Joe Straus vs. Matt Beebe
We lost the battle of getting Ken Paxton elected as the Texas Speaker of the House for the 82nd legislature, but that does not mean we have given up.
We now are working to not only prevent Joe Straus from becoming the Texas Speaker of the House for the 83rd legislature, but to prevent his re-election to the Texas House of Representatives.
TEAParty911.com founder, Michael Kinzie has endorsed Matt Beebe in HD-121 and we are all working hard to get Beebe elected to rid the House of Representatives of Joe Straus.
To see how you can help, please go to Matt Beebe's page on our site.
The Below Info is Outdated
Tea Parties Unite to OUST Joe Straus
Conservatives Stage Protests Across Texas
Joe Straus is NOT the man for Texas!
by Michael Kinzie - December 16, 2010
Joe Straus (R-Sorta) |
“Oust Joe Straus!” “Slot Machine Joe Has Got to Go!” “RINO Joe Has Got to GO!” These slogans and many others resounded throughout Texas on December 13th as Tea Party and conservative groups protested at the offices of House Representatives across the state. Apparently, the Tea Party does not think that Joe Straus is the man for the job of Texas House Speaker.
Protests were staged at the offices of Representatives Stefani Carter, Angie Chen-Button, Myra Crownover, Lance Gooden, Kelly Hancock, Linda Harper-Brown, Will Hartnett, Jim Jackson, Larry Phillips, Todd Smith, Burt Solomons, Vicki Truitt, and numerous other Texas House Representatives. The Kaufman County Tea Party protested at the office of Representative elect Lance Gooden and had representation from Kaufman, Henderson, Cherokee, Van Zandt, and Smith counties. Many in the crowd were carrying signs that read “Slot Machine Joe Has Got to Go.” Legislators are expected to discuss the possibility of legalizing gambling in the state of Texas during the next session which would allow the installation of slot machines in race tracks across the state. The problem as stated by the Kaufman Tea Party is that Joe Straus has interests in Retama Park which stands to profit mega-millions if the legislation is passed. Strangely, Speaker Straus has “recused” himself from official discussion of gambling in the State House and has transferred his interests in Retama Park to another individual, his father. Representative Gooden is still holding firm in his support of Straus, but failed to make an appearance at the protest rally in order to justify his support and answer questions from his constituents.
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Donate to Help Oust Joe Straus
The Kaufman County Tea Party is designing and printing more signs in the effort to Oust Joe Straus and could use our help. Donations are needed to help cover the cost of design, printing, and distribution of the "Slot Machine Joe Has Got to Go" signs. If you would like to donate to the Oust Straus campaign, please send your check or money order to:
Kaufman County Tea Party
C/O Ray Myers
308 Bluffview Court
Forney, Texas 75126
Make Checks payable to: Ray Myers |
Protesters at Angie Chen-Button’s office arrived to find a note on the door that read, “Sorry we missed you, we will return at 1:30PM”. The official press releases from Tea Party groups across the state announced the time of the events to be from Noon to 1:00PM. Evidently, Rep. Chen-Button felt that lunch was a more pressing issue that meeting with her constituents. At least Rep. Chen-Button’s office left a note! Protesters arrived at Rep. Burt Solomons’ office to find the doors locked and the lights turned off. Therefore, the Tea Party decided to leave a note of their own which read, “Burt, 2012 Primaries are in 14 months!” It remains to be seen if he gets the message or if it will fall upon deaf ears.
The Lake Fork Tea Party Patriots have a different beef with Speaker Joe Straus. Members want an answer to the question as to why Joe Straus was elected to the position of House Speaker in the first place. Straus has stated his support of the “pledge card” system in which Representatives “pledge” their support for the Speaker in the next legislative session. However, Straus did not honor his “pledge” to support former Speaker Tom Craddick. Straus instead brokered back-room deals with House Democrats and 11 Republicans in order to accomplish a hostile take-over of the position of Speaker. Straus rewarded his supporters with prime committee Chair positions including Rep. Helen Giddings (D) to Chair the House Appropriations Committee (Business & Economic Development), Rep. Veronica Gonzales (D) to Chair the Border & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, Rene Oliveira (D) to Chair the House Ways and Means Committee, and liberal Brian McCall to the Chair of Calendars. According to the Young Conservatives of Texas, Straus’s committee chair appointments scored a 42% conservative which was a drop of 25 points from the previous legislative session. Committee Chair positions are customarily granted to the majority party and vice-chair positions granted to the minority party. The Lake Fork Tea Party wants to know how a “supposed” conservative gained almost unanimous support of Democrats and why so many committee chairs were given to the minority party.
Outside of Linda Harper-Brown’s office, protesters sang “Oust Joe Straus” to the tune of Jingle Bells. (Harper-Brown incidentally was a no-show.) Additional no-shows included Representatives Jim Jackson, Jerry Madden, Joe Driver, Vicki Truitt, Todd Smith, Stefani Carter, Larry Phillips, and Kelly Hancock. Therefore, protesters took to nearby streets with flags and signs which read, “Oust Straus”, “Texas Rep Todd Smith Ignoring Voters”, “Caucus with Republicans”, “Paxton for Speaker”, “Do the Right Thing”, and many others. Even though many Representatives did not have the courage to face their constituents, the message “No more Joe Straus” was still heard across the state of Texas. News of these rallies has hit the local television stations, newspapers, websites, blogs, FaceBook pages, and have even shown up on YouTube. Texans are fed up with politics as usual and are tired of being ignored by politicians. Many in political circles and in the media believe that the race for the Texas Speaker of the House is all but over with Straus being the obvious winner. Tea Partiers, 912ers, and many other conservative groups in Texas have a different idea…
Joe Straus vs. Matt Beebe
We lost the battle of getting Ken Paxton elected as the Texas Speaker of the House for the 82nd legislature, but that does not mean we have given up.
We now are working to not only prevent Joe Straus from becoming the Texas Speaker of the House for the 83rd legislature, but to prevent his re-election to the Texas House of Representatives.
TEAParty911.com founder, Michael Kinzie has endorsed Matt Beebe in HD-121 and we are all working hard to get Beebe elected to rid the House of Representatives of Joe Straus.
To see how you can help, please go to Matt Beebe's page on our site.
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