Battleground Texas has high hopes of “turning Texas blue” by registering new voters as Democrats. And while it’s unlikely their efforts will be sufficient to overcome the conservative bias among Texans, the Wendy Davis ticket may increase Democrat turnout in November, resulting in unexpected victories down the ballot.
According to a letter released by BGTX, their strategy is not simply to contest high profile races. As we’ve previously noted, they’re dedicated to electing big government progressives at every level, from your City Council to the White House.
As an example, look no further than Keller ISD’s upcoming school board race for Place 5.
Shane Hardin is known by some as the Democrat challenger to Rep. Matt Krause (Fort Worth) in HD-93’s general election in 2012. His donors included the Tarrant Democrat Party, the Tarrant Stonewall Democrats, the Mid-City Democrats, the Texas AFL-CIO, the Transport Workers’ Union, the Brotherhood of Local Engineers and Trainmen, Rep. Lon Burnam (Fort Worth), and the former Chair of Tarrant County‘s Democratic Party, Steve Maxwell.
Is it any wonder who will be supporting him this election cycle?
Most Texans are unlikely to ever support progressive values. But if turnout in local elections continues to linger in the single-digits, the ideological leanings of Texans will remain entirely irrelevant.
As long as Texas primary voters continue to ignore local elections, big government progressives such as Hardin can easily win local campaigns in otherwise conservative communities like Keller ISD.
Some insist that, because Texas doesn’t require local candidates to declare political party affiliation, the races are non-partisan. Technically, this is accurate.
But when you consider the fact that local officials hold immense taxing, spending and borrowing authority, the danger of ignoring their governing ideology becomes obvious. Furthermore, such attitudes effectively diminish their relevance to voters and provide easy cover to progressives seeking anonymity in a fiscally conservative state.
Hardin is not just a liberal Democrat; he’s notorious for viciously attacking his ideological enemies in a manner consistent with the intolerant, left-wing political wing of the Democrat party.
He’s parroted propaganda that labels conservatives as extreme, racist and intellectually inferior.
Similar to other hate baiters, he’s also piled onto the baseless personal attacks against Sarah Palin and her family.
According to Hardin, Sen. Ted Cruz is a “bastard” who’s engaged in “treasonous behavior”.
His contempt doesn’t end with conservative Republicans. In his judgment, Southern Baptists have “cherry-picked” the Bible, while Southerners generally share an innate desire to “in-breed”.
Local governments are not only responsible for billions of taxpayer money; our officials exercise strong influence over state legislators. Last session, many lobbied liberal Democrats and Republicans to kill common-sense debt transparency legislation such as HB14, which would have forced local governments to disclose more detailed information on ballots for voters to consider. In their view, the legislation would have made it more difficult for local boards to convince voters that issuing new debt is fiscally responsible.
As a result, public education expenditures are outpacing the combined rate of enrollment and inflation.
With structural education funding reform also on the horizon, it’s crucial that voters are represented by like-minded local officials who will advocate in the best interest of parents, students and taxpayers.
Do you want your school board trustees lobbying against parental choice initiatives that provide alternatives for disadvantaged students trapped in failing schools, such as the expansion of charters, scholarship programs and other proven reforms?
Local boards are often used by aspiring politicians to build valuable name ID from which prolific political careers are born. After all, Wendy Davis served on the Fort Worth City Council for nine-years in arguably the most conservative county in Texas, during which she voted for and donated to Republicans. In 2008, she switched parties and ran for State Senate as a Democrat.
Shane Hardin may not be the “official” poster child of BGTX, but his persistence in running for local office should remind voters that their strategy to control government isn’t just a political war waged in Washington or Austin…it’s brewing in your own backyard.
Fortunately for Keller ISD residents, there’s an alternative on the ballot in May.
TFR recently announced its endorsement of grassroots leader, Jo Lynn Haussmann, in her bid for Keller ISD Trustee, Place 5.
The uniform election date for local elections is May 10th.
Who’s on your ballot?
