State Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth wants it both ways. While he doesn’t want his constituents to know about his anti-taxpayer ways, but he also says he isn’t to worried about being seen as a government-growing spendoholic. Scoring just 45% on the TFR Index, Geren was the second-worst Republican on taxpayer issues (only Longview’s Tommy Merritt scored worse, with a 38%). In order to obfuscate his record, Geren is now playing fast and loose with the facts. But that should not surprise us, given that he plays fast and loose with our money.

He told the Austin-based political news/gossip Quorum Report that he “wan’t particularly upset” by the score he received from TFR — because he missed several votes during the legislative session due to illness. But Geren knows better: Legislators were graded only on the votes they took.

While claiming to not be worried about the negative rating, he also told the publication that he would have voted for the TFR position on some of those votes he missed, and would have put him higher on the chart.

Opps. While there is nothing in Geren’s abyssmal record to suggest he might actually vote positively on taxpayer issues, we took him at his word and ran the numbers.

Unfortunately for taxpayers, even if Geren HAD voted right on the votes he missed, he still would have received a failing 60%. That score would have kept him in the bottom dozen of Republican legislators.

Heck, he would have still been worse than taxpayer-offender Fred Hill of Richardson, whose retiring from the Legislature.

Geren’s not credible even when he’s making excuses. Now he’s taking to misrepresenting facts as much as he misrepresents the taxpayers of the 99th House District.

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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