We’ve written previously about the unexpected runoff in Senate District 2 and Senator Bob Deuell’s impressive flexibility when it comes to the principles he espouses.  Not surprisingly, he’s exercising his flexibility once again to make himself seem more in line with the conservative voters of SD 2.

This past fall, the Texas Conservative Coalition asked members of the legislature to sign onto three letters encouraging U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, as well as Attorney General Greg Abbott, to support standard conservative policy positions relevant to their respective offices. These legislative officials were given three opportunities to sign each of the three respective letters.

The first letter was a pledge to recognize traditional marriage between one man and one woman as being the only recognizable legal definition.  Although a fairly mainstream Republican position, Deuell’s signature is absent.

The second letter  asked Senators Cornyn and Cruz to fight to defund the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.  Of course, Senator Deuell did not sign on.  As the de facto representative of the Texas Medical Association in the Senate, he not only voted for the Democrat-authored enabling legislation for the Obamacare navigators (SB 1795, SJ 1100), but he also proposed his own legislation for the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare; trying to use the widely unpopular, overreaching federal legislation for the benefit of himself and his physician contributors.

The third letter was in support of another fairly mainstream Republican policy position.  This time the letter asked the Attorney General to do all he can to oppose the U.N. Small Arms Treaty.  Of course, since Deuell’s definition of being a pro-Second Amendment legislator simply means not actively opposing guns, he neglected to sign it.  Initially, at least.

As one can imagine, his neglect towards opposing U.N. encroachment on the Second Amendment had more than a few people upset in SD 2.  One such concerned citizen, Ray Myers, brought the issue up at a Hopkins County Republican Club breakfast on November 16th with one of Deuell’s senior staffers.  Despite being given three opportunities per letter to add his name to the list, the official response given was that Deuell’s inaction was due to “not checking his email.”  Apathy towards conservative values, as exemplified by his record, is a more likely explanation.

After witnessing the negative blowback resulting from his apathetic view towards infringement of the Second Amendment, Deuell contacted the Texas Conservative Coalition to have his name retroactively added at the top of the list.  The original, unsigned version is viewable here, and the updated version, with his name conveniently added at the top, here.  Note the ever so slight difference in the URL, both of which come directly from the TCC’s website.  The irony is that Deuell’s addition of his name after the fact is purely for show, as his signature was never present in the hard copies presented to the recipient.

The conservative grassroots in SD 2 know they need new, conservative representation in the Senate.  Considering the inordinate disparity in spending between challenger Bob Hall and twelve-year incumbent Bob Deuell, there is no other explanation for Bob Hall’s strong showing on primary day.  Voters in SD 2 want a principled conservative leader, not a status-quo politician who uses his connections to cover his tracks when his lack of leadership gets noticed.

Greg Harrison

Gregory led the Central Texas Bureau for Empower Texans and Texas Scorecard. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he got involved politically through the Young Conservatives of Texas. He enjoys fishing, grilling, motorcycling, and of course, all things related to firearms.

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