on the other hand voted against that monstrous budget.

David also must bear responsibility for the infamous filibuster that got totally out of control, giving the Dems a new heroine for their evil causes and a serious challenger to sitting AG Greg Abbott in his quest for Governor. General Abbott will likely still win, but that blunder on David’s part will cost campaigns including Abbott’s tens of millions of dollars to overcome. Both Dan and another senator had repeatedly asked Dewhurst to stop it earlier, and he refused. After the filibuster was finally over there were forty or so minutes left—plenty for a vote. Even after the mayhem erupted in the gallery by the bussed-from-out-of-state ACORN-like crowd he let them go on for another quarter hour or more—who can forget his deer-in-the-headlights look—again plenty of time to take a vote. Would of could of should of…but he didn’t. In the process of his lack of leadership or worse, other good legislation died as well. Neither is perfect—none of us are, but Dan Patrick is the clear choice for Texas and the Nation.

In short, the Senate suffers at present from a "leadership gap" that Dan Patrick will fill nicely!

My other choices are listed below. True to my engineering background, if more data becomes available that would change the result, I’ll advise that as well. My picks, along with some independent others’ whose opinion I value (not always agreeing with me) are also located at www.bluesheet.org where they are also downloadable. You may take them to the voting booth. And don’t forget your photo ID to vote!

Thank you.

Mark Ramsey

Mark is a State Republican Executive Committeeman, (SREC) representing Senate District 7, and has twice served on the GOP State Convention Platform Committee. One of the duties of the SREC is “to foster and encourage growth in the Party by promoting the principles as expressed in the platform and by electing Republican officeholders.”

Mark Ramsey’s endorsements. If a race is not listed then Mark has not made an endorsement in it. They are also listed at www.bluesheet.org, along with some other individuals’ picks.


Disclaimer: The views of individual TexasGOPVote bloggers do not necessarily reflect those of TexasGOPVote.com. 

Issues: 
TexasGOPVote
 

© 2015 TexasGOPVote  | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy