Texas politicians are overwhelmingly Conservative and Republican, which as a liberal often makes me feel like an alien in my own state, despite being born and raised here. In looking at the candidates running for office in Texas, I stumbled upon some propaganda against them. Specifically, Wayne Christian and Todd Staples.

http://www.therealwayne.com/

AUTHORED LEGISLATION THAT GAVE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES TO ALTERNATIVE-RENEWABLE ENERGY POWER PLANTS, JUST LIKE OBAMA DID FOR SOLYNDRA! 

• During the 2007 Legislative Session, Wayne Christian authored House Bill 1214 (80-R) that gave “Solyndra-like” government subsidies from state and federal government for alternative-renewable energy power plants.

• When Wayne’s legislation was overwhelmingly defeated by his fellow Texas legislators, Wayne Christian blamed Texas Oil & Gas companies for “corporate greed”. (Johnny Johnson, :Christian attempting last ditch effort to save biomass bill, Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel, 5/25/07).

• Wayne Christian believes in regulations and “Solyndra-like” government subsidies!  Just look at the legislation he authored in House Bill 1214 (80-R).

HAS WORKED AGAINST THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IN TEXAS

• Since 2007, Christian has been pushing to subsidize and mandate renewable energy and limit oil and gas drilling, just like Obama’s EPA.

• In 2007, he authored legislation supporting biomass electricity generation (80-R: HB 1214).

• In 2009, he authored 3 bills to regulate oil and gas drillers (HB 4027; HB 4028; HB 569). All 3 bills increased regulation of the oil and gas industry, and included regulations similar to the EPA policies Christian has criticized.

• Christian’s House Bill 4027 was the most damaging to oil and gas in East Texas, as well as other areas of the state.  The bill limited the drilling locations of Class II injection wells, which are used for enhanced recovery of oil and gas.

THE REAL WAYNE CHRISTIAN IS AGAINST TEXAS ENERGY INDEPENDENCE. HIS ACTIONS RAISE CONCERNS THAT HE WOULD DISCOURAGE OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION IF ELECTED RAILROAD COMMISSIONER.

authored and proposed legislation to benefit his own interests

• In 2009, he took Obama’s stimulus money and exempted his own beachfront property on Bolivar Island from existing Texas law, even though other homeowners across the state were still subject to it (81-R: HB 770, Amendment 1).

• In 2008, he suggested legislation that would help his financial services business. At an August 2008 Texas House State Affairs Committee meeting, Christian proposed legislation that would allow government entities to invest tax dollars in annuities like those sold by him. He unabashedly admitted the legislation would benefit him (Robert Elder, “Lawmaker who sells annuities: Let more governments buy them,” Austin American-Statesman, 8/19/2008).

THE REAL WAYNE CHRISTIAN REPEATEDLY ACTED IN HIS OWN SELF INTEREST AND USED HIS LEGISLATIVE POSITION TO BENEFIT HIMSELF.

Wayne Christian is running for the Texas Railroad Commission.  What does he say about himself?

http://www.christianfortexas.com/issues-3/

Issues

THE TEXAS MIRACLE AND THE RAILROAD COMMISSION

The Railroad Commission of Texas regulates the oil and gas industry in our state.  Because of its confusing name, many Texas voters overlook the importance of the agency and don’t give the position much thought at the ballot box. We need to change that this cycle.

Conservative leadership has definitely played its role in Texas prosperity, but the true engine behind the “Texas Miracle” is our booming oil and gas industry. God has blessed Texas unlike anywhere else and has given us abundant natural resources that provided in 2012 alone over $12.1 billion in tax revenue to fund our state’s pressing obligations from education to water.

Oil and gas is the reason Texas has been able to say no so many times to tempting Federal dollars that would increase the size of government and commit our state to billions of dollars in future spending.

52% of all new jobs in the United States were created right here in Texas. Hundreds of thousands of those were high paying jobs in the oil and gas industry, millions more were created indirectly by the industry’s multiplier effect.

In order to ensure the “Texas Miracle” stays alive and well for generations to come, we need an Experienced Conservative Fighter in the Railroad Commission.

I am the man for the job.

Wayne Christian

As your Railroad Commissioner I will: 

Nationally over $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake if the EPA’s scheduled rules go into effect over the next few years. These hits will affect Texas disproportionally if we are not able to stop them from becoming the law of the land.

We had a close call last year with the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, but luckily it was thrown out by the federal courts.

As your Railroad Commissioner, I will utilize all resources at my disposal to chip away at these regulations one-by-one and return them to Texas control.

Far too often permits are held back for months at a time, preventing hardworking Texans from energy exploration. This costs the state millions of dollars each year in both tax revenue and economic growth.

We must ensure that if a person’s permit is held back that it is done so because of due diligence, not because of oversight or bureaucratic red tape.

As your Railroad Commissioner, I will streamline the permitting process to unleash the private sector and increase production output in Texas.

Far left environmental groups have too much influence over federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.  These groups use laws, like the Endangered Species Act, as a tool to put a stop to energy production, farming and ranching.

The Federal government has tried to stop production in West Texas because of a lizard, along the Brazos due to some minnows and most recently in East Texas with some flowers. Enough is enough.

As your Railroad Commissioner, I will stand up for our 10^th Amendment rights and fight to stop this unconstitutional overreach.

The world is far too unpredictable for us to rely solely on foreign oil to meet our energy needs. Luckily for us, Texas is quickly becoming one of the largest producers of oil and natural gas in the world. In fact, if Texas were a country it would be the 15^th largest producer.

The Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas is on track to be the largest on-shore oil reserve ever discovered in the United States. We cannot let overbearing regulations stifle this growing industry.

As your Railroad Commissioner, I will fight every day to make Texas the number one producer in the world.

A few years back, Texans rallied together to stop the Trans Texas Corridor. It was an honor for me to leverage my position as President of the Texas Conservative Coalition to fight and more importantly put a stop to this outrageous overreach of government.

As your Railroad Commissioner, I will stand by my record of protecting private property owners from the abuse of big government.

As someone who thinks the oil and gas industries have too much power in Texas (and everywhere else in the world), I might be inclined to vote for someone who is against them and strongly pro-environment. Wayne Christian is NOT that sort of politician. The first webpage clearly lied about him!

What about Todd Staples?

Todd Staples: Supporting In-state tuition, healthcare, and drivers licenses for illegal immigrants

Staples Gave Socialized Healthcare to Illegal Immigrants

Sen. Mario Gallegos authored SB 309 to allow hospitals to provide free or discounted non-emergency care (Clay Robison, “Senate approves care for illegal immigrants,” Houston Chronicle, 5/6/2003). Todd Staples helped Gallegos pass Senate Bill 309 (78-R) authorizing hospitals to provide non-emergency care for illegal immigrants using local taxpayer funds (78th Legislature, Senate Journal, p. 1331).

Staples Supported giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants

In 2001, Todd Staples voted for House Bill 396 (77-R), which allowed illegal immigrants to present a foreign birth certificate or identity card in order to receive a Texas driver’s license. (David Rauf, “Todd Staples Next Immigration Headache?,” San Antonio Express-News, 10/10/2013) Only one Senator voted against the bill: Jane Nelson (77th Legislature, Senate Journal, p. 2343). The bill was vetoed by Gov. Perry (Janet Elliott, “Perry wields power to block immigrant, health care bills,” Houston Chronicle, 06/18/2011).

Staples supported the in-state tuition bill as a state senator.

Staples supported House Bill 1403 (77-R) which granted in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants (WFAA, 02/23/2013). Opponents of the bill said it would turn a blind eye to individuals living in the U.S. illegally. (House Research Organization, House Bill 1403 Bill Analysis).

Staples voted to support rewarding people who violated our laws and entered the country illegally

But what does Staples say about himself and his political stands?

https://www.toddstaples.com/issues/

As someone who supports immigration reform, I might be inclined to vote for someone who wants to do what I favor.  Todd Staples is NOT that sort of politician.

Why would anyone make web pages depicting certain politicians as being the opposite of what they really are? Because they are somehow not conservative enough? Maybe that explains how a deranged extremist like Ted Cruz became one of Texas’ two  US Senators!