Young Republicans Reject Current Texas GOP Platform

I just started writing a few articles for Breitbart Texas, and my first byline appeared this afternoon. Check it out:

Article about equal pay rally cites two examples...of women who were paid equally!

Yesterday's Houston Chronicle included an article about women who were protesting for "National Equal Pay Day" and urging Texas lawmakers to pass equal pay legislation, an issue that seems to be the new favorite for Texas Democrats this election year:

Houston Chronicle | Public officials, advocates rally for equal pay for women

The fact that the 77 cent figure is complete nonsense is well-documented (if you made it here to my little corner of the internet, I assume you know how to Google. If not, check out here, here, here, here, and here, for starters.) but what I found hysterical about this article is the reporter was covering a group of people who traveled to Houston to protest for equal pay legislation, but couldn't find a single woman who really needed the protection of a new law.

Sink, Sank, Sunk

Alex Sink and David Jolly

If Alex Sink thought she'd have an easy path to Congress in Florida's 13th District, she was badly mistaken. Perhaps realizing she cannot run from her past support for Obamacare, she instead continues to enthusiastically promote it during her campaign, leading to awkward moments such as a recent interview in which she referred to job losses caused by Obamacare as "an exciting prospect."

This disconnect with the unpopularity of Obamacare creates an opportunity for Sink's Republican challenger David Jolly and his supporters. American Crossroads released an ad today, titled "Sunk," featuring compelling interviews with Pinellas County seniors that highlight other troubling details from Sink's record:

My calendar is broken.

Help. I need someone to send me a new calendar. Mine is broken.

Today is CLEARLY not February 10th...it HAS to be April Fool's Day:

Lyrics: She's Got #WendyDavisLies

Some song lyrics inspired by Wendy Davis' latest little media snafu...

She's Got #WendyDavisLies

Set to the tune of "Bette Davis Eyes," by Kim Carnes

Her hair is Barbie gold
Her filibuster flies
Her heart is always cold
She’s got #WendyDavisLies
She’ll turn her sneakers on you
The media won’t question her twice
Fundraises in New York, oh
She’s got #WendyDavisLies

How to tell if your Texas friends are good at math

Simple test to see if your friends in Texas are good at math: anyone who says Wendy Davis "raised over $12 million" is NOT good at math.

Google Hangout with @JohnCornyn today 12 pm CT

Later today, Texas Senator John Cornyn is hosting a Google Hangout, and I've been invited to participate.

Should be fun. The festivities kick off at 12 pm CT, and if you want to watch, click here to RSVP.

The real meaning of "pro-life"

There's a interview at National Review by Kathryn Jean Lopez and Chuck Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute that's a must read for any supporters of the pro-life cause. Read the whole thing, but I want to draw special attention to this quote:

Questions raised about tonight's straw poll in Harris County

Who's got the short straw? Depends
 on who's picking out the straws.

Coming up tonight: a "Take Back Harris County" rally in Houston, featuring many of the Republican candidates for statewide office as "special guests" and a straw poll.

I always find straw polls to be very interesting political games. I've said many times before that if you give me at least a week's notice and an adequate budget, that I can buy almost any straw poll in the country.

There are several important tricks to understanding straw polls:

Bipartisan agreement: Alan Grayson is a loudmouth nut

As someone who had the unpleasant experience of having Alan Grayson as my Congresscritter for two years, this story did not surprise me at all:

EMILY's List Demands Apology from Vogue...Just Kidding!

Elle Woods would approve of
this look, don't you think?

This is cracking me up. Certain voices on the Left whipped themselves into a frenzy of outrage when RedState's Erick Erickson referred to Texas State Senator Wendy Davis as "Abortion Barbie."

Reality check: none of these people seemed to have any problem with similar insults being flung at Sarah Palin, and Davis is a very attractive, slender blonde who is known for wearing stylish clothes. I've heard more than one friend who's worked in the Capitol mention her seemingly endless collection of Louboutin shoes. Forgive me for thinking that this isn't really the Worst Insult Ever™.

Greg Abbott's goal: "A Texas where any child of any background" can succeed

Earlier today, the Greg Abbott campaign sent out an email thanking everyone who attended his campaign kickoff in San Antonio. The email ended with this paragraph:

Together we will build a Texas that attracts jobs, promotes opportunity and rewards ingenuity – a Texas where any child of any background has a chance to smile, to hope, to dream and to succeed.

Texas campaign finance reports show strong launch for Abbott, daunting hurdles for Davis, solid potential for Staples

Few things get a political news junkie's heart racing like a new batch of campaign finance reports. Pavlov's dog has nothing on how we drool over the lists of figures...who raised how much, how much cash on hand, who wrote all those checks, and so on.

For candidates, early campaign finance reports often take on make-it-or-break-it importance, especially for candidates seeking a new, higher office. The latest campaign finance reports here in Texas certainly seem poised to crush the dreams of some, while boosting others.

Matt Mackowiak, proprietor of Must Read Texas, posted a chart on Facebook earlier tonight with the figures for the top races in Texas:

Florida Democrat State Rep. Mike Clelland finds himself in hole; keeps digging; accomplishes nothing

Gotta love politicians...seems like they are skilled at putting their feet in their mouths like nobody else out there.

President of the Foot-in-Mouth Club for this week is freshman Florida State Representative Mike Clelland, a Democrat who benefited from an Obama reelection year boost (which will not be factor when Scott Plakon faces off against him in 2014) and represents a very Republican district in Seminole County.

Clelland jumped into the spotlight earlier this week, when he made comments about a proposed amendment to a bill regarding physical fitness requirements for firefighters that were interpreted by many as disparaging to women. As Tom Tillison at BizPac Review reported yesterday:

Weatherford raises national profile as distance grows between Gov. Scott and conservative grassroots

After a number of articles late last year describing Florida Speaker of the House Will Weatherford as a "rising star" who was following in Marco Rubio's footsteps, he officially took the reins as one of Florida's youngest Speakers with the beginning of the 2013 legislative session and has embarked on an ambitious agenda, including campaign finance and education reform.

This week included two important moments for Weatherford as he continues to raise his national profile.

Another shameless power grab coming from MA Dems?

It's been an interesting time for me in Massachusetts this year, seeing the differences (the many, many, many differences) between that state and Florida. 

Both states have a legislature dominated by one party, but with wide variation in how much autonomous power the controlling party really has. When the Republicans who control the Florida House and Senate push their luck too far, the Florida press corps howl in protest and voters in even heavily-Republican districts tend to reject anything really outlandish (case in point: the failure of many of the constitutional amendments, which originated in the Legislature, on the ballot this year).

In contrast, in Massachusetts, when the Democrats try something nutty, it's met with shrugs  and mostly ignored as simply business as usual. At best, media outlets like the Boston Herald may cover a story here and there, but it rarely seems to slow down the Democrats' appetite for abusing government power.