OPINION: Reports of our death are greatly exaggerated

And we still are.

By Andy Hogue, Editor

"The report of my death was an exaggeration." --Mark Twain.

Two things amazed me during the Robert Morrow saga, pro and con:

Pro: How quickly and formidably the grassroots came together to solve a problem. By setting up additional checks and balances in a way that was fair to the winner of the county chairman's race and everyone involved, we built a better party in less than half a year. From an objective standpoint, the Travis GOP was running better than ever despite the controversy -- even during Morrow's two months in office.

Con: How much stock a group of voters who supposedly hate "the liberal media" believed media hype about the situation our party was in. You would think we were in shambles waiting for someone to come rescue us, or hunkering down for two years of diminished expectations. This was obviously not the case.

GOP challenger urges Dukes to go ahead and resign for good of HD 46

Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin, HD 46) has announced her intention to retire in January, according to an article on Quorum Report.

Since the deadline to alter the general election ballot has passed, her name will likely remain printed there. Texas election law and common sense dictates that Dukes would only have to resign if she -- after all the beating she has taken lately -- still manages to defeat Republican challenger Gabriel Nila in November.

A resignation from Dukes after the election would, based on similar situations in other legislative districts in years past, trigger a special election to be called by the governor. Dukes cited health reasons for her pending resignation as well as concern for her daughter's well being. Unmentioned was legal challenges she faces based on allegations of staff being forced to perform unpaid, mandatory "charity work" while on the clock. Naturally, she hasn't mentioned the flack she caught for cancelling a scholarship fundraising festival in East Austin despite overwhelming public interest in keeping it going.

Below is a statement from Nila, via a press release:

"Maria and I both wish Representative Dukes a full recovery from her health challenges. 

"But the reality is that Dawnna Dukes has been under criminal investigation for many months. We do not yet know the conclusion of that investigation, but the allegations are very serious.  

"If Rep. Dukes intends to resign in January due to health reasons, there is no good reason for her to resign 100 days from now, after a general election and needlessly disadvantage her successor and cause an expensive Special Election. 

"The constituents of this district deserve to have new representation immediately, not months after the new biennial session begins. If Rep. Dukes wins election to a new two-year term that she plainly does not plan serve, then this district's new representative will be 150th in seniority and will be starting late to build a staff, seek committee slots, file legislation, and get up to speed for the session. For once, Dawnna Dukes should put the district and the taxpayers first and immediately resign."

So what of the pending indictment against Dukes for her criminal charges? We'll be tracking that, too.

Gabriel Nila ... just like the sign says!

That time Heidi Cruz schooled William Weld -- two dissenting views on economic freedom

Weld and Johnson: Libertarians in name only?

With Ted Cruz and Gary Johnson garnering significant media attention for stops in Austin over the weekend we thought this would make for both some interesting Sunday reading and a much-needed reality check.

Keep this one in the top drawer of your file cabinet the next time one of our Libertarian friends attempts to sell you on a Johnson-Weld ticket over the Republican nominees.

It's no secret that not only is former New England Republican Gov. Bill Weld a gun-grabbing moderate, but once upon a time he signed off on a study which had little problems with proposing the erosion of national sovereignty in the name of global trade. Worse: he was the co-chairman of the task force that wrote the study. Facts like these have not been lost on many Johnson supporters.

Heidi Cruz

Heidi Cruz, wife of former presidential contender, Sen. Ted Cruz, also signed off on the report. However, a look at Heidi's objections -- and the total lack of Gov. Weld's -- shows a sharp distinction of political philosophy. It's one that deserves some attention.

Please take a read at a few snippets of that report below, or you may download the report: http://www.cfr.org/canada/building-north-american-community/p8102

Weld, a two-term governor of Massachusetts (1991-97), and Assistant U.S. Attorney General, wrote (emphasis ours) ...

SNEAK PREVIEW: campaign ad pits Don Zimmerman against ... Don Zimmerman?

Remember that episode of "Star Trek" in which Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Lt. Uhura, and Engineer Scott beam up to the U.S.S. Enterprise during a freak electromagnetic storm -- only to end up on a very similar Enterprise featuring darker, sinister versions of their fellow crew mates?

In that grand television tradition of meeting "alternate universe" takes on our favorite characters, we meet a tax-happy version of our beloved Councilman Don Zimmerman in this much-needed injection of laughter into the 2016 campaign season.

Rumor has it this TV ad will air during Sunday Night Football and the presidential debate. Football fans may remember a similar concept -- "Arts and Crafts Tony Romo" vs. the real quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys -- airing during a previous season.

Stay tuned Sunday night to see if it airs ... But we included a 30-second version of the ad above just in case it gets preempted.

(And, yes, we just managed to weave Star Trek, NFL football, and politics into a single blog post. We keep raising the bar for our faithful readers!)

Mirror Universe Spock gives the Democratic Party salute.

Mom fights for school choice as means to give students 'the right tools to thrive'

Melissa Bodenger, a full-time mom who spends what spare time she has coordinating Republican candidates for the Travis County GOP, recently gave testimony to the Texas Senate Education Committee regarding school choice.

For her and her special-needs son, school choice is not simply a matter of being more easily able to send her child to a successful public school -- it's a matter of her son being able to succeed in a public school, period.

A snippet of Bodenger's testimony is below. You can read the whole thing here.

... My name is Melissa Bodenger and my 10-year-old son, Josh, is the one in every 42 boys diagnosed with Autism.

In a public school Josh would not be immersed in the [Applied Behavioral Analysis] therapy environment that helps him learn to conquer the challenges of being Autistic.

He would have standardized tests, higher student teacher ratios, and the social stigma of being a special needs child looming over him on the playground. [...]

Austin conservatives show solidarity against taxpayer-funded union activism

Last week, former Texas House staffer and candidate Jay Wiley and National Review legal contributor Mark Pulliam -- both active members of the Travis County Republican Party -- came out swinging against taxpayer-funded union activism.

It's no secret to conservatives that labor unions provide manpower and fundraising efforts for Democrat candidates and causes. But besides the obvious conflict of interest of using public servants to perform union tasks, there is also a prohibition on this kind of activity in the Texas Constitution.

See below from the desk of Jay Wiley:

Hey, Kaepernick: KISS this!

We've known KISS front man Gene Simmons to be quite conservative for many years, despite the band's former reputation as being anything but favorable toward God, country, apple pie, and all that. But that we've lived long enough now to witness the above spectacle of KISS with uniformed veterans auxiliary members is worthy of a post, even on a local political blog. Take a watch -- even if you're not much of a rocker.

This display of high-voltage patriotism on Sept. 9 in Richmond, Virginia, follows public outcries after National Football League player Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem at a pre-season San Francisco 49ers game against the Green Bay Packers.

Martinez: a vote for Hernandez is a vote to make Austin a 'sanctuary city'

Deported FIVE TIMES. Still not enough.

While there is a lot of debate over what, exactly, a "sanctuary city" consists of, one thing is clear: Electing a liberal Democrat as Travis County's top cop would do nothing but increase the amount of sanctuaries available for illegal immigrants.

Open trade advocates have their points to make, and there are plenty of merits to the "Texas Solution" touted by the Republican Platform in 2012. Ask three immigration reform activists what the solution is and you'll get four answers. But no matter how you slice it, illegal immigration is illegal and attracts other illegal behavior.

Read Travis County Sheriff candidate Joe Martinez' latest press release below, as well as the link to a recent Fox 7 story, if you're not entirely convinced.

Robert Morrow resigns Travis GOP Chairmanship to run as Independent for President

It's official. Robert Morrow is no longer the chairman of the Travis County Republican Party.

The Travis GOP sent out a media advisory on Thursday of a 10 a.m. Friday press conference to explain why Executive Vice Chairman David T. Duncan is now calling himself "Acting Chairman." This led to several media outlets reporting on this development around noon Thursday.  The Republican Party of Texas released a press statement of their own following this development, and this is all became very public knowledge. 

However, the Travis GOP at Friday's press conference had several reasons for rightfully assuming Robert had left a vacancy, which we include below in their press release.

Planned counter-protest mocks 'Cocks Not Glocks'

National Review recently had a soul-convicting article about how the Left ultimately makes everything about sex.

Everything. Even the Second Amendment.

Here's a selection from this gutsy article that speaks volumes about a protest sure to grab headlines this week:

The so-called culture war ... has not been conducted by people of religious faith on one side, and people of no faith on the other. It is instead a contest of competing faiths: one in the Good Book, and the other in the more newly written figurative book of secularist orthodoxy about the sexual revolution. 

More: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/436602/its-dangerous-believe-religious-freedom-sexual-revolution

Nowhere is this phenomenon more pronounced than during a perennial protest against gun rights at the University of Texas where hordes of participants carry sex toys (and other everyday items intended to be suggestive) in holsters around campus. Watch the video below in which left-of-center hyenas laugh it off as perfectly acceptable college hi-jinx:

Don Zimmerman is racist ... toward his own son?

Remember that little flare-up last night regarding City Councilman Don Zimmerman's "offensive comments?" About that: it looks like he said something very similar about his own two-month-old son.

As a bonus, it appears no one was offended at similar remarks made over the course of his two-year-term.

See below for a press release from Zimmerman's office setting the record straight:

Don't let the Dems trick you: Austin City Council races are VERY much partisan

Contrary to the easily dis-proven meme that Austin City Council races are historically non-partisan, the Travis County Democrats attempted to FUNDRAISE off of City Councilman Don Zimmerman today as well as to commit themselves to defeating him in November. (See the image above which is a mobile phone screenshot of a fundraising email.)

And all this before the Aug. 22 ballot deadline, before they know who all is in the running for City Council District 6.

What the liberals are upset about today is barely worth a mention -- and Empower Texans has a nice vindication of Zimmerman's comments here if you're curious.

$720M Austin transportation bond: Gotta keep 'em separated?

The Austin City Council minutes ago gave the green light to a $720 million bond proposal to address traffic concerns in the not-so-Little City.

It passed unanimously, but the real struggle on this may come next week when the Council votes on ballot language and a few procedural matters. Proposed projects, many of which owe their origin to the Mayor's "Year of Mobility" initiative and the additional heat put on by greater constituent input following the implementation of the 10-1 plan, include mostly roadway improvements. But also in the plan are bike lanes, pedestrian crossings, a generous sidewalk allotment, and some public transit tweaks.

Rep. Dukes' challenger gives Austin open mic on police, community relations

 Some familiar faces gather for a photo after the town hall.

You may remember a forum held on July 13 in Manor regarding police and community relations in the wake of a spate of shootings over this summer -- particularly an attack on officers at a downtown Dallas demonstration. The "It's Time for Unity" town hall, organized by House District 46 candidate Gabriel Nila, was a rousing success with a standing-room-only crowd.

You may also recall that the Manor rally was held after a dialogue event for greater Austin was essentially hijacked by local Democrats and turned into a showcase for liberal values. Republican officials and candidates, such as Nila, were not invited to the forum held on a local public broadcasting channel (which necessitated the Manor event be held separately to assure that a variety of voices be heard).

Intruder could not have picked a worse home to invade

Cargill at the Capitol

If you're reading this, you've never had a bad night like a home intruder had on Friday.

A man used a swimming pool ladder to gain access to a second-floor window in a home near Snellville, Georgia, just outside Atlanta. The couple who have lived in the rural home for decades heard rustling in the master bathroom window. The husband went to check it out.

Not only was the husband armed.

Not only are the couple concealed carry license-holders.

And not only are they re-trained every year to polish up their shooting skills.

The couple also happens to be the mother and stepfather of Michael Cargill, one of Austin's foremost Second Amendment advocates, firearms dealers, and a concealed carry instructor.

Ammophobes beware: AG sues City of Austin to allow guns at City Hall

Paxton

The good news: Our Attorney General supports the right to bear arms even around the ammophobes at Austin City Hall!

The bad news: Second Amendment supporters such as Council members Don Zimmerman and Ellen Troxclair are named as defendants in the suit against the city.

The Austin American-Statesman reports:

State law has long barred guns from courtrooms and court-related offices. Another law enacted last September, however, limits what restrictions local officials can place on guns in government buildings. For multipurpose government buildings, [Texas Attorney General Ken] Paxton’s office has said people with guns cannot enter the court-related parts of the building but they may bring their legal firearm into other government offices.
The suit Thursday follows an non-binding opinion from the Attorney General’s office, which determined Austin was in violation of the statute.
That opinion gave Austin city until July 20 to allow guns into City Hall, or it could face a civil suit and fines of up to $1,500 for the first offense and then $10,000 per future violation.  

More: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-austin-city-hall-/nr6gy/

Although certain court-related functions do take place in Austin City Hall, it seems as if recent developments only restrict carrying to those parts of the building where court is taking place.

We'll have more on this as it develops.

All this unity is tearing us apart!

"Please, Ted! Just endorse Trump, already!"

"You cannot shake hands with a closed fist" --Ancient Eastern proverb.

Dear fellow Republicans: It's time to loosen our grip. By doing so we'll find ourselves with a stronger hold.

This writer was on KTBC-TV (Fox 7) and KVUE-TV (Channel 24) on Friday to discuss the RNC convention. Naturally, the matter of Ted Cruz' refusal to endorse Donald Trump came up, along with the noticeable boos and hisses from delegates.

By now, you've heard a myriad of thoughts on Sen. Cruz's now-infamous RNC convention speech. My perspective on this was that by nominating a man (Trump) with a history of liberal and conservative tendencies, and a background of endorsing Republicans and Democrats, it's going to take forgiveness to make our 2016 ticket work.

RNC coverage: our apologies

It appears Donald Trump is officially the GOP nominee for President of the United States.

Many of our regular readers were hoping for coverage from The Tracker on the events leading up to the nomination, straight from the mouths of Travis County delegates present.   A few factors precluded that.

1. This writer was on a long-scheduled vacation to Orlando during the convention (who knew RNC would be this early over year ago?) 

2. Our delegates became quite busy and found Facebook and Twitter to be a faster way to reach outside the convention hall.

A summary of GOP national rules changes

Some perspective from national Republican Delegate Jeremy Blosser of Tarrant County is posted here, as originally published on his Facebook profile (unabridged, with no edits):

I have been asked to summarize what happened in the Rules Committee, and how it is just more of the same RNC/GOPe stuff. I am going to attempt to do so, though it's hard to tie the pieces together well enough without saying a lot.

At the 2012 Convention, the “Ginsberg takeover” package's worst offenses were:

'ATX Together' ... but where are the conservative voices?

Who gets to co-host a forum on Austin unity?
The county Democratic chairman (right), of course.

If you watched or attended the "ATX Together" forum hosted by KLRU-TV on Monday night, you may have noticed something wasn't quite ... together about it.

It was a noble, town hall-style event, and we stand behind any and all efforts to discuss plans for how to counter the kind of violence we've seen over the past two weeks. No problem there.

Many friends of this publication cheered it on, including Maura Phelan, Republican candidate for District Attorney, who took to Twitter to share her vision of a brighter future for the Travis County justice system. And we were grateful for any effort to seek common ground and bridge a deepening gap between the community and law enforcement.

But there were serious gaps in the patchwork of voices at the forum -- whatever the reason for the oversight may be.