{"id":1765,"date":"2022-02-19T02:53:17","date_gmt":"2022-02-19T08:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/therichdontpaytax.com\/blog\/?p=1765"},"modified":"2022-02-22T16:01:12","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T22:01:12","slug":"in-texas-cd-8-voters-have-an-important-decision-and-a-clear-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/therichdontpaytax.com\/blog\/in-texas-cd-8-voters-have-an-important-decision-and-a-clear-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"In Texas CD-8, voters have an important decision and a clear choice."},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>As this is being written, there are still nine candidates vying for Kevin Brady\u2019s open seat in Congress. But only three have any chance of winning.<\/p>\n

When Congressman Brady announced that he would not seek re-election, a host of people registered as candidates for that seat. I think that, at one time, there were as many as 17 declared candidates. But lack of funds and popular support quickly eliminated several candidates. A few more hung in for a while, but one-by one, several more candidates who had no chance of winning, quietly dropped out of the race. But unfortunately, there are still six also-rans in this race, who continue to act as spoilers and their continued presence in the race could insure that a RINO wins this seat.<\/p>\n

What bothers me is that at least two of them are fine conservatives, who I have met and spoken with at length. I would like to see both of those two candidates in some political office some day. But if they stay in the race, then any chance that they might ever have to win any office will go down in flames, right along with their CD-8 campaign. Neither what I think, nor whatever\u00a0their reasons for staying in the race and handing the race to an Establishment RINO, will matter to the voters. The voters will simply see them as selfish spoilers, whose greed for power, overruled their desire to help the voters of the district. I\u2019m sure that is not the case for all of them. But that\u2019s what the voters will see.<\/p>\n

I should mention here, one former candidate for this seat, who has gone against the grain and who I hope will some day run for another office. He is a strong conservative, who refused to become a spoiler. Not long ago, Ryan Jarchow, evaluated the race and the remaining candidates and saw a real need to withdraw from the race and endorse the single conservative candidate in this race, who could defeat the two well funded Establishment RINOs.<\/p>\n

I commend Ryan Jarchow for his tenacity, in staying in the race as long as he did, for his dedication to the conservatives of CD-8, by withdrawing when he did, and for not just quietly disappearing from the scene, but for publicly endorsing Jonathan Hullihan, who is the only conservative candidate who has proven that his candidacy has the legs to not just keep up with the two Establishment RINOs, but to defeat them.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s get back to the issue at hand.<\/p>\n

There are two well funded Establishment RINOs in the CD-8 race – Morgan Luttrell and Christian Collins. Even without looking at who is behind each of them, you can tell that they are lackeys for the Establishment, simply by looking at their campaign finances.<\/p>\n

Unless a candidate is an incumbent or is already a millionaire, with lots of millionaire friends, he will build up his campaign chest over a period of months. But both Luttrell and Collins saw an influx of large amounts of money, almost immediately upon announcing their campaigns. But neither one of them are multimillionaires. That tells us\u00a0that there is a very good chance that they are both already bought and paid for. But you decide.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Jonathan Hullihan has managed to raise enough money, in small donations, to become a leader in the race, without<\/strong> Establishment money. He is the only one of the top three candidates who is definitely NOT<\/strong> owned by anyone but the voters of CD-8, because that\u2019s where the vast majority of his support has come from.<\/p>\n

All candidates, for all offices, tend to answer to those who provide the most campaign funds. So do you want a congressman\u00a0who is owned by the Establishment and super PACs or do you want a congressman who answers to you?<\/p>\n

Also look at the people who are behind each of them. Luttrell is endorsed by one of the biggest RINOs in Texas, former governor, Rick Perry. Collins is backed by Sen. Ted Cruz, who began kowtowing to the Establishment even before he was sworn into the Senate. Jonathan Hullihan, by contrast, has no such baggage.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s take a closer look at the top three candidates.<\/p>\n

Christian Collins (The \u201cKid\u201d):\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n
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“Kid” Collins<\/p><\/div>\n

We\u2019ll start with the one who is easiest to eliminate. Christian Collins has spent his entire post college life as a political gopher and gate keeper for politicians and candidates. He has zero<\/b> real-world experience. However, the Kid has made plenty of political contacts. Unfortunately, they are all within the GOP Establishment and Super PACS.<\/p>\n

Many years ago, Gov. John Connally told me that \u201cIn politics, success is not about who you know, but about who owes you.\u201d<\/i> He told me that most politicians owe<\/i> favors to hundreds of people and organizations, which means they are \u201cowned\u201d by the people to whom they owe favors and those people usually don\u2019t have the best interest of that politician\u2019s constituents at heart. He emphasized that, if you want to serve your constituents, you have to have others<\/i> owing you<\/i> favors, not the other way around.<\/p>\n

Now, with that in mind, ask yourself this. Is a political gopher one who is likely to collect<\/i> favors or owe<\/i> favors? Hint: A political gopher has nothing to offer, in the way of favors.<\/p>\n

Then think about the fact that when Collins announced his candidacy, he had lots of large donations to his campaign in very short order. Those two facts, alone should tell you that he is obviously already owned<\/i>.<\/p>\n

One of the most disconcerting issues with Collins, is that, although he is now running on a hard-line immigrations platform, Breitbart recently uncovered the thesis<\/b><\/a> that Collins had tried to hide, in which he suggested that Republicans should be less opposed to Amnesty, in order to attract more hispanic voters. Click on the link. Read it for yourself. But don\u2019t get me wrong. What bothers me is not that he once wrote a paper, in which he advocated that Republicans should be softer on immigration, but that he did his best to try to hide<\/b> that fact. People change their positions all the time. But when a politician tries to hide what he said in the past, it\u2019s usually because he has not really changed his past opinion and doesn\u2019t want voters to look too hard at his current statements.<\/p>\n

Has Collins changed his position on Amnesty or is he just following the instructions of those who own him? I can\u2019t say for sure. Maybe he was just trying to hide it, because it was so full of grammatical errors. (It really was. I read all 88 pages and he should have failed on poor grammar, alone.) I just know that something about his trying to hide his thesis doesn\u2019t feel right. So, you decide. However, before you do, read his thesis<\/b><\/a> and watch the Kid in the debate<\/b><\/a>. Then you decide if he has changed his opinion and if so, why.<\/p>\n

In the debate, Collins came off as a kid, who felt entitled. It\u2019s as though he thinks that, having been a political gopher for years, somehow entitles him to a seat in Congress. I encourage you to watch the debate. You\u2019ll see what I mean. Collins spoke in sound bites and tried, unsuccessfully, to avoid answering several questions, while obfuscating several others.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite attempts by the Kid, at dodging the question, was when all three candidates were asked, \u201cDo you live in and own property in the district?\u201d The other two candidates simply answered, \u201cYes,\u201d as a single answer to both questions. Collins used a debating tactic that often works against inexperienced debaters. He answered only part of the question, by saying, \u201cYes. I live in the district\u201d. This is a debating tactic aimed at diverting attention from the fact that he has no property ownership ties to the district.<\/p>\n

That dodge might have worked, had he not been debating a lawyer. But Hullihan, being a former JAG officer, is an experienced debater and was not going to let that one pass. So he pointedly asked the Kid if he actually \u201cowned\u201d property in the district, to which Collins was finally forced to answer, \u201cNo,\u201d to that part of the original question.<\/p>\n

Watch the debate<\/b><\/a>!<\/b><\/p>\n

In fact, property ownership in the district is an important issue. After all, you don\u2019t want a congressman who will do what so many others have done and go to Washington, get a place there, and have no ties back to District 8. For the record, Kevin Brady, who held this seat since 1997, owned property in the district, his family lived here, and he spent every possible weekend back in the district.<\/p>\n

I strongly suspect that a Kid, who has been a political gopher since college and doesn\u2019t own property in the district, would be the most likely of the three candidates in the debate, to become one of those DC denizens, who would be more interested in attending DC parties and making more contacts to further his political career, than to come home on weekends and talk to constituents about what they want.<\/p>\n

Throughout the debate, Collins tried several logical fallacies and dodges, to avoid questions for which the answers might prove inconvenient or embarrassing to him. He even tried asking the audience questions, as a diversion. The moderator had to keep him on subject. Even when he was on subject, he spoke in conservative sound bites and showed no indication of having any ideas of his own. That means that, if he were go to DC, he would be easily manipulated by the Establishment\u2026 that is, if he wasn’t already owned by the Establishment.<\/p>\n

Near the end of the debate, the candidates were asked if they supported the FAIRtax. Collins answered a simple, \u201cYes.\u201d But this raises a question. His name does not appear on the <\/b>FAIRtax.org<\/b><\/a> website, as having signed the FAIRtax Candidate Pledge<\/b>. Furthermore, it\u2019s not because he doesn\u2019t know about the Pledge. I personally contacted him at his campaign kickoff event, to ask him to sign the pledge. He told me, at that time, that he supported the FAIRtax. But when I asked him what features of the FAIRtax influenced his support, he was unable to answer<\/b>. Worse, instead of admitting that he didn\u2019t understand it, he tried to bluff his way through, proving that he knew little or nothing about the FAIRtax, that he said he supported. He then made a poor attempt at changing the subject.<\/p>\n

Watch the debate<\/b><\/a>!<\/b><\/p>\n

So what we have is a Kid who wants to be our congressman, who supports a bill that he doesn\u2019t understand. What\u2019s wrong with this picture? The FAIRtax (H.R.25)<\/b> is a great bill. There is not a thing wrong with it. But if this kid understood it enough to support it, he should have been able to come up with at least one thing he liked about it – just one. What if it was a different bill that had something bad in it. Do you want a representative who supports bills (any bills) that he doesn\u2019t understand and then tries to run a bluff, when he is questioned about that bill? Do you want a congressman who votes for bills, before he understands them?<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Collins did a very good job in the debate, of nailing his campaign coffin shut\u2026 at least where people watching the debate were concerned. One thing is certain. The more people who watch that debate, the fewer votes Collins will get.<\/p>\n

Watch the debate<\/b><\/a>!<\/b><\/p>\n

Morgan Luttrell (The \u201cBouncer\u201d)\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n
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This is “Bouncer” Luttrell at his best.<\/p><\/div>\n

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This is “Bouncer” Luttrell at his worst.<\/p><\/div>\n

Before we get to the real issues, I feel like I must get one embarrassing issue out of the way. Luttrell would be an embarrassment to the voters of CD-8. One commenter on the live feed expressed what many were thinking:<\/p>\n

\u201cLuttrell looks like someone drug him from the bar straightened his tie [threw] water on his face an pushed him on stage <\/i>😂\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Having someone like Luttrell as the district\u2019s congressman would probably lower property values across the district, because decent Texans would be embarrassed to say they lived in a district represented by such a gauche person. OK. I\u2019m kidding, there. But truthfully, the way he comports himself would definitely be an embarrassment to the voters of the district. He looks like he is angry all the time. But then, that\u2019s probably a look he had to perfect, during his days as a bouncer (really). But that look and open anger that worked in the bar room, won\u2019t help him get things done in Washington.<\/p>\n

This does raise a question. If the Bouncer were to go to Congress, would the Speaker of the House\u00a0be allowed to use a different phrase to address him. After all, Luttrell would certainly not fit the traditional term for a congressman, “the gentleman from Texas.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Now that we have his appearance and abusive attitude out of the way, let\u2019s get on to the real issues.<\/p>\n

The first thing to note is that Morgan is running on his twin brother\u2019s (Marcus Luttrell\u2019s) name recognition. Morgan Luttrell was indeed a SEAL and I don\u2019t intend to belittle his service. But, his brother, Marcus, earned the Navy Cross and had a movie made about him. His is the name you may recognize, not Morgan’s. My point is that\u00a0you should not let his last name fool you. It was a different Luttrell, who won the Navy Cross. Although Morgan was a SEAL, for which he deserves recognition, the name recognition belongs to his brother.<\/p>\n

Also, consider who has been Luttrell\u2019s primary endorser and who has appeared with him at several events. Establishment favorite, former Governor Rick Perry, is Luttrell\u2019s main endorser. That should be more than enough to shoo away most conservatives. But if that\u2019s not enough, consider that Luttrell is endorsed by RINO and Trump-hater Extraordinaire, Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), who interestingly enough, also has an abusive attitude, when facing tough questions and who, as a result, has a history of being belligerent to constituents, in town halls. In fact, look at the endorsers on Luttrell\u2019s website and you will see a who\u2019s who of Establishment RINOs. As with Collins, Luttrell is also clearly bought, paid for, and\u00a0owned<\/b>\u00a0by the Establishment and the super PACs.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re just getting started. Luttrell claims that his SEAL background gives him the tools he would need in Congress. In actuality, in order to be successful in Congress, he would have to go against<\/b> his SEAL training. That\u2019s because SEALS are taught to think \u201ctactically.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> They have to think tactically, in order to stay alive. Tactics are all about the NOW. Tactics are about completing a single mission and getting back to base alive. To a SEAL, the mission is over when all of the team gets back to base.<\/p>\n

But in Congress, we need someone who thinks \u201cstrategically.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Strategy is about the long view. It\u2019s about planning an entire campaign and achieving an end goal that is the result of many missions, over an extended period of time. To a strategic thinker, it\u2019s not over till every mission is complete and every asset is back home. SEALs are great people and they are the best at what they do. But their \u201ctactical\u201d training is exactly the opposite<\/em> of what is required of a member of Congress.<\/p>\n

Watch the debate<\/b><\/a>!<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the questions that was asked at the end of the debate was, \u201cDo you support the FAIRtax?\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Luttrell answered \u201cYes.\u201d<\/em> But this raises a question. As with Collins, Luttrell\u2019s name does NOT<\/b> appear on the FAIRtax.org<\/b><\/a> website, as having signed the FAIRtax Candidate Pledge<\/b>. Furthermore, it\u2019s not because he doesn\u2019t know about the Pledge. I personally contacted him at his campaign kickoff event, to ask him to sign the pledge. He told me, at that time, that he supported the FAIRtax. But, like Collins, when I asked him what features of the FAIRtax influenced his support, he was unable to answer. To his credit, he didn\u2019t try to bluff his way through an answer, the way Collins had, when I asked him the same question. Instead, Luttrell told me he needed to learn a little more about it\u2026 Right!\u2026 Luttrell\u00a0needed more time to learn enough about an issue he just claimed to support, to be able to tell a constituent why<\/span> he supports it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s rich!<\/b><\/h3>\n

Who wants a congressman who supports bills that he doesn\u2019t understand enough to even recite talking points about, let alone speak knowledgeably about?<\/p>\n

Watch the debate<\/b><\/a>!<\/b><\/p>\n

But I saved the worst for last.<\/p>\n

I already mentioned the source of Luttrell\u2019s campaign funds, as \u201csuggesting\u201d<\/i><\/b> that he is owned<\/b>. Well now, let me remove all doubt. While writing this article, I learned that today, The Congressional Leadership Fund, is making a $600,000 media buy, for Luttrell.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Fox News, \u201cThe Congressional Leadership Fund is closely aligned with House GOP leader\u00a0Kevin McCarthy and has been described as the top super PAC backing House Republicans.\u201d<\/i><\/b> So considering this, ask yourself if is there any doubt left that Luttrell is bought and paid for and in the pocket of Establishment RINOs? Do you really believe that a candidate who gets that kind of super PAC support\u00a0will be partial to the voters of CD-8 or will he kowtow to his Establishment donors and handlers? You decide\u2026<\/p>\n

All together, when you consider all of the above issues \u2013 his all too obvious anger<\/strong>, being owned by his Establishment backers<\/strong>, his tactical thought process<\/strong>, instead of strategic thought process, and his willingness to support bills he does not understand<\/strong>, not to mention that he always looks like \u201csomeone drug him from the bar, straightened his tie [and] threw water on his face\u201d<\/i> before pushing him in front of the camera \u2013 Luttrell is damage goods and not a good fit for any seat in Congress, particularly one representing a strongly conservative district, like CD-8.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jonathan Hullihan (The \u201cJAG\u201d)<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Jonathan Hullihan the “JAG”<\/p><\/div>\n

Jonathan Hullihan is a former Navy JAG officer, who has lots of operational experience communicating with congressional committees and the White House. As a JAG, he was responsible for, among other things, approving individual missions. This approval essentially confirmed that the guys on the ground were targeting the right place and the right people. The main purpose of the JAG was to insure that U.S. political interests were protected.<\/p>\n

In this regard, the JAG generally knows the strategic<\/em><\/strong> plan, so he can help to insure that the current mission fits within that larger strategic plan. So, where the Bouncer incorrectly claimed that his SEAL \u201ctactical\u201d<\/em> training gave him the tools to be a good congressman, the JAG\u2019s \u201cstrategic\u201d<\/em> training really did give him the tools to succeed in Congress.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk endorsements. Unlike the two Establishment candidates, who\u2019s endorsement lists are made up of some of the most moderate and despised RINOs in the GOP, including Trump-haters, Hullihan\u2019s endorsers are some of the most recognized names among real conservatives. Every conservative should recognize the name of House Freedom Caucus member, U.S. Rep. Dr. Paul Gosar (AZ-4), who was an early endorser of Hullihan. The JAG\u00a0is also endorsed by Blaze TV host, Chad Prather, conservative firebrand Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14), and local activist, Steven F. Hotze, among other strong conservatives, both local and national. His organizational endorsements include, Texans For True Conservatives, Conservative Republicans of Texas PAC, and Katy Christian Magazine. In short, the people whose job it is to identify real conservatives and who don\u2019t owe any political favors, are behind Jonathan Hullihan.<\/p>\n

In the debate held on February 7, Hullihan came off as the adult in the room, who stayed above the fray. The JAG\u00a0presented real solutions, while the most meaningful things said by the Bouncer and the Kid, came in the form of recited conservative sound bites. Hullihan was the clear winner in that debate. Despite what the other candidates and their supporters may claim, you can tell what the other candidates really think. Of the three candidates, who appeared in the debate, only Hullihan has posted a link to the debate on his Facebook page. Moreover, he has it proudly pinned to the top of the page.<\/p>\n

Think about it. If you were a candidate, who had just clearly won a debate, wouldn\u2019t you be posting it everywhere, for voters to see. Jonathan knows he won that debate in a walk, just as the other two are ashamed of their performance in that debate. I could find no link to the debate on their official sites or any of their campaign-related pages. But The JAG has it pinned to the top of his Facebook page. Now you know who won the debate.<\/p>\n

If every voter in CD-8 were to watch that debate, Hullihan would win the primary without a runoff.<\/p>\n

Watch the debate<\/b><\/a>!<\/b><\/p>\n

Also, remember how both Luttrell and Collins said that they supported the FAIRtax, but how neither could give one reason why they supported it. Well, when I asked Jonathan Hullihan why he supported the FAIRtax, he began citing a whole list of things he likes about it<\/b> and it was clear that he understood the subject. Also, Jonathan Hullihan is the only one of the top three candidates in this race, who has signed the FAIRtax Candidate Pledge<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n