By Tonya Whitaker
NDG Staff Writer
Individual freedom. Limited government. Personal responsibility. Constitutional adherence. National sovereignty.
These are the core principles of the Texas Tea Party.
When the 82nd Texas legislature convened in Austin on Jan. 11, the Texas Tea Party’s influence became evident in the mirage of Texas politics.
The Texas Tea Party Caucus (TTPC) and the Texas Tea Party Advisory Board have ties to the Dallas area. Of the 50-plus state representatives and state senators who are part of the TTPC, Representatives Jodie Laubenberg of Parker, Angie Chen Button of Richardson, and Ken Paxton of McKinney have aligned themselves with the caucus. Local Tea Partiers Chuck Molyneaux of Allen and Katrina Pierson of Garland sit on the advisory board.
Paxton said he is an advocate for the Texas Tea Party’s agenda because of its deep-rooted connection with the voters.
“The Tea Party Caucus creates better opportunities for conservative legislators to work with the grassroots. I’m proud to be a part of a political movement that stands for smaller government and more individual freedom.”
With the state legislature now in session, Pierson said the Tea Party will closely monitor the vote records of those who were elected to represent the people. Politicians who vote for policies that are against the principles of the U.S. Constitution should be prepared to face the same fate as those who were voted out of office in November.
Ross Ramsey of the Texas Tribune reported Monday that Tea Party demonstrators who rallied in Austin wore stickers with “3/6/12” on them, the date of the next Republican primary election.
“Our presence has already changed the landscape of politics in Texas,” said Pierson, who sits on the steering committee of the Dallas Tea Party. “They have to know that we are serious and are not going anywhere anytime soon. We want to be ACORN with ethics.”
Pierson said the Texas speaker house race is the most important issue on the minds of the Texas Tea Party. However, their call to remove moderate Republican Joe Straus, R-San Antonio failed. On Jan. 11, the House Republican caucus re-elected Straus to a second term as state house speaker with a vote of 132-15. Three Republican representatives did not vote.
According to The Dallas Morning News, eight North Texas Republicans, including Laudenberg and Paxton, voted against Straus.
“Division, threats of retribution … attacks on people’s religious beliefs and distortions of people’s records have no place in this House,” Straus said during his opening speech on Tuesday. The political rhetoric to oust him reportedly included comments related to his Jewish faith.
The Tea Party caucus’ endorsements for the post, Paxton and Warren Chisum of Pampa, were not nominated from the floor. Paxton requested his name be removed from consideration early Tuesday morning.
Fred Moses, chairman of the Collin County Republican Party, said the country needs to get on a better track. The only way this is achievable is by returning to the core principles of the U.S. Constitution.
“We want the country to be run in a conservative trend, that doesn’t mean getting rid of (federal) programs. The government has a role; it is a limited role,” said Moses, the first black politician to serve in a countywide office in Collin County. “It goes back to living within our means. When you do things that are important to citizens, we are talking about getting within our means.
“There are some things that need to be done about healthcare, but some of the things that are in that healthcare bill are not outlined. We should not have one program that will bankrupt the country. It is un-American not to have choices.”
Now that the House has elected to keep Straus as speaker, Pierson, founder of the Garland Tea Party, said the caucus will continually press Texas legislators to address many issues that impact Texans’ daily lives.
“We have got to get voter ID passed. Texas needs illegal immigration legislation similar to Arizona. They are taking the jobs from the minority community and it needs to stop.”
