"When they start accusing me of stealing my mother’s chickens, you know they're desperate."
By David Erinakes
AUSTIN, Texas (Texas Insider Report) — It only takes one trip to the mailbox – or these days, to your Inbox or Social Media Text Streams – to be overwhelmed by candidates trying to out-conservative each other. What was once a contrast of ideas is now just essentially a bunch of cow nuggets thrown against the wall to see what sticks.
That's usually is a function of looking to find out which candidate has the most money – but in the recent Texas House District 2 Special Election won by conservative Jill Dutton, the screams, hysteria and made up constructs failed.
A bonified conservative, Jill Dutton, won that race and is now District 2's first accessible representative since Dan Flynn.So how did she do it?
That was what a large group of conservative Republicans asked Dutton in Austin last week. To thunderous cheers, they recognized that Dutton was the first candidate to successfully push back against the likes of the "Defend Texas Liberty PAC" – and win.
- READ MORE: The Power of Words & Money in Tuesday's Special Election for Texas House District 2
- Candidate Brent Money has a real campaign donation problem. After telling the news media he took NO contributions from a disgraced PAC – Defend Texas Liberty – Money's campaign Finance Report shows he did... $35,000 dollars worth.
Dutton informed the voters of House District 2, and empowered them to make a decision for themselves.
While her opponent was touting a 10-20 point lead in the polls during the Special Election, now-Representative Dutton simply focused her efforts on block walking, going to every event possible to meet as many voters as possible – and asking questions about the large amounts of out-of-distrct financial support her opponent received.
What the voters in House District 2 found was unsettling.
While her opponent was touting a 10-20 point lead in the polls during the Special Election, now-Representative Dutton simply focused her efforts on block walking, going to every event possible to meet as many voters as possible – and asking questions about the large amounts of out-of-distrct financial support her opponent received.
What the voters in House District 2 found was unsettling.
Voters had initially bought into her opponent's message of, "Biden is destroying the country," and "the Republican Speaker in Austin is a Democrat" – so vote for me.
This may sound like a solution – if you're as scared for our nation as many of us are – but in reality, it was and is a trap. What was really being said is that the candidate wants voters to allow them – and their out-of-district billionaire funders – to have control over how he voted in the State Capitol, instead of the in-district constituents.
Obviously, the East Texas voters in House Dist. 2 rejected her opponent for:
Calling Gov. Greg Abbott "Weak & Spineless"- Being seen in a TV program as an advid Anti-Trump guy
- Taking large amounts of money from the same groups that supported the now disgraced & expelled former State Rep. Brian Slaton (an investigation determined Slaton had an inappropriate relationship with a 19-year-old intern on his staff,) as well as
- His support from individuals who are buying local land for Chinese Nationals
When you make that sort of stuff up, it was as former long-term Dist. 2 Representative Dan Flynn said:
"When they start accusing me of stealing my mother’s chickens, you know they're desperate."
With the March 5th Texas Primary Election right around the corner – and Early Voting already underway, ending on Friday, March 1st – it will be interesting to see if Representative Dutton’s message of party unity, knowing who you are voting for, and a return of access for voters in the district to their Representative is enough to overcome her opponent's onslaught of out-of-district purity tests and an "only we can determine who is right for you" argument.
Most Republicans I know learned their lesson during the Special Election that Dutton won – and reject such disingenuous tactics out of hand.
The more the voter knows...
David Erinakes formerly worked in the Texas Legislature, and is currently Chief Executive Officer of The E Development Companies.
