Like so many, we’ve been pleased to watch Sen. Ted Cruz and other conservatives push back against the Obama Administration’s unconstitutional attacks on conservatives with the power of the IRS.

Unfortunately, it’s not just Obama trying to stifle speech and use government power to harass conservatives.

Make no mistake: you are still under attack right here in Texas. But we are fighting back.

Yesterday afternoon Empower Texans filed suit against the Texas Ethics Commission in federal court. This has all the hallmarks of being a very significant First Amendment and due-process case with far-reaching implications.

After two years of enduring the use of a state agency as a political and economic weapon against our organization, we have taken this step at the full and correct time. The Texas Ethics Commission has become a rogue agency, exceeding the powers provided by state law and making demands that violate basic constitutional protections.

Commissioners are now attempting to do through regulation what the governor specifically vetoed nine months ago. They are attempting to silence conservatives and threaten donors to conservative causes with new Obama-like donor intimidation regulations.

In vetoing the speech-stifling SB346 favored by Democrats and left-leaning Republicans last year, Gov. Rick Perry wrote: “At a time when our federal government is assaulting the rights of Americans by using the tools of government to squelch dissent it is unconscionable to expose more Texans to the risk of such harassment, regardless of political, organizational or party affiliation.”

Sadly, the Texas Ethics Commission is ignoring his message.

The TEC has left us no choice but to go to federal court. The commissioners have made it abundantly clear they intend to do lasting harm to me, to Empower Texans, and to all who follow us. Every pro-life group, family-rights organization, faith society and citizen’s club in Texas will be subject to intimidation, harassment and attack by powerful politicians who don’t like something they say.

You can read more about our lawsuit in this news write-up on Breitbart Texas.

This fight is not about me or Empower Texans. This is about the very future of our cherished rights of political speech and association, and whether they are to last. If those fall, so too will our system of self-governance.

The underhanded work of the Texas Ethics Commission is intended by the political establishment as a new avenue for attacking citizens who question government actions. Establishment politicians from both parties, and their cronies in the lobby, want to use the extensive power of government to bring economic harm against those who expose their actions in office.

I humbly ask for your prayers for our Empower Texans staff, board, legal team and me as we enter this new stage of the battle.

In Washington, Obama is doing it through the IRS. In Texas, Democrats and liberal Republicans are using the TEC. In both cases, a war on political speech is being waged by the establishment against We the People.

We will win, because we must win.

Michael Quinn Sullivan

Michael Quinn Sullivan is the publisher of Texas Scorecard. He is a native Texan, a graduate of Texas A&M, and an Eagle Scout. Previously, he has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine contributor, Capitol Hill staffer, and think tank vice president. Michael and his wife have three adult children, a son-in-law, and a dog. Michael is the author of three books, including "Reflections on Life and Liberty."

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