Beware of the elites' messaging that's purchased with out of town or out of district dollars
By David Erinakes
AUSTIN, Texas (Texas Insider Report) — “I trust people much more than the ruling class,“ Congressman and former Texas Legislator Pat Fallon once told me. But if you're a voter trying to decide who to vote for, how do you vet candidates for office in terms of their background and suitability for the office?
It’s hard to do – and we may often find ourselves listening to the elites' messaging that's too often purchased by out of town or out of district dollars. That often leads to voters making a decision that we later regret. Such is the case in the Special Election race for Texas House District 2 (HD2) that currently has no representation – it's a three county district in East Texas.
The disgraced former Representative – who committed such horrendous wrongs against his own female staffer that he had to resign – was the first Representative expelled since 1929.
So what did voters miss when electing this guy in the first place?
Well, unfortunately we didn’t miss anything. It was well known to many that his background caused good reason not to elect him, but the elites (and masses of their out of district money,) covered up for, lied for, and sold him as something other than what he actually was. Even today those same backers say he just made a "misstep." Really?
So why did they do it? Why do they believe lying is OK to get their candidate elected?
It was because he fit their ‘purity’ test – which many local voters see as a disruptive influence in the election for, say, Speaker of the Texas House or the U.S. House of Representatives.
These days the too-often used word "purity" seems to mean that you have to be disruptive once and if you're elected to actual office. But the former Representative's "purity" and disruptiveness sales pitch led him to pass no legislation, he ended up being excluded from any and all major policy discussions, and achieved literally nothing for the district – except trying to rename a road in Hunt County after a beloved former County Judge who passed away while in office.
So what about his replacement? Are the out of district money-players going to try and deceive people in HD 2 the same way they did last time to get their guy elected?
We are seeing "the Elites" versus "the People" being played out in the race to replace him.
We are seeing "the Elites" versus "the People" being played out in the race to replace him.
Several candidates are running, but the two leaders in the race are coming at this from different angles.
The first candidate, from Hunt County, is the endorsed candidate of the monied elites – but this time it's different. He's sought and achieved the endorsements of numerous pro-Trump supporters, of Texas Attorney Ken Paxton, and of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.
There is one small problem though – he never told those last two endorsers that he's firmly a "Never Trumper" guy... who went on TV and proclaimed it to the world.
So why would either one of those two Trump supporters endorse him counter to their own, or President Trump's interests?
The only answer seems to be, they were deceived.
And is so often the case, it gets worse.
So why would either one of those two Trump supporters endorse him counter to their own, or President Trump's interests?
The only answer seems to be, they were deceived.And is so often the case, it gets worse.
Add on to the first deception that this is the same guy who called Governor Greg Abbott "Weak and Spineless" (really a guy in a wheelchair?) and you would have to wonder why Sen. Cruz and Attorney General Paxton haven't withdrawn their endorsements?
Might be hard to explain to President Trump and Gov. Abbott, if they don’t.
Senator Angela Paxton has yet to endorse a candidate in this race, but she does know about these circumstances.
What will she do? We will see.
The other candidate is from Van Zandt County. She hits every conservative talking point on the policy issues – so why isn’t she acceptable to the out of district funders and elites?
It’s because she's said she would vote for the most conservative candidate running to serve as Speaker of the Texas House.
What that means, reading between the lines, is that she could get elected and not vote against the Speaker candidate that's approved by the elites. It's about control.
In other words, she would do what the people who elected her wanted – work to find the best solutions possible, on as many of the important issues of the day as possible, and get legislation passed using President Ronald Reagan’s method of taking 80% of what he wanted, instead of saying my way or the highway.
In other words, the out of area monied elites aren't sure they can control her, so they are willing to do whatever is necessary to win – including deceit. That simply isn’t the Texas way.
The real answer to vetting candidates and deciding who to vote for in an important elction like this is simple, as Congressman Fallon pointed out to me...
Go to events, be involved, ask a lot of questions and do your homework until you get answers – and most importantly, beware of the elites' messaging that's purchased with out of town or out of district dollars.
David Erinakes formerly worked in the Texas Legislature, and is currently Chief Executive Officer of The E Development Companies.
