Individual Response Results for the Texas Republican Legislative Priorities Report Survey

What Else Do You Think? Please use the section below to say whatever you want to say about the report, why you like it, why you don't like it, and what should happen?
The report is a good idea but needs to be thought out more, logistically, for the next State Convention
Since I have no idea what a Legislative Priorities Report is comprised of, what its purpose and function is, etc... it was hard to know how to truthfully answer these questions. Because of that and no previous knowledge of the Bylaws, I have no idea as to wether I think it would violate them or if they should be changed . It would really help to have some background on the ins and outs of the Legislative Priorities Report in order to be able to answer these questions.
David, it does not matter if the TX GOP publishes the report or not, since the GOP has too many cheaters who are afraid and understand party politics better than they understand guided principles. If the report is published, should we trust it or will it be "rigged" to make the individual look good. This is rule 43 all over again and when it comes to GOP politics a bunch believe in transparency and a bunch believe in "the group" and the two are in conflict. "The group" will never "purify" their leaders for not following the "platform" but they will punish their leaders/members for not following the unwritten but "groupness". It kind of goes like this ... the 11th commandment ... thou shall not speak ill of a fellow republican I recently sent an email to all the pct chairs in my county which I had email for and gave them the list of votes which Kevin Brady had voted and I have concluded that Kevin Brady does not represent me and I asked them for their opinion on the matter, this is what one person told me which is a perfect example of this "principle" / "groupness" issue .... I have not gotten permission to publish it but it goes like this paraphrased .... I have taken a vow as pct chair not to publicly comment on candidates before the primary (for the sake of the group) .... but I am a devout conservative, small biz owner, etc, etc The TX GOP leadership uses the platform to keep conservatives voting for their guys in November who for the most part don't care a straw about the platform when they are in office. Just look at the Joe Strauss issues and the Airport frisk issue.
Accountability is the best way to assure our Party values are being upheld.
Transparency it's important . A clear report should be published
The SREC needs to carry out the will of the 6,000 delegates who wildly applauded the plank to have a legislative voter report sent out before the primaries to help voters know which legislators voted for bills tied to the Republican Party Platform and which ones did not.
i dare you to get the politics out of it. it's not as black and white as you think . the good guys can look like bad guys if the bad guys make the report.
We must have this kind of transparency with our elected officials. Anything less and our Republican party will continue toward a useless moderate organization. I would like for our party to not just sound conservative, but also to make sure our elected officials know what we expect and that we are watching. We can continue to compromise and be politically correct and we will just get more of the same. Failing to hold elected officials accountable and the tendency toward a moderate party will cause an exodus of our members to the 'tea part'.
This seems pretty straight forward. People would like to believe that when a vote is cast and a decision is made, action is taken accordingly. If there was concern regarding the appropriateness of this issue with regards to by-laws, should this not have been addressed before voting?
Because the RPT is so tied to the will of the big donors who are more moderate than the voters, the RPT does not want to allienate the big donors who support the RHINO legislators and is looking for a way to not implement the scoring.
David, I'll send you separately some items I found in the Rules & Bylaws that suggest the platform committee is the correct determiner of principles and values . It is MUCH stronger in its inference than ANY attempt to tie a report to possible favoritism of one candidate over another. Maybe you can work some of this into your article? Thanks! Mark Ramsey
Most Republicans have not seen the Report yet so we really cannot comment on it yet. The SREC needs to just publish the YEA/NAY votes on any bills that touched on our list of 46 Legislative Priorites. I have heard that the current Report only lists the TX House votes. Wayne Christian and the YCT need to finish this report to include the TX Senate and the US Congress votes!
The only secret vote is at the poling station. All elected officials vote should be an open record and published
We must earn the support of the citizens by being transparent in everything.
This report is a huge step in helping voters understand how their legislatures are representing them. It's time is PAST DUE. Transparency is healthy and this report will help keep Texas strong. It is a FABULOUS idea!!!
Our elected SREC men and women must abide by the will of the delegates at the last state Republican convention. On a completely different topic, we noted with sadness that a soldier from Lumberton perished in Afghanistan last week. We used to live in Beaumont, and Lumberton was right in our "back yard." Our troops are our extended family, as our daughter is a veteran and our son-in-law is currently deployed. I hope that you will extend your heartfelt sympathies to the family of this man.
Having not read 'the report' it is difficult to be certain of it's ramifications . I think it's release will put all legislator's voting record more clearly in the public domain and be a good thing. The By-Laws will need to be changed to allow the publishing of the report, but I am in favor for more transparency in how our representatives vote during the session.
I have a problem if this turns into a gotcha for members of the legislature. No scorecard accurately reflects the effectiveness of a legislator. We need to stay within the confines of what the party is supposed to do. Run primaries and win elections is the primary job of the party. Many individuals and private organizations do a good job of tracking the votes of legislators. This does not need to be a purity test. We have primaries for that.
We continually make efforts to elect good conservative people to represent us but it is always hard to find out if those who are elected are actually upholding, by their votes, the values that the Republican Party of Texas professes, by our platform, to stand for. Publishing this report will help the rank and file to more readily assess how elected reps are doing in this respect.
It is unacceptable that RPT would not provide an analysis of the votes and allow the people who support them to decide whether they return to office. After all this isnt a jobs program. Its oir donations that keep them and the candidates in existence. Even in the real world you are giving the opportunity to see whether you are getting a return on your investment!
I sincerely hope that Rep. Wayne Christian's outstanding work as chairman of the 2010 RPT Platform Committee will be noted by the SREC. As well as the excellent work of his two legal counselors throughout the process and the Convention's Parliamentarian and Legal Counsel. I especially hope that the intent of the delegates will be honored .
HONOR YOUR WORD...Once a committement is made, your word is your bond. The political landscape is a mess, WHY IN THE WORLD is this an issue? Your personal creditability and the creditability of the Party is on the line RIGHT NOW - Will you be a voice of the People, or arrogant elitists ?
I disagreed with putting it in the platform to begin with, but since it is there and the will of the delegates, it should be followed through. There are numerous and sometimes complicated issues/reasons why a legislator's vote might appear oppposed to platform values and publishing a report like this makes us too simpleminded. I much prefer using the resources already out there like Texas Eagle Forum and Liberty Institute to grade our legislators. It is our responsibility as voters to hold our legislators accountable - the tea party has shown that. We need to get away from abdicating our civic responsibility to a higher source even if it's the Republican Party.
I strongly support a report that makes public a "report card" of our State Legislatures . Republicans need to know how their representatives handle important issues.
We need to let the world know what kind of representative Government this party and its candidates stand for.
This is a great way for the constituents to hold our elected officilas accountable . If they are going to receive money from the RPT, then they need to vote in line with the RPT conservative principles or be voted out. Thanks for publishing this report.....
Illegal immigrants policy should be zero tolerence!!
I believe the vote on either publishing the report or changing the bylaws should be a recorded vote for all to see.
We should demand accountability to the Platform from our elected GOP officials. If we governed according to the Platform with integrity... state government would be much better!
it is HIGH TIME for some transparency in the Texas legislature.
The report doesn't cover the 46 priorities written by Rep. Christian and rubber- stamped by the Platform Committee. It covers only the few items actually having record votes. It is a meaningless report intended to promote Rep. Christian as it's main goal. It is sad to see the grassroots used so openly. The full voting records of every representative are public and available, a fact lost on the howling mob.
I like the idea of a report so that our elected officials at least know the priorities of the SREC, County Chairmen and delegates to the State Convention. Unfortunately I am not convinced that our Republican elected officials pay that much attention to the party at all unless they are contacted by people in their districts regarding the various issues. That is the only thing that seems to work
It would provide an excellent unbiased tool for the voters to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions.
I thank you for your efforts in doing this. It is MUCH appreciated. Mary Breitung
TRANSPARENCY!!!
List all votes, organized by Republican Party Platform planks related to the issue . In the very unlikely event that a bill is unrelated to the platform, put it in an all other category.
The argument against this is that free thought is the victim and that all persons must think and vote the same. That is not the case. Each individual representative can think and vote his/her conscience. He/She just needs to know that they have to stand by their voting record. And, if they are representing their constituents that should not be a problem.
It is an essential part of Party accountability to take ownership of and distribute this type of information. Such transparency is essential if the GOP is EVER going to improve its overall approval rating as an entity.
The SREC should be very careful not to hold itself out as instructor tot he GOP legislative caucus. The members of the Legislature were elected by the people, not the SREC. But, it is entirely appropriate for the Party to say: "Look, this is our list of priorities based upon the votes of delegates to our convention." Beyond that is an abuse of the SREC because it is not elected by Primary to represent all Party members.
As GOP leaders we have the responsibility to make governance as transparent as possible . To that end, it is obvious that an easily accessible report on the voting record of our Senators and Representatives should be pursued by the RPT. The report should include a brief summary of each bill, the advantages and disadvantages of the bill , and a record of the votes cast on each bill.
Anytime exposure is fought, it is by those who want the "good 'ol boy" poitics to continue. i want it ended and exposure will help in doing that!
Why have a platform if we cannot hold our elected officials accountable to it? I was a delegate and my husband was a delegate. We both voted for this report, and we feel it is vital to have it out before primary election season. Right or wrong... it looks bad for the party, the chairman and the SREC to keep this from being published with as much information as the legislature was able to vote on .
i didn't know how to answer question 4. i like this idea. it lets everyone know how their legislator voted on numerous issues. i think this will give the people more transparency on their legislators and their actions. unlike the transparency offered by the obama administration.
The only way for the Republican Party to stay at the forefront of politics is to be totally open. Americans crave a Party of values and conservative beliefs. This would go a long way to assure voters that their politicians hold constituent 's views.
Report should address special interest groups promoting and/or opposing proposed legislation.
Republicans have a right to know who the moderates and RINO's are in our midst so we can evaluate them. And we need the easiest method possible to identify who stands with our (each individuals) values. It appears to me that this is the most direct and consistent method. I would certainly personally examine the motives behind anyone voting against this report.
I would like to see it!
All legislation in state and federal sessions should be open to the public. We vote to send representatives that we believe share our positions and we should be able to determine that our policies are being supported by those elected.
99%+ of citizens do not have time nor would the know where to get the information provided in this report. This information will let them know whether the rhetoric they heard from the candidates matches how the legislators voted in representing them. A VERY valuable service.
It's high time that the Republican Party of Texas started behaving in a manner consistent with its voter base. This measure would help.
I want to see how each rep/senator is voting. No closed door, no veils, just open information for all. I believe that Government is responsible to the governed, not the other way around. This report will help hold our officials accountable.
Need to be specific what Republican values are. Let not let this become a negative to elected officials who have to govern.
I think this is an attempt at hiding the voting record of some of our reps and we will remember who is trying to do this when we go to the polls.
be accountable and 'perfectly clear'!
I understand that there were only 14 bills that addressed any of the 46 legislative priorities outlined in the Republican Platform. This was because bills addressing the remaining priorities were killed in committee by "moderate" (liberal) Committee Chairs appointed by our "moderate" (liberal) Speaker Joe Strauss. I think that this should somehow be reported as well...name the Committee chair in which bills relating to Republican Party legislative priorities got killed and why, despite super majority status, they didn't even get brought to the floor for a vote.
I feel the Republican Party needs to stand up and be counted and not be ashamed of their record.
Transparency, transparency, transparency. The delegates donate an incredible amount of time and money toward our state GOP platform, and the state party spends thousands of dollars every 2 years for the convention. If the state party has a problem with complying with the state platform, or any elected official that stood to benefit from running under the GOP banner has a problem with platform compliance, then the party should dissolve or the official shall resign from the GOP party. America is a Republican form of government. How can the People understand who is the Republican if not by all of their actions. "Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either." -A. Einstein
Our elected officials must be held accountable for the actions that they take on the citizens behalf, good or bad. To do so their actions must be public and easily accessible. The ability to hide, disguise or hinder easy access dilutes accountability and allows elected officials to do under the table deals and stealth legislation . Why claim transparency if there is no vehicle to establish transparency?
We don't need an agenda for the legislative session. It just gives the old left media something else to twist. Just hold taxes low, regualtion rare and get out of the way.
Do what the platform says to do.
The Texas Republicans agreed to publish this report as part of the platform. To not publish this report would be a discrase on the Texas RINO Republican Party!
I think that people nationwide want their representatives to be open, honest, and not subject to back room deals as they are now. I find that sickening and disgusting .
No more pledges to the incumbant Speaker or new Speaker of the House.
It lets WE THE PEOPLE of TEXAS know how are elected reps are working for us or for themselves, its called being transparent in your actions, If you are doing the bidding of the people, whats the problem?
THE MORE WE KNOW ABOUT WHO IS REPRESENTING US THE BETTER. THAT'S ONE OF OUR PROBLEMS , WE HAVE BEEN SAILING ALONG WITHOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY NEEDED.
It is the right of the people to know what/how their state rep's and senators vote on issues. They are there in Austin at the leisure of the people that put them there, hence they are accountable to the Texas public, and guess what, I have a right to know how they conducted my business in Austin.
The idea is good but I worry about linking voting to the"Republican ideals." Who determines which bills emulate Republican ideas? This could get political. I like the idea that shows how each rep voted on all bills.
There should be more openness at ALL levels of government, especially if it is being hypocritically demanded from the Obama Administration.
Do it now!
We need a reprot that lay people can understand just how our reps are voteing
I feel all constituents of our elected officials should have access to a concise , RPT Legislative Priorities Report,including all Bill NO's and pertinent data so that constituents can more easily determine how their elected officials are voting on their behalf and whether or not it matches or represents the voter's wishes.
I believe that it would be very helpful in realizing if our priorities are the same as our elected officials.
Are all "final" votes listed on the report? Who picks what votes are on the report ? I am infavor of following what was adopted by the platform committee at the "08 State convention.
I think any legislator should be proud to have their vote on these issues published so their constituents will know that they are truely living up to their promises
Anything that is CLEAR, HONEST and with Total Commitment to REMOVE the Democrat Party's Issues from ALL OF TEXAS!
We, as Republicans, need to be as transparent in our dealings if we hope to muster the votes to defeat those that have ulterior agendas for our state and country.
WHO THE HECK CARES!!!!!
I can not respond to numbers 2 and 4 because I have not read or even seen the Bylaws . I definitely want the Republican Party of Texas to publish a Legislative Priorities report.
Anytime a politico wants something suppressed....I worry. What are they attempting to hide and WHY! Business as Usual means that we are being lied to and taking it in the shorts.
It is time that all Rino's be held accountable for their votes and actions like not allowing bills to the floor for a vote. Failure to do so will surely destroy the Republican Party of Texas and bring a third party to the state. Would hate to divide our vote for 2012, but it might prove necessary. Joe Strauss & David Duherst should never be allowed to run as a Republican.
I would like to be regularly informed of how my representative and Senator vote. I would also like to know how others are voting and the issues they are taking under consideration.
It is very important that we police those within our party, who call themselves Republicans. Talk is cheap, but a voting record is purely factual. We need the SREC to report to us members, whom they serve, the actual voting records of those we elect. And we need it in a form that is clear and easy. If we the delegates produce a platform and prioritize legislation, then we need the accountability step of having our elected reps and senators voting records to compare with our priorities.
I think that public servants should remember WHY we elected them to office and so they could get rich is NOT the reason.
We need more honesty and transparency. If an elected official truly believes that he/she is representing the concensus of his constituents, then this report would be no problem.
I believe the American people have an absolute right to know what is going on in America in every way. Especially how our elected officials are voting.
I think the report is an excellent idea and would give us more visibility, which we normally do not have.
The three times I have been to a State Convention there was always a vote to somehow keep those elected adherent to the Republican Party Platform. It always failed . This Priorities Report seems to be a way for each really concerned voter to check theirs and other legislators to weed out the RINO's. It is true other voting records can be obtained from other groups but they are usually listed as to that group' s primary focus. This report would seem to cover a broader spectrum which is needed . I am unsure whether it would violate the SREC bylaws but it still needs to be done if the vote at the Convention was for doing it. Failure to do so is on it 's own a violation of the delegates vote.
Test
We need to vote in favor of publishing a report. Publish the Report this year and then at the next convention in 2012 we can figure out if the report should stay in the platform or changed.
I believe that we have a right to see how each of the Representatives or Senators voted. I do not believe the party,the Speaker of the House, or any other "servant " of the people should have the right to restrict information about what our Legislators vote on or meet about when they are supposed to be working for us, the voter.
I like the idea of knowing what is going on.
for such a time as this we have to know who really represents us so we can make an informed decision in voting. I believe the people spoke at the convention, that is the most concerning. The SREC's knew this was coming, so they should come to the table prepared. Pam
I believe that all efforts to bring full transparancy of any/all of our government 's actions is a MUST. If you oppose having your voting record brought to the attention of your constituancy in a transparent and easily understood manner, then you should give up your seat, go back home and return to your old job. And if you do not have a real old job to go back to then you probably were not qualified to hold a governmental seat in the first place.
It should also include a section on successes or failures (including reasons for failures) of the previous sessions legislative priorities.
As a Conservative, we need to know how the Legislature is voting on key issues. Get rid of Rino's, such as those who support Straus. Good competition makes for better elected officials.
The people who participated at the RPT convention as experts like parliamentarians , rules and bylaws experts and legal counsels are not being consulted at all by the SREC now and yet it is a matter of record that they followed proper procedures otherwise they would not have allowed the separate amendment (separate from the Platform Committee) to be presented to the floor of the Convention. I would like for them to be the CURRENT CONSULTANTS to resolve the issue that the SREC is dealing with after all of us have long left the 2010 convention quite satisfied with the platform. Also, let’s not forget that at the 2010 State Convention, there was a group who presented an amendment from the floor who wanted the 2008 Platform to be the replacement for the 2010 Platform and they were loudly booed from the convention floor by the delegates and their amendment was voted down. It appears that this crowd is now in the SREC trying to do what was booed and voted down. Well, I don’t see anything in the Rules and By-laws that mandates what the Platform can and cannot contain other than it cannot be involved in a “scorecard” of elected officials. I’m certainly no expert in Rules and By-laws but I don’t think I have “lost my way” in knowing what is vitally important to improve our effectiveness as Republicans. Surely the perilous times in which we live demand a higher standard and not the “business as usual” or “we’ve never done it this way before” attitudes . This is really more about not listening to and complying with what the delegates have already decided last June in 2010 at convention. It is now time to deliver on the promise.
While you're at it, get all the Republican candidates to sign off on the Republican platform that we all work so hard to create!
I already get a voluntary report on how my representatives vote on key issues with our central government and can see no reason why we should not be able to get a similar report on our state representatives.
Lay it all out on the table.
Where were all the RPT convention experts during the process; parliamentarians, rules and bylaws experts and our legal counsel? Were they asleep? No, I don’t think so. Are these individuals included with the current process of considering the bylaws challenge? The premise that this effort of dispensing the report would in essence be somehow inadvertently impact current and future Republican candidate campaigns is ludicrous. Educating the voters is beneficial to all concerned. Unless of course the current powers that be are concerned the voters will see the light .
Transparency is key to any success in developing trust with voters and attracting support...actions not talking points win.
The platform is no place to try to pass rules. At the convention, we debated the rules proposals as long as we could after the delay tactics of the people confused about temporary and permanent organization. When we got to platform, I believe it was moved to "move all pending questions" and we voted on the whole platform in about 20 minutes. The Republican party should not take sides in primaries . There are dozens of outside groups that provide scorecards, candidates are very accessible, and Republican voters are very independent people. When county chairs take sides in primaries, the results are always ugly. We do not want to foist that ugliness on the State Party. If you want a scorecard for a political race, do your own research ( or find someone you trust to do it) and publish it yourself. Let the party be impartial.
I think the idea of knowing and understanding how our legislators voter is very good. But the problem is with who interprets whether it lines up with Republican values. Bills that are voted on can be very complicated, and sometimes concessions must be made in light of conflicting issues within a bill. The legislators should be accountable to the public by answering why they voted a certain way and how it is reflected in Republican light. I am not going to depend on one mandated opinion to decide whether someone lines up with my conservative ideas or not. Many people will....and will take this "report" as a mandate of who is best to vote for in a Republican primary. So, I do not believe we should give this one-sided option and allow people to think for themselves.
Republican officeholders should work to uphold the principles outlined in the party platform, and Republican voters should hold those officials accountable for their votes.
YOU STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS WORK FOR ME....I WANT TO SEE HOW EACH OF YOU VOTE ON LEGISLATION PRIORITIES.....SO NO COVER UP HERE.....PUBLISH THE REPORT. THANKS YOU . JOHNNY MARSHALL BEDFORD, TEXAS
The Republican Party should always be the party of transparency in what ever we do. The democrats talk it and we should do it.
As a voter, I believe I should be able to see how Legislators vote on the issues . We in the grassroots more & more are finding the Legislators are not listening to the people. Thank you for doing what you do.
The Republican Party of Texas can expect donations to drop from individual activists and can expect more and more people to identify themselves as conservative independents if the TX GOP keeps up this nonsense. You'd better believe that if the Party does not hold itself accountable, the constitutional conservative activists will! It is beginning to look as if the TX GOP Chair & his team do not want to hold the House and Senate leadership accountable because they are pouring money into the Party to buy silence on their records. The question is - will the SREC do the right thing? I urge you to do so. The Report needs to be published or the TX GOP can be expected to get a bad reputation among all these conservative activists. We knew what we were voting for when we voted for this at the last convention. We expect results.
The more the general public "knows" about what is going on, the better informed voters we will be.
The only reason the party leadership wants this report supressed is because of the extremely poor job the Republicans, under the leadership of Ministeri, Straus and Dewhurst, is so poor that it is embarisng. The RINOs like these three are destroying our state.
If Texas and America is to be saved, we MUST start holding our elected representatives fully accountable.
This is not totally applicable. However, I think ALL 50 STATES should hold our first primary on the same day in January. Then the top 2 candidates should have a "run off" primary in APRIL or MAY in ALL 50 STATES to determine our nominee for president . In this way NO SINGLE state has any more influence than ANY OTHER state. This would be a simple and fair way for EVERY STATE to have the SAME VOICE as it should be in a REPRESENTATIVE REPUBLIC!!!
As a 2010 Platform Committee member, I can attest to the fact that there was no objection to the Legislative Priorities. And as best as I can remember, it was unanimously approved. I would hope that the elected party officials will find a way to uphold the will of the whole party.
Accurate documentation of the records of the elected officals and how they performed with respect to the Republican platform is essential for delegates to know who to elect in the future. Without it it is merely a popularity contest or who spends the most money campaigning.
I want to know how the people I've helped put into office vote when I'm not standing next to them. It's one thing for them to agree with me and another for them to vote contrary to that agreement.
Why make anything at all to do with political environs "secret" to the people that votr?
I want to know how legislators are voting. We are electing lots of Republicans and still having trouble getting conservative legislation passed. There is a problem someplace.
Transparency is always an important factor.
I do not have time to even keep current on what my SRECs are doing much less find , read, study and keep lists of all the introduced, passed and defeated Texas Legislation , in order to have accurate assessments of the jobs that Texas Legislators are doing with regard to my fiscal and moral values. The SREC will have my deep,heartfelt appreciation when they make available an ACCURATE compilation of voting records of Legislators' representing Texas Republican Platform issues.
I want transparency and this appears to be not desired by professional? politicians
Any Republican that is not conservative or is opposed to the Tea Party movement needs to be replaced.
At the convention a lot to time and effort goes into writing the platform. I think it is the responsibility of the party to make available the voting record of elected officals, especially in regards to platform issues. Voters need to know those who do not support the platform with their votes.
Follow the platform. Release the report.
The more the voters know about the Republican values and how their Reps voted in regard to them, the more informed the electorate and the more responsive the reps .
we need complete and open accountability and full disclosure
we need an quick, easy way to access infomation on how all our legislators vote.
It gives transparency, shows integrity, loyalty to commitment and a willingness to service the people.
I think that our elected officials are always accountable to "We, the People," and should always be willing to make their choices, voting record, etc. available to any legal voting citizen who wants to know. They should not be ashamed to make it public, unless, of course, they ARE ashamed of their choices.
THE ONLY REASON LEGISLATORS WOULD NOT WANT THE REPORT PUBLISHED IS BECAUSE THEY ARE ASHAMED OF THEIR VOTES AND WANT TO HIDE THEM TO ENSURE THEY GET RE-ELECTED.
Delegates at the convention are there to communicate with other Republicans, including and especially our elected officials, what we want our party to support or not support, which in turn their votes should reflect. Emphasizing legislative priorities shows the delegates that it does matter - that the party is listening to us.
I like such a report because it holds the legislators accountable for their votes , which SHOULD be in the best interests of the people they supposedly represent. When we as citizens finally get good language into the platform, those elected should abide by the platform.
I don't know anything about the Bylaws. But I am for making things clearer for everyone to understand.
The Report is very important. The Report should reflect the Republican Platform and how the voting member supported the platform or not. We want to know who does not support our platform. The platform reflects the citizens will and if the members (Legislature) vote contrary to our platform-they should be scored accordingly. It is obvious why the opposing members do not want their record exposed. These servents need to be retired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Keep everything open & honest to hold elected servants accountable.
I think it is vital that we know how the people who are our voice in office vote . Once again, they are there to represent ONLY we constituents. We SHOULD be aware when they brake that trust. For the Republican Party of Texas to drag their feet in acting on this hints at corruption, cover-up and cronyism. Why would they not want us to know?
I don't know if it violates rules. If it does, the rules should be changed. I don 't know if it should be revised. Everything has room for improvement. If revised , the principle of accountability should be retained. EVERY candidate seeking/receiving RPT funds and/or endorsement should be REQUIRED to state their positions on each plank of the RPT platform.
We need to know how our elected vote and the bills they bring forth
Leave it the way it is.
This would be just one barometer in which we can measure our REPUBLICAN elected officials accountability. Republicans should first and foremost be transparent, conservative and accountable. It is obvious in todays society there needs to be simple tools to guide the voters in assessing the honesty and integrity of Republicans elected to support our values. And even more important, that said Republicans know their votes will be published. Isn't TEXAS the only state in the Union that doesn 't publish their votes??
An openness of what we have done and how we voted is a part of who we are.
I have been very upset with the shannigans with some of our so called Republican representatives. I swear that they are Democrats the way some of them vote. I want to know what they vote for so we can determine who gets voted out. I guess those guys have something to worry about. They are the ones that won't want that report published. I am sick of the Rhino's. jThey lie to get elected.
I believe a report is needed in order to have a simple way to track your Senator or district Representives voting performance. We currently are faced with a very difficult of searching for information and most of us just don't have the time. Simple report would allow us to know who needs to go and who needs to stay.
I think as voters we have a right to see this report! I our elected officials would do what they ran on, they wouldn't have to worry abouet the report.
As a convention delegate, I definitely believe this report must be published. I trust Wayne Christian to handle this project. I have never and do not now trust Steve Munisteri (or HIS legal team). If Steve thought there was a problem, he should have addressed it long ago with the SREC, the Platform Committee, and brought it out when he met with Wayne in January.
we need more conservatives on SREC!
Reports such as this are usually used as tools by some to malign those they disagree with. These are open to interpretation and who decides?
My congressmen's voting records are very important to me. Besides,how they vote is public information so why shouldnt a Legislative Priorities Report be published ?
We need accountability from our elected representatives.
This report could be done by anyone. The fact that it is being done by the Party itself with the backing of almost everyone, speaks well for the Party. The fact that the Party is now trying to hide it, change it, bury it - is going to wind up backfiring against the Party and most especially those that are involved in trying to dismantle this report from the eyes of the people of Texas.
The publishing of this information needs to be accomplished. I believe Republican Party organizations run the risk of pushing their most ardent supporters to 'third party candidates' when they fail to adequately listen and respond to their constituents . This is a chance for RPT/SREC to let the voters be heard.
If those in legislature do not want this it shows they wish to never allow the people who voted them into representation to know why and what they are doing. This is the way the PEOPLE of Texas wish it to be and it should, for you who are in legislature are there only by consent of the people. No more back room deals, or good ol boy systems in Texas, it's to show the people are in charge not polititicans That is why I am in deep favor of keeping this report as part of our SREC platform for 2012.
The entire platform is a priority.
I think that it is high time that the RPT takes a stand for the PARTY PLATFORM; otherwise, there is no reason to HAVE the platform in the first place. If we have no way to hold legistlators responsible for their own votes, then we have no voice and no real reason to even have the convention. Release the report NOW. Stop playing games. We have been fighting this particular battle for over 20 years . How do we keep re-electing RINOS. It's because we have not had a way to inform the voters of how their elected officials are REALLY voting, not just coming home and telling them what they want to hear. I for one am tired of it. Do your job , release the report and get on with it! Gloria Howell Precinct Chair 104 Denton County
We voted on this action at the 2010 Convention in Dallas. When the Convention acted on it and it was passed, why were the requested actions not taken by the SREC? Are Convention Delegate wishes not to be considered. If so, why hold a Convention at all? We see enough disregard of voter wishes at the National level and we are fed up with it.
This kind of a report should not be a threat to any elected Republican who generally agrees with our platform and then goes ahead and generally abides by it in his legislative and other public service work. To grow stronger in the public's eye , we must abide by what we say we are about and what we believe. Truthfully, there are a lot of Democrats in Texas who have been elected on our ticket, then act like the Democrats they are. Exposure is a good thing.
This post provides my thoughts: http://www.bigjollypolitics.com/wp/2011/10/14/fighting -our-friends-won%e2%80%99t-defeat-our-opponents/
Without a report which identifies the voting record of those who are supposed to represent us, how do "We, the people" of Tecas know whether we are actually being represented by those who claim they will uphold the Republican Party Platform? It it imperative that such a report be published.
All our elected officials should have to make public everything they do as concerns the job we sent them to Austin (Washington as well)! If everything is posted and circulated as public information alot of the under the table deals would be a thing of the past and we may be able to move forward instead of treading water all the time!
I was one of 3 people who called Steve Munistere (SP?)after the initial e-mails came out about the opposition to publishing the report. Steve told me that Wayne Christian had not complied with the deadlines and procedures of the Platform relative to this report. Being away from home for 2 weeks and not having access to the Platform, I was unable to verify the "seemingly" plausible explanation given by Steve. Now I think he was not giving an accurate synopsis of the issue of "publish or not".
The proper way to handle these things is in the primaries -- by voters. We don' t need the RPT to be taking sides in primaries, or a select few determining these voting "priorities" based on a platform that was railroaded through rather than debated and discussed.
None
The only reason to hesitate about the report is if there is information that would indicate misleading information from various reps and senators. Information is the lifeblood of a republic and is only protected from the public eye by unscrupulous bureaucrats
We need something with teeth in it to make sure that elected officials do what they pledge to do. Not just "promise" whatever they think will get them elected. We need to hold them accountable for conservative values and refuse party support without proof that they followed conservative values whild voting on bills. They should not be able to be on the Republican Ballot without a passing grade.
I think it is imperative to publish the report so the people of Texas know how their legislator voted on issues related to the Platform. So much chicanery goes on behind the scenes. Many of us are very involved following the legislation, informing others and giving our opinions to our legislators. There is a huge list of bills to follow, and it is not easy to keep track. I believe we are entitled to have this report. We might lose our enthusiasm to be delegates if we are ignored and this report is not published.
I think the RPT should publish the report, but I also support independent publishing of this important information.
It is time for the Republican Party to quit using its state apparatus to support the same old candidates, i.e., RINOs.
This seems like a softer, less confrontational effort to achieve the goals of a previous "Rule 43" effort to disqualify candidates for office that violate the platform . Rather than challenging state law, the RPT would, through this report, actually adopt the public policy position of Texas regarding campaign donations: you can do what you want, but there will be full disclosure. Legislators can vote as they wish, and we will not interfere w/their efforts to secure renomination, but their record will be fully disclosed to primary electors, so the latter might make a more informed decision.
If these public SERVANTS are afraid of a report showing how the think and or voted then they don't deserve to work for us. Fire them!!!
The State House and Senate should publish their priorities for the upcoming session immediately after electing the Speaker. The Speaker and Senate Pro-Tem offices can publish their own priorites or ammend the exisitng ones published by thr entire bodies. The SREC and RPY should be given an advance copy and asked to conference on the final copy. The House and Senate shoudl also seek counsel from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Empowert Exasn and other conservative groups to help compile the priorities. This report should be availabe to the public once it is complete.
I was a member of the 2010 RPT Platform Committee led by Rep. Wayne Christian, a man of integrity and one who holds conservative principles in all that he does. The latform Committee and the RPT Delegates voted for the entire RPT latform, including the call for a Legislative Report. It is important that SREC members and the Party leadership to step up and do whatever is necessary to see that a Legislative Report as called for in the Platform be published. Having worked with the YCT when the leadership was on the campus of UNT, I have every cnfidence that the in-depth research that was done to produce a valid Legislative Report shouild be submitted to all Republican voters. We expect our duly-elected members of the SREC to listen to the grassroots and Party activists by publishing this Legislative Report and to stop arguing points to not publish this report.
I have always had some concern about the RPT consistently supporting those that vote against the Republican Party Platform. If you are not going to require your members to support the platform, then it is useless, so do away with it. I believe Munisteri has done a good job financialy, but if he is going to protect the RINOs , then he needs to go.
I beleive that our committies should always be above board and truthful with the rank and file republicans. Doing anything that someone can critize as not being an open and frank group will always cause problems. Please do it right and avoid any repercussions and criticisms that can cause any divisions of our party.
The Republican party has yet to address any of the issues effecting actual citizens , their concentration is on keeping the rich and corporations happy.
I believe that the SREC should do what is right,after all they were put in that position to represent their district. If their districts are against or for it they should speak up.
We must have an accounting as to how the people WE elect have carried OUR wishes and needs to the Congress and Senate.A true and honest accounting so that we may as employers take the appropriate action reguarding their continued employment.
Lets see what you all are doing and lets see why your doing it.
Good luck in getting this report published. Grass roots does not mean to the party leadership and the legislators what it means to voters. I believe it will be very difficult to pass the bylaws change and I believe the study committee will say that to publish the report there will have to be a bylaws change since that has been said in years past. I will hold my SREC committee members accountable for their votes.
PLEASE stop using all those initials! Not everyone keeps up with what they stand for, and without the ahole thing, it is impossible to tell what you are addressing ! I think that everything the Party does should be aboveboard, and as such, it would not hurt to publish everything. We have been hurt, deeply, by the stand on giving illegal aliens state college tuition and many other benefits. But since I don't contribute very much, my voice has not been heard.
All Republicans should immediately resign from office.
Results would be tainted by the composition of the SREC. What are today's conservative issue may not be next cycles critical issues. This has happened in the past and it is a trap for Legislators to be okay with something then the Party changes their stand and that person is deemed a flip-flopper. RPT monies should be used to publicize issues and the post primary candidates, educate the voter base and stay clear of anything that would give the Democrats ammo against the Republican Party.
The problem is not with the Legislative Priorities Report, but with the platform . If the platform came from a process which accurately reflected the views of most Texas Republicans rather than those of vocal special interest groups and if the platform had not been rammed through with almost no debate at the convention, and if the platform did not contain planks which range from irrelevant to offensive to most voters, then this would not be an issue. Until the platform is fixed - ideally replaced with a simple statement of basic principles - trying to hold legislators accountable to it will always be controversial.
If the SREC and the RPT wish to represent the platform that the delegates to the 2010 RPT Convention overwhelmingly approved, the same convention where the SREC members and the current RPT Chair were elected, they must remove blocks and take the needed steps to publish the Legislative priorities Report immediately.
As soon as we get Gov Perry in the White House, let's secede. He's for it, he has said so before. And last time we tried it, it was Mr Lincoln's decision to make war against us and our Southern brethren. Rick Perry will not do that.
The platform should be a statement of conservative principles, not a special interest driven manifesto.
Transparency is always the way to go. We should always let the voting Republicans know what is going on. The SREC runs our business between conventions. That is why they should keep us informed. They are representing those of us who are delegates .
Transparency is always the way to go. We should always let the voting Republicans know what is going on. The SREC runs our business between conventions. That is why they should keep us informed. They are representing those of us who are delegates .
The Republican Party brand stands for nothing. Without the priorities report I will support a conservative third party to REPLACE the GOP.
I believe that our elected senators and representatives at the state and federal levels should be accountable for voting the way the people in their districts have directed them to vote. Providing the LPR and showing how legislation passed and defeated aligns with the LPR is a start at providing accountability.
With the Idiots we live with question is going to confuse them. Surveys should never have the word BUT in it unless your trying to trick the people.
I like it because I like being informed and this will give us more information than we have now.
Republican office holders should be held to account and such a Legislative Priorities Report is a good first step in letting them know that we expect them to act according to the RPT platform.
Republican office holders should be held to account and such a Legislative Priorities Report is a good first step in letting them know that we expect them to act according to the RPT platform.
Anything that allows us to feel the pulse of our elected officials is good in my opinion
At the 2010 State Convention, there was a group who presented an amendment from the floor who wanted the 2008 Platform to be the replacement for the 2010 Platform and they were loudly booed from the convention floor by the delegates and their amendment was voted down. It appears that this crowd is now in the SREC trying to do what was booed and voted down. I don’t see anything in the Rules and By-laws that mandates what the Platform can and cannot contain other than it cannot be involved in a “scorecard” of elected officials. The Legislative Report is not a scorecard. Surely the perilous times in which we live demand a higher standard and not the “business as usual” or “we’ve never done it this way before” attitudes . This is really more about not listening to and complying with what the delegates had already decided last June in 2010 at convention. It is now time to deliver on the promise
I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT HELPS ME VOTE...JUST HAVING AN "R" AFTER YOUR NAME DOESN'T MEAN THEY ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH YOUR THOGHTS.
What Else Do You Think? Please use the section below to say whatever you want to say about the report, why you like it, why you don't like it, and what should happen.[Back]
The report is a good idea but needs to be thought out more, logistically, for the next State Convention
Since I have no idea what a Legislative Priorities Report is comprised of, what its purpose and function is, etc... it was hard to know how to truthfully answer these questions. Because of that and no previous knowledge of the Bylaws, I have no idea as to wether I think it would violate them or if they should be changed . It would really help to have some background on the ins and outs of the Legislative Priorities Report in order to be able to answer these questions.
David, it does not matter if the TX GOP publishes the report or not, since the GOP has too many cheaters who are afraid and understand party politics better than they understand guided principles. If the report is published, should we trust it or will it be "rigged" to make the individual look good. This is rule 43 all over again and when it comes to GOP politics a bunch believe in transparency and a bunch believe in "the group" and the two are in conflict. "The group" will never "purify" their leaders for not following the "platform" but they will punish their leaders/members for not following the unwritten but "groupness". It kind of goes like this ... the 11th commandment ... thou shall not speak ill of a fellow republican I recently sent an email to all the pct chairs in my county which I had email for and gave them the list of votes which Kevin Brady had voted and I have concluded that Kevin Brady does not represent me and I asked them for their opinion on the matter, this is what one person told me which is a perfect example of this "principle" / "groupness" issue .... I have not gotten permission to publish it but it goes like this paraphrased .... I have taken a vow as pct chair not to publicly comment on candidates before the primary (for the sake of the group) .... but I am a devout conservative, small biz owner, etc, etc The TX GOP leadership uses the platform to keep conservatives voting for their guys in November who for the most part don't care a straw about the platform when they are in office. Just look at the Joe Strauss issues and the Airport frisk issue.
Accountability is the best way to assure our Party values are being upheld.
Transparency it's important . A clear report should be published
The SREC needs to carry out the will of the 6,000 delegates who wildly applauded the plank to have a legislative voter report sent out before the primaries to help voters know which legislators voted for bills tied to the Republican Party Platform and which ones did not.
i dare you to get the politics out of it. it's not as black and white as you think . the good guys can look like bad guys if the bad guys make the report.
We must have this kind of transparency with our elected officials. Anything less and our Republican party will continue toward a useless moderate organization. I would like for our party to not just sound conservative, but also to make sure our elected officials know what we expect and that we are watching. We can continue to compromise and be politically correct and we will just get more of the same. Failing to hold elected officials accountable and the tendency toward a moderate party will cause an exodus of our members to the 'tea part'.
This seems pretty straight forward. People would like to believe that when a vote is cast and a decision is made, action is taken accordingly. If there was concern regarding the appropriateness of this issue with regards to by-laws, should this not have been addressed before voting?
Because the RPT is so tied to the will of the big donors who are more moderate than the voters, the RPT does not want to allienate the big donors who support the RHINO legislators and is looking for a way to not implement the scoring.
David, I'll send you separately some items I found in the Rules & Bylaws that suggest the platform committee is the correct determiner of principles and values . It is MUCH stronger in its inference than ANY attempt to tie a report to possible favoritism of one candidate over another. Maybe you can work some of this into your article? Thanks! Mark Ramsey
Most Republicans have not seen the Report yet so we really cannot comment on it yet. The SREC needs to just publish the YEA/NAY votes on any bills that touched on our list of 46 Legislative Priorites. I have heard that the current Report only lists the TX House votes. Wayne Christian and the YCT need to finish this report to include the TX Senate and the US Congress votes!
The only secret vote is at the poling station. All elected officials vote should be an open record and published
We must earn the support of the citizens by being transparent in everything.
This report is a huge step in helping voters understand how their legislatures are representing them. It's time is PAST DUE. Transparency is healthy and this report will help keep Texas strong. It is a FABULOUS idea!!!
Our elected SREC men and women must abide by the will of the delegates at the last state Republican convention. On a completely different topic, we noted with sadness that a soldier from Lumberton perished in Afghanistan last week. We used to live in Beaumont, and Lumberton was right in our "back yard." Our troops are our extended family, as our daughter is a veteran and our son-in-law is currently deployed. I hope that you will extend your heartfelt sympathies to the family of this man.
Having not read 'the report' it is difficult to be certain of it's ramifications . I think it's release will put all legislator's voting record more clearly in the public domain and be a good thing. The By-Laws will need to be changed to allow the publishing of the report, but I am in favor for more transparency in how our representatives vote during the session.
I have a problem if this turns into a gotcha for members of the legislature. No scorecard accurately reflects the effectiveness of a legislator. We need to stay within the confines of what the party is supposed to do. Run primaries and win elections is the primary job of the party. Many individuals and private organizations do a good job of tracking the votes of legislators. This does not need to be a purity test. We have primaries for that.
We continually make efforts to elect good conservative people to represent us but it is always hard to find out if those who are elected are actually upholding, by their votes, the values that the Republican Party of Texas professes, by our platform, to stand for. Publishing this report will help the rank and file to more readily assess how elected reps are doing in this respect.
It is unacceptable that RPT would not provide an analysis of the votes and allow the people who support them to decide whether they return to office. After all this isnt a jobs program. Its oir donations that keep them and the candidates in existence. Even in the real world you are giving the opportunity to see whether you are getting a return on your investment!
I sincerely hope that Rep. Wayne Christian's outstanding work as chairman of the 2010 RPT Platform Committee will be noted by the SREC. As well as the excellent work of his two legal counselors throughout the process and the Convention's Parliamentarian and Legal Counsel. I especially hope that the intent of the delegates will be honored .
HONOR YOUR WORD...Once a committement is made, your word is your bond. The political landscape is a mess, WHY IN THE WORLD is this an issue? Your personal creditability and the creditability of the Party is on the line RIGHT NOW - Will you be a voice of the People, or arrogant elitists ?
I disagreed with putting it in the platform to begin with, but since it is there and the will of the delegates, it should be followed through. There are numerous and sometimes complicated issues/reasons why a legislator's vote might appear oppposed to platform values and publishing a report like this makes us too simpleminded. I much prefer using the resources already out there like Texas Eagle Forum and Liberty Institute to grade our legislators. It is our responsibility as voters to hold our legislators accountable - the tea party has shown that. We need to get away from abdicating our civic responsibility to a higher source even if it's the Republican Party.
I strongly support a report that makes public a "report card" of our State Legislatures . Republicans need to know how their representatives handle important issues.
We need to let the world know what kind of representative Government this party and its candidates stand for.
This is a great way for the constituents to hold our elected officilas accountable . If they are going to receive money from the RPT, then they need to vote in line with the RPT conservative principles or be voted out. Thanks for publishing this report.....
Illegal immigrants policy should be zero tolerence!!
I believe the vote on either publishing the report or changing the bylaws should be a recorded vote for all to see.
We should demand accountability to the Platform from our elected GOP officials. If we governed according to the Platform with integrity... state government would be much better!
it is HIGH TIME for some transparency in the Texas legislature.
The report doesn't cover the 46 priorities written by Rep. Christian and rubber- stamped by the Platform Committee. It covers only the few items actually having record votes. It is a meaningless report intended to promote Rep. Christian as it's main goal. It is sad to see the grassroots used so openly. The full voting records of every representative are public and available, a fact lost on the howling mob.
I like the idea of a report so that our elected officials at least know the priorities of the SREC, County Chairmen and delegates to the State Convention. Unfortunately I am not convinced that our Republican elected officials pay that much attention to the party at all unless they are contacted by people in their districts regarding the various issues. That is the only thing that seems to work
It would provide an excellent unbiased tool for the voters to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions.
I thank you for your efforts in doing this. It is MUCH appreciated. Mary Breitung
TRANSPARENCY!!!
List all votes, organized by Republican Party Platform planks related to the issue . In the very unlikely event that a bill is unrelated to the platform, put it in an all other category.
The argument against this is that free thought is the victim and that all persons must think and vote the same. That is not the case. Each individual representative can think and vote his/her conscience. He/She just needs to know that they have to stand by their voting record. And, if they are representing their constituents that should not be a problem.
It is an essential part of Party accountability to take ownership of and distribute this type of information. Such transparency is essential if the GOP is EVER going to improve its overall approval rating as an entity.
The SREC should be very careful not to hold itself out as instructor tot he GOP legislative caucus. The members of the Legislature were elected by the people, not the SREC. But, it is entirely appropriate for the Party to say: "Look, this is our list of priorities based upon the votes of delegates to our convention." Beyond that is an abuse of the SREC because it is not elected by Primary to represent all Party members.
As GOP leaders we have the responsibility to make governance as transparent as possible . To that end, it is obvious that an easily accessible report on the voting record of our Senators and Representatives should be pursued by the RPT. The report should include a brief summary of each bill, the advantages and disadvantages of the bill , and a record of the votes cast on each bill.
Anytime exposure is fought, it is by those who want the "good 'ol boy" poitics to continue. i want it ended and exposure will help in doing that!
Why have a platform if we cannot hold our elected officials accountable to it? I was a delegate and my husband was a delegate. We both voted for this report, and we feel it is vital to have it out before primary election season. Right or wrong... it looks bad for the party, the chairman and the SREC to keep this from being published with as much information as the legislature was able to vote on .
i didn't know how to answer question 4. i like this idea. it lets everyone know how their legislator voted on numerous issues. i think this will give the people more transparency on their legislators and their actions. unlike the transparency offered by the obama administration.
The only way for the Republican Party to stay at the forefront of politics is to be totally open. Americans crave a Party of values and conservative beliefs. This would go a long way to assure voters that their politicians hold constituent 's views.
Report should address special interest groups promoting and/or opposing proposed legislation.
Republicans have a right to know who the moderates and RINO's are in our midst so we can evaluate them. And we need the easiest method possible to identify who stands with our (each individuals) values. It appears to me that this is the most direct and consistent method. I would certainly personally examine the motives behind anyone voting against this report.
I would like to see it!
All legislation in state and federal sessions should be open to the public. We vote to send representatives that we believe share our positions and we should be able to determine that our policies are being supported by those elected.
99%+ of citizens do not have time nor would the know where to get the information provided in this report. This information will let them know whether the rhetoric they heard from the candidates matches how the legislators voted in representing them. A VERY valuable service.
It's high time that the Republican Party of Texas started behaving in a manner consistent with its voter base. This measure would help.
I want to see how each rep/senator is voting. No closed door, no veils, just open information for all. I believe that Government is responsible to the governed, not the other way around. This report will help hold our officials accountable.
Need to be specific what Republican values are. Let not let this become a negative to elected officials who have to govern.
I think this is an attempt at hiding the voting record of some of our reps and we will remember who is trying to do this when we go to the polls.
be accountable and 'perfectly clear'!
I understand that there were only 14 bills that addressed any of the 46 legislative priorities outlined in the Republican Platform. This was because bills addressing the remaining priorities were killed in committee by "moderate" (liberal) Committee Chairs appointed by our "moderate" (liberal) Speaker Joe Strauss. I think that this should somehow be reported as well...name the Committee chair in which bills relating to Republican Party legislative priorities got killed and why, despite super majority status, they didn't even get brought to the floor for a vote.
I feel the Republican Party needs to stand up and be counted and not be ashamed of their record.
Transparency, transparency, transparency. The delegates donate an incredible amount of time and money toward our state GOP platform, and the state party spends thousands of dollars every 2 years for the convention. If the state party has a problem with complying with the state platform, or any elected official that stood to benefit from running under the GOP banner has a problem with platform compliance, then the party should dissolve or the official shall resign from the GOP party. America is a Republican form of government. How can the People understand who is the Republican if not by all of their actions. "Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either." -A. Einstein
Our elected officials must be held accountable for the actions that they take on the citizens behalf, good or bad. To do so their actions must be public and easily accessible. The ability to hide, disguise or hinder easy access dilutes accountability and allows elected officials to do under the table deals and stealth legislation . Why claim transparency if there is no vehicle to establish transparency?
We don't need an agenda for the legislative session. It just gives the old left media something else to twist. Just hold taxes low, regualtion rare and get out of the way.
Do what the platform says to do.
The Texas Republicans agreed to publish this report as part of the platform. To not publish this report would be a discrase on the Texas RINO Republican Party!
I think that people nationwide want their representatives to be open, honest, and not subject to back room deals as they are now. I find that sickening and disgusting .
No more pledges to the incumbant Speaker or new Speaker of the House.
It lets WE THE PEOPLE of TEXAS know how are elected reps are working for us or for themselves, its called being transparent in your actions, If you are doing the bidding of the people, whats the problem?
THE MORE WE KNOW ABOUT WHO IS REPRESENTING US THE BETTER. THAT'S ONE OF OUR PROBLEMS , WE HAVE BEEN SAILING ALONG WITHOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY NEEDED.
It is the right of the people to know what/how their state rep's and senators vote on issues. They are there in Austin at the leisure of the people that put them there, hence they are accountable to the Texas public, and guess what, I have a right to know how they conducted my business in Austin.
The idea is good but I worry about linking voting to the"Republican ideals." Who determines which bills emulate Republican ideas? This could get political. I like the idea that shows how each rep voted on all bills.
There should be more openness at ALL levels of government, especially if it is being hypocritically demanded from the Obama Administration.
Do it now!
We need a reprot that lay people can understand just how our reps are voteing
I feel all constituents of our elected officials should have access to a concise , RPT Legislative Priorities Report,including all Bill NO's and pertinent data so that constituents can more easily determine how their elected officials are voting on their behalf and whether or not it matches or represents the voter's wishes.
I believe that it would be very helpful in realizing if our priorities are the same as our elected officials.
Are all "final" votes listed on the report? Who picks what votes are on the report ? I am infavor of following what was adopted by the platform committee at the "08 State convention.
I think any legislator should be proud to have their vote on these issues published so their constituents will know that they are truely living up to their promises
Anything that is CLEAR, HONEST and with Total Commitment to REMOVE the Democrat Party's Issues from ALL OF TEXAS!
We, as Republicans, need to be as transparent in our dealings if we hope to muster the votes to defeat those that have ulterior agendas for our state and country.
WHO THE HECK CARES!!!!!
I can not respond to numbers 2 and 4 because I have not read or even seen the Bylaws . I definitely want the Republican Party of Texas to publish a Legislative Priorities report.
Anytime a politico wants something suppressed....I worry. What are they attempting to hide and WHY! Business as Usual means that we are being lied to and taking it in the shorts.
It is time that all Rino's be held accountable for their votes and actions like not allowing bills to the floor for a vote. Failure to do so will surely destroy the Republican Party of Texas and bring a third party to the state. Would hate to divide our vote for 2012, but it might prove necessary. Joe Strauss & David Duherst should never be allowed to run as a Republican.
I would like to be regularly informed of how my representative and Senator vote. I would also like to know how others are voting and the issues they are taking under consideration.
It is very important that we police those within our party, who call themselves Republicans. Talk is cheap, but a voting record is purely factual. We need the SREC to report to us members, whom they serve, the actual voting records of those we elect. And we need it in a form that is clear and easy. If we the delegates produce a platform and prioritize legislation, then we need the accountability step of having our elected reps and senators voting records to compare with our priorities.
I think that public servants should remember WHY we elected them to office and so they could get rich is NOT the reason.
We need more honesty and transparency. If an elected official truly believes that he/she is representing the concensus of his constituents, then this report would be no problem.
I believe the American people have an absolute right to know what is going on in America in every way. Especially how our elected officials are voting.
I think the report is an excellent idea and would give us more visibility, which we normally do not have.
The three times I have been to a State Convention there was always a vote to somehow keep those elected adherent to the Republican Party Platform. It always failed . This Priorities Report seems to be a way for each really concerned voter to check theirs and other legislators to weed out the RINO's. It is true other voting records can be obtained from other groups but they are usually listed as to that group' s primary focus. This report would seem to cover a broader spectrum which is needed . I am unsure whether it would violate the SREC bylaws but it still needs to be done if the vote at the Convention was for doing it. Failure to do so is on it 's own a violation of the delegates vote.
Test
We need to vote in favor of publishing a report. Publish the Report this year and then at the next convention in 2012 we can figure out if the report should stay in the platform or changed.
I believe that we have a right to see how each of the Representatives or Senators voted. I do not believe the party,the Speaker of the House, or any other "servant " of the people should have the right to restrict information about what our Legislators vote on or meet about when they are supposed to be working for us, the voter.
I like the idea of knowing what is going on.
for such a time as this we have to know who really represents us so we can make an informed decision in voting. I believe the people spoke at the convention, that is the most concerning. The SREC's knew this was coming, so they should come to the table prepared. Pam
I believe that all efforts to bring full transparancy of any/all of our government 's actions is a MUST. If you oppose having your voting record brought to the attention of your constituancy in a transparent and easily understood manner, then you should give up your seat, go back home and return to your old job. And if you do not have a real old job to go back to then you probably were not qualified to hold a governmental seat in the first place.
It should also include a section on successes or failures (including reasons for failures) of the previous sessions legislative priorities.
As a Conservative, we need to know how the Legislature is voting on key issues. Get rid of Rino's, such as those who support Straus. Good competition makes for better elected officials.
The people who participated at the RPT convention as experts like parliamentarians , rules and bylaws experts and legal counsels are not being consulted at all by the SREC now and yet it is a matter of record that they followed proper procedures otherwise they would not have allowed the separate amendment (separate from the Platform Committee) to be presented to the floor of the Convention. I would like for them to be the CURRENT CONSULTANTS to resolve the issue that the SREC is dealing with after all of us have long left the 2010 convention quite satisfied with the platform. Also, let’s not forget that at the 2010 State Convention, there was a group who presented an amendment from the floor who wanted the 2008 Platform to be the replacement for the 2010 Platform and they were loudly booed from the convention floor by the delegates and their amendment was voted down. It appears that this crowd is now in the SREC trying to do what was booed and voted down. Well, I don’t see anything in the Rules and By-laws that mandates what the Platform can and cannot contain other than it cannot be involved in a “scorecard” of elected officials. I’m certainly no expert in Rules and By-laws but I don’t think I have “lost my way” in knowing what is vitally important to improve our effectiveness as Republicans. Surely the perilous times in which we live demand a higher standard and not the “business as usual” or “we’ve never done it this way before” attitudes . This is really more about not listening to and complying with what the delegates have already decided last June in 2010 at convention. It is now time to deliver on the promise.
While you're at it, get all the Republican candidates to sign off on the Republican platform that we all work so hard to create!
I already get a voluntary report on how my representatives vote on key issues with our central government and can see no reason why we should not be able to get a similar report on our state representatives.
Lay it all out on the table.
Where were all the RPT convention experts during the process; parliamentarians, rules and bylaws experts and our legal counsel? Were they asleep? No, I don’t think so. Are these individuals included with the current process of considering the bylaws challenge? The premise that this effort of dispensing the report would in essence be somehow inadvertently impact current and future Republican candidate campaigns is ludicrous. Educating the voters is beneficial to all concerned. Unless of course the current powers that be are concerned the voters will see the light .
Transparency is key to any success in developing trust with voters and attracting support...actions not talking points win.
The platform is no place to try to pass rules. At the convention, we debated the rules proposals as long as we could after the delay tactics of the people confused about temporary and permanent organization. When we got to platform, I believe it was moved to "move all pending questions" and we voted on the whole platform in about 20 minutes. The Republican party should not take sides in primaries . There are dozens of outside groups that provide scorecards, candidates are very accessible, and Republican voters are very independent people. When county chairs take sides in primaries, the results are always ugly. We do not want to foist that ugliness on the State Party. If you want a scorecard for a political race, do your own research ( or find someone you trust to do it) and publish it yourself. Let the party be impartial.
I think the idea of knowing and understanding how our legislators voter is very good. But the problem is with who interprets whether it lines up with Republican values. Bills that are voted on can be very complicated, and sometimes concessions must be made in light of conflicting issues within a bill. The legislators should be accountable to the public by answering why they voted a certain way and how it is reflected in Republican light. I am not going to depend on one mandated opinion to decide whether someone lines up with my conservative ideas or not. Many people will....and will take this "report" as a mandate of who is best to vote for in a Republican primary. So, I do not believe we should give this one-sided option and allow people to think for themselves.
Republican officeholders should work to uphold the principles outlined in the party platform, and Republican voters should hold those officials accountable for their votes.
YOU STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS WORK FOR ME....I WANT TO SEE HOW EACH OF YOU VOTE ON LEGISLATION PRIORITIES.....SO NO COVER UP HERE.....PUBLISH THE REPORT. THANKS YOU . JOHNNY MARSHALL BEDFORD, TEXAS
The Republican Party should always be the party of transparency in what ever we do. The democrats talk it and we should do it.
As a voter, I believe I should be able to see how Legislators vote on the issues . We in the grassroots more & more are finding the Legislators are not listening to the people. Thank you for doing what you do.
The Republican Party of Texas can expect donations to drop from individual activists and can expect more and more people to identify themselves as conservative independents if the TX GOP keeps up this nonsense. You'd better believe that if the Party does not hold itself accountable, the constitutional conservative activists will! It is beginning to look as if the TX GOP Chair & his team do not want to hold the House and Senate leadership accountable because they are pouring money into the Party to buy silence on their records. The question is - will the SREC do the right thing? I urge you to do so. The Report needs to be published or the TX GOP can be expected to get a bad reputation among all these conservative activists. We knew what we were voting for when we voted for this at the last convention. We expect results.
The more the general public "knows" about what is going on, the better informed voters we will be.
The only reason the party leadership wants this report supressed is because of the extremely poor job the Republicans, under the leadership of Ministeri, Straus and Dewhurst, is so poor that it is embarisng. The RINOs like these three are destroying our state.
If Texas and America is to be saved, we MUST start holding our elected representatives fully accountable.
This is not totally applicable. However, I think ALL 50 STATES should hold our first primary on the same day in January. Then the top 2 candidates should have a "run off" primary in APRIL or MAY in ALL 50 STATES to determine our nominee for president . In this way NO SINGLE state has any more influence than ANY OTHER state. This would be a simple and fair way for EVERY STATE to have the SAME VOICE as it should be in a REPRESENTATIVE REPUBLIC!!!
As a 2010 Platform Committee member, I can attest to the fact that there was no objection to the Legislative Priorities. And as best as I can remember, it was unanimously approved. I would hope that the elected party officials will find a way to uphold the will of the whole party.
Accurate documentation of the records of the elected officals and how they performed with respect to the Republican platform is essential for delegates to know who to elect in the future. Without it it is merely a popularity contest or who spends the most money campaigning.
I want to know how the people I've helped put into office vote when I'm not standing next to them. It's one thing for them to agree with me and another for them to vote contrary to that agreement.
Why make anything at all to do with political environs "secret" to the people that votr?
I want to know how legislators are voting. We are electing lots of Republicans and still having trouble getting conservative legislation passed. There is a problem someplace.
Transparency is always an important factor.
I do not have time to even keep current on what my SRECs are doing much less find , read, study and keep lists of all the introduced, passed and defeated Texas Legislation , in order to have accurate assessments of the jobs that Texas Legislators are doing with regard to my fiscal and moral values. The SREC will have my deep,heartfelt appreciation when they make available an ACCURATE compilation of voting records of Legislators' representing Texas Republican Platform issues.
I want transparency and this appears to be not desired by professional? politicians
Any Republican that is not conservative or is opposed to the Tea Party movement needs to be replaced.
At the convention a lot to time and effort goes into writing the platform. I think it is the responsibility of the party to make available the voting record of elected officals, especially in regards to platform issues. Voters need to know those who do not support the platform with their votes.
Follow the platform. Release the report.
The more the voters know about the Republican values and how their Reps voted in regard to them, the more informed the electorate and the more responsive the reps .
we need complete and open accountability and full disclosure
we need an quick, easy way to access infomation on how all our legislators vote.
It gives transparency, shows integrity, loyalty to commitment and a willingness to service the people.
I think that our elected officials are always accountable to "We, the People," and should always be willing to make their choices, voting record, etc. available to any legal voting citizen who wants to know. They should not be ashamed to make it public, unless, of course, they ARE ashamed of their choices.
THE ONLY REASON LEGISLATORS WOULD NOT WANT THE REPORT PUBLISHED IS BECAUSE THEY ARE ASHAMED OF THEIR VOTES AND WANT TO HIDE THEM TO ENSURE THEY GET RE-ELECTED.
Delegates at the convention are there to communicate with other Republicans, including and especially our elected officials, what we want our party to support or not support, which in turn their votes should reflect. Emphasizing legislative priorities shows the delegates that it does matter - that the party is listening to us.
I like such a report because it holds the legislators accountable for their votes , which SHOULD be in the best interests of the people they supposedly represent. When we as citizens finally get good language into the platform, those elected should abide by the platform.
I don't know anything about the Bylaws. But I am for making things clearer for everyone to understand.
The Report is very important. The Report should reflect the Republican Platform and how the voting member supported the platform or not. We want to know who does not support our platform. The platform reflects the citizens will and if the members (Legislature) vote contrary to our platform-they should be scored accordingly. It is obvious why the opposing members do not want their record exposed. These servents need to be retired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Keep everything open & honest to hold elected servants accountable.
I think it is vital that we know how the people who are our voice in office vote . Once again, they are there to represent ONLY we constituents. We SHOULD be aware when they brake that trust. For the Republican Party of Texas to drag their feet in acting on this hints at corruption, cover-up and cronyism. Why would they not want us to know?
I don't know if it violates rules. If it does, the rules should be changed. I don 't know if it should be revised. Everything has room for improvement. If revised , the principle of accountability should be retained. EVERY candidate seeking/receiving RPT funds and/or endorsement should be REQUIRED to state their positions on each plank of the RPT platform.
We need to know how our elected vote and the bills they bring forth
Leave it the way it is.
This would be just one barometer in which we can measure our REPUBLICAN elected officials accountability. Republicans should first and foremost be transparent, conservative and accountable. It is obvious in todays society there needs to be simple tools to guide the voters in assessing the honesty and integrity of Republicans elected to support our values. And even more important, that said Republicans know their votes will be published. Isn't TEXAS the only state in the Union that doesn 't publish their votes??
An openness of what we have done and how we voted is a part of who we are.
I have been very upset with the shannigans with some of our so called Republican representatives. I swear that they are Democrats the way some of them vote. I want to know what they vote for so we can determine who gets voted out. I guess those guys have something to worry about. They are the ones that won't want that report published. I am sick of the Rhino's. jThey lie to get elected.
I believe a report is needed in order to have a simple way to track your Senator or district Representives voting performance. We currently are faced with a very difficult of searching for information and most of us just don't have the time. Simple report would allow us to know who needs to go and who needs to stay.
I think as voters we have a right to see this report! I our elected officials would do what they ran on, they wouldn't have to worry abouet the report.
As a convention delegate, I definitely believe this report must be published. I trust Wayne Christian to handle this project. I have never and do not now trust Steve Munisteri (or HIS legal team). If Steve thought there was a problem, he should have addressed it long ago with the SREC, the Platform Committee, and brought it out when he met with Wayne in January.
we need more conservatives on SREC!
Reports such as this are usually used as tools by some to malign those they disagree with. These are open to interpretation and who decides?
My congressmen's voting records are very important to me. Besides,how they vote is public information so why shouldnt a Legislative Priorities Report be published ?
We need accountability from our elected representatives.
This report could be done by anyone. The fact that it is being done by the Party itself with the backing of almost everyone, speaks well for the Party. The fact that the Party is now trying to hide it, change it, bury it - is going to wind up backfiring against the Party and most especially those that are involved in trying to dismantle this report from the eyes of the people of Texas.
The publishing of this information needs to be accomplished. I believe Republican Party organizations run the risk of pushing their most ardent supporters to 'third party candidates' when they fail to adequately listen and respond to their constituents . This is a chance for RPT/SREC to let the voters be heard.
If those in legislature do not want this it shows they wish to never allow the people who voted them into representation to know why and what they are doing. This is the way the PEOPLE of Texas wish it to be and it should, for you who are in legislature are there only by consent of the people. No more back room deals, or good ol boy systems in Texas, it's to show the people are in charge not polititicans That is why I am in deep favor of keeping this report as part of our SREC platform for 2012.
The entire platform is a priority.
I think that it is high time that the RPT takes a stand for the PARTY PLATFORM; otherwise, there is no reason to HAVE the platform in the first place. If we have no way to hold legistlators responsible for their own votes, then we have no voice and no real reason to even have the convention. Release the report NOW. Stop playing games. We have been fighting this particular battle for over 20 years . How do we keep re-electing RINOS. It's because we have not had a way to inform the voters of how their elected officials are REALLY voting, not just coming home and telling them what they want to hear. I for one am tired of it. Do your job , release the report and get on with it! Gloria Howell Precinct Chair 104 Denton County
We voted on this action at the 2010 Convention in Dallas. When the Convention acted on it and it was passed, why were the requested actions not taken by the SREC? Are Convention Delegate wishes not to be considered. If so, why hold a Convention at all? We see enough disregard of voter wishes at the National level and we are fed up with it.
This kind of a report should not be a threat to any elected Republican who generally agrees with our platform and then goes ahead and generally abides by it in his legislative and other public service work. To grow stronger in the public's eye , we must abide by what we say we are about and what we believe. Truthfully, there are a lot of Democrats in Texas who have been elected on our ticket, then act like the Democrats they are. Exposure is a good thing.
This post provides my thoughts: http://www.bigjollypolitics.com/wp/2011/10/14/fighting -our-friends-won%e2%80%99t-defeat-our-opponents/
Without a report which identifies the voting record of those who are supposed to represent us, how do "We, the people" of Tecas know whether we are actually being represented by those who claim they will uphold the Republican Party Platform? It it imperative that such a report be published.
All our elected officials should have to make public everything they do as concerns the job we sent them to Austin (Washington as well)! If everything is posted and circulated as public information alot of the under the table deals would be a thing of the past and we may be able to move forward instead of treading water all the time!
I was one of 3 people who called Steve Munistere (SP?)after the initial e-mails came out about the opposition to publishing the report. Steve told me that Wayne Christian had not complied with the deadlines and procedures of the Platform relative to this report. Being away from home for 2 weeks and not having access to the Platform, I was unable to verify the "seemingly" plausible explanation given by Steve. Now I think he was not giving an accurate synopsis of the issue of "publish or not".
The proper way to handle these things is in the primaries -- by voters. We don' t need the RPT to be taking sides in primaries, or a select few determining these voting "priorities" based on a platform that was railroaded through rather than debated and discussed.
None
The only reason to hesitate about the report is if there is information that would indicate misleading information from various reps and senators. Information is the lifeblood of a republic and is only protected from the public eye by unscrupulous bureaucrats
We need something with teeth in it to make sure that elected officials do what they pledge to do. Not just "promise" whatever they think will get them elected. We need to hold them accountable for conservative values and refuse party support without proof that they followed conservative values whild voting on bills. They should not be able to be on the Republican Ballot without a passing grade.
I think it is imperative to publish the report so the people of Texas know how their legislator voted on issues related to the Platform. So much chicanery goes on behind the scenes. Many of us are very involved following the legislation, informing others and giving our opinions to our legislators. There is a huge list of bills to follow, and it is not easy to keep track. I believe we are entitled to have this report. We might lose our enthusiasm to be delegates if we are ignored and this report is not published.
I think the RPT should publish the report, but I also support independent publishing of this important information.
It is time for the Republican Party to quit using its state apparatus to support the same old candidates, i.e., RINOs.
This seems like a softer, less confrontational effort to achieve the goals of a previous "Rule 43" effort to disqualify candidates for office that violate the platform . Rather than challenging state law, the RPT would, through this report, actually adopt the public policy position of Texas regarding campaign donations: you can do what you want, but there will be full disclosure. Legislators can vote as they wish, and we will not interfere w/their efforts to secure renomination, but their record will be fully disclosed to primary electors, so the latter might make a more informed decision.
If these public SERVANTS are afraid of a report showing how the think and or voted then they don't deserve to work for us. Fire them!!!
The State House and Senate should publish their priorities for the upcoming session immediately after electing the Speaker. The Speaker and Senate Pro-Tem offices can publish their own priorites or ammend the exisitng ones published by thr entire bodies. The SREC and RPY should be given an advance copy and asked to conference on the final copy. The House and Senate shoudl also seek counsel from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Empowert Exasn and other conservative groups to help compile the priorities. This report should be availabe to the public once it is complete.
I was a member of the 2010 RPT Platform Committee led by Rep. Wayne Christian, a man of integrity and one who holds conservative principles in all that he does. The latform Committee and the RPT Delegates voted for the entire RPT latform, including the call for a Legislative Report. It is important that SREC members and the Party leadership to step up and do whatever is necessary to see that a Legislative Report as called for in the Platform be published. Having worked with the YCT when the leadership was on the campus of UNT, I have every cnfidence that the in-depth research that was done to produce a valid Legislative Report shouild be submitted to all Republican voters. We expect our duly-elected members of the SREC to listen to the grassroots and Party activists by publishing this Legislative Report and to stop arguing points to not publish this report.
I have always had some concern about the RPT consistently supporting those that vote against the Republican Party Platform. If you are not going to require your members to support the platform, then it is useless, so do away with it. I believe Munisteri has done a good job financialy, but if he is going to protect the RINOs , then he needs to go.
I beleive that our committies should always be above board and truthful with the rank and file republicans. Doing anything that someone can critize as not being an open and frank group will always cause problems. Please do it right and avoid any repercussions and criticisms that can cause any divisions of our party.
The Republican party has yet to address any of the issues effecting actual citizens , their concentration is on keeping the rich and corporations happy.
I believe that the SREC should do what is right,after all they were put in that position to represent their district. If their districts are against or for it they should speak up.
We must have an accounting as to how the people WE elect have carried OUR wishes and needs to the Congress and Senate.A true and honest accounting so that we may as employers take the appropriate action reguarding their continued employment.
Lets see what you all are doing and lets see why your doing it.
Good luck in getting this report published. Grass roots does not mean to the party leadership and the legislators what it means to voters. I believe it will be very difficult to pass the bylaws change and I believe the study committee will say that to publish the report there will have to be a bylaws change since that has been said in years past. I will hold my SREC committee members accountable for their votes.
PLEASE stop using all those initials! Not everyone keeps up with what they stand for, and without the ahole thing, it is impossible to tell what you are addressing ! I think that everything the Party does should be aboveboard, and as such, it would not hurt to publish everything. We have been hurt, deeply, by the stand on giving illegal aliens state college tuition and many other benefits. But since I don't contribute very much, my voice has not been heard.
All Republicans should immediately resign from office.
Results would be tainted by the composition of the SREC. What are today's conservative issue may not be next cycles critical issues. This has happened in the past and it is a trap for Legislators to be okay with something then the Party changes their stand and that person is deemed a flip-flopper. RPT monies should be used to publicize issues and the post primary candidates, educate the voter base and stay clear of anything that would give the Democrats ammo against the Republican Party.
The problem is not with the Legislative Priorities Report, but with the platform . If the platform came from a process which accurately reflected the views of most Texas Republicans rather than those of vocal special interest groups and if the platform had not been rammed through with almost no debate at the convention, and if the platform did not contain planks which range from irrelevant to offensive to most voters, then this would not be an issue. Until the platform is fixed - ideally replaced with a simple statement of basic principles - trying to hold legislators accountable to it will always be controversial.
If the SREC and the RPT wish to represent the platform that the delegates to the 2010 RPT Convention overwhelmingly approved, the same convention where the SREC members and the current RPT Chair were elected, they must remove blocks and take the needed steps to publish the Legislative priorities Report immediately.
As soon as we get Gov Perry in the White House, let's secede. He's for it, he has said so before. And last time we tried it, it was Mr Lincoln's decision to make war against us and our Southern brethren. Rick Perry will not do that.
The platform should be a statement of conservative principles, not a special interest driven manifesto.
Transparency is always the way to go. We should always let the voting Republicans know what is going on. The SREC runs our business between conventions. That is why they should keep us informed. They are representing those of us who are delegates .
Transparency is always the way to go. We should always let the voting Republicans know what is going on. The SREC runs our business between conventions. That is why they should keep us informed. They are representing those of us who are delegates .
The Republican Party brand stands for nothing. Without the priorities report I will support a conservative third party to REPLACE the GOP.
I believe that our elected senators and representatives at the state and federal levels should be accountable for voting the way the people in their districts have directed them to vote. Providing the LPR and showing how legislation passed and defeated aligns with the LPR is a start at providing accountability.
With the Idiots we live with question is going to confuse them. Surveys should never have the word BUT in it unless your trying to trick the people.
I like it because I like being informed and this will give us more information than we have now.
Republican office holders should be held to account and such a Legislative Priorities Report is a good first step in letting them know that we expect them to act according to the RPT platform.
Republican office holders should be held to account and such a Legislative Priorities Report is a good first step in letting them know that we expect them to act according to the RPT platform.
Anything that allows us to feel the pulse of our elected officials is good in my opinion
At the 2010 State Convention, there was a group who presented an amendment from the floor who wanted the 2008 Platform to be the replacement for the 2010 Platform and they were loudly booed from the convention floor by the delegates and their amendment was voted down. It appears that this crowd is now in the SREC trying to do what was booed and voted down. I don’t see anything in the Rules and By-laws that mandates what the Platform can and cannot contain other than it cannot be involved in a “scorecard” of elected officials. The Legislative Report is not a scorecard. Surely the perilous times in which we live demand a higher standard and not the “business as usual” or “we’ve never done it this way before” attitudes . This is really more about not listening to and complying with what the delegates had already decided last June in 2010 at convention. It is now time to deliver on the promise
I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT HELPS ME VOTE...JUST HAVING AN "R" AFTER YOUR NAME DOESN'T MEAN THEY ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH YOUR THOGHTS.
The report is a good idea but needs to be thought out more, logistically, for the next State Convention
Since I have no idea what a Legislative Priorities Report is comprised of, what its purpose and function is, etc... it was hard to know how to truthfully answer these questions. Because of that and no previous knowledge of the Bylaws, I have no idea as to wether I think it would violate them or if they should be changed . It would really help to have some background on the ins and outs of the Legislative Priorities Report in order to be able to answer these questions.
David, it does not matter if the TX GOP publishes the report or not, since the GOP has too many cheaters who are afraid and understand party politics better than they understand guided principles. If the report is published, should we trust it or will it be "rigged" to make the individual look good. This is rule 43 all over again and when it comes to GOP politics a bunch believe in transparency and a bunch believe in "the group" and the two are in conflict. "The group" will never "purify" their leaders for not following the "platform" but they will punish their leaders/members for not following the unwritten but "groupness". It kind of goes like this ... the 11th commandment ... thou shall not speak ill of a fellow republican I recently sent an email to all the pct chairs in my county which I had email for and gave them the list of votes which Kevin Brady had voted and I have concluded that Kevin Brady does not represent me and I asked them for their opinion on the matter, this is what one person told me which is a perfect example of this "principle" / "groupness" issue .... I have not gotten permission to publish it but it goes like this paraphrased .... I have taken a vow as pct chair not to publicly comment on candidates before the primary (for the sake of the group) .... but I am a devout conservative, small biz owner, etc, etc The TX GOP leadership uses the platform to keep conservatives voting for their guys in November who for the most part don't care a straw about the platform when they are in office. Just look at the Joe Strauss issues and the Airport frisk issue.
Accountability is the best way to assure our Party values are being upheld.
Transparency it's important . A clear report should be published
The SREC needs to carry out the will of the 6,000 delegates who wildly applauded the plank to have a legislative voter report sent out before the primaries to help voters know which legislators voted for bills tied to the Republican Party Platform and which ones did not.
i dare you to get the politics out of it. it's not as black and white as you think . the good guys can look like bad guys if the bad guys make the report.
We must have this kind of transparency with our elected officials. Anything less and our Republican party will continue toward a useless moderate organization. I would like for our party to not just sound conservative, but also to make sure our elected officials know what we expect and that we are watching. We can continue to compromise and be politically correct and we will just get more of the same. Failing to hold elected officials accountable and the tendency toward a moderate party will cause an exodus of our members to the 'tea part'.
This seems pretty straight forward. People would like to believe that when a vote is cast and a decision is made, action is taken accordingly. If there was concern regarding the appropriateness of this issue with regards to by-laws, should this not have been addressed before voting?
Because the RPT is so tied to the will of the big donors who are more moderate than the voters, the RPT does not want to allienate the big donors who support the RHINO legislators and is looking for a way to not implement the scoring.
David, I'll send you separately some items I found in the Rules & Bylaws that suggest the platform committee is the correct determiner of principles and values . It is MUCH stronger in its inference than ANY attempt to tie a report to possible favoritism of one candidate over another. Maybe you can work some of this into your article? Thanks! Mark Ramsey
Most Republicans have not seen the Report yet so we really cannot comment on it yet. The SREC needs to just publish the YEA/NAY votes on any bills that touched on our list of 46 Legislative Priorites. I have heard that the current Report only lists the TX House votes. Wayne Christian and the YCT need to finish this report to include the TX Senate and the US Congress votes!
The only secret vote is at the poling station. All elected officials vote should be an open record and published
We must earn the support of the citizens by being transparent in everything.
This report is a huge step in helping voters understand how their legislatures are representing them. It's time is PAST DUE. Transparency is healthy and this report will help keep Texas strong. It is a FABULOUS idea!!!
Our elected SREC men and women must abide by the will of the delegates at the last state Republican convention. On a completely different topic, we noted with sadness that a soldier from Lumberton perished in Afghanistan last week. We used to live in Beaumont, and Lumberton was right in our "back yard." Our troops are our extended family, as our daughter is a veteran and our son-in-law is currently deployed. I hope that you will extend your heartfelt sympathies to the family of this man.
Having not read 'the report' it is difficult to be certain of it's ramifications . I think it's release will put all legislator's voting record more clearly in the public domain and be a good thing. The By-Laws will need to be changed to allow the publishing of the report, but I am in favor for more transparency in how our representatives vote during the session.
I have a problem if this turns into a gotcha for members of the legislature. No scorecard accurately reflects the effectiveness of a legislator. We need to stay within the confines of what the party is supposed to do. Run primaries and win elections is the primary job of the party. Many individuals and private organizations do a good job of tracking the votes of legislators. This does not need to be a purity test. We have primaries for that.
We continually make efforts to elect good conservative people to represent us but it is always hard to find out if those who are elected are actually upholding, by their votes, the values that the Republican Party of Texas professes, by our platform, to stand for. Publishing this report will help the rank and file to more readily assess how elected reps are doing in this respect.
It is unacceptable that RPT would not provide an analysis of the votes and allow the people who support them to decide whether they return to office. After all this isnt a jobs program. Its oir donations that keep them and the candidates in existence. Even in the real world you are giving the opportunity to see whether you are getting a return on your investment!
I sincerely hope that Rep. Wayne Christian's outstanding work as chairman of the 2010 RPT Platform Committee will be noted by the SREC. As well as the excellent work of his two legal counselors throughout the process and the Convention's Parliamentarian and Legal Counsel. I especially hope that the intent of the delegates will be honored .
HONOR YOUR WORD...Once a committement is made, your word is your bond. The political landscape is a mess, WHY IN THE WORLD is this an issue? Your personal creditability and the creditability of the Party is on the line RIGHT NOW - Will you be a voice of the People, or arrogant elitists ?
I disagreed with putting it in the platform to begin with, but since it is there and the will of the delegates, it should be followed through. There are numerous and sometimes complicated issues/reasons why a legislator's vote might appear oppposed to platform values and publishing a report like this makes us too simpleminded. I much prefer using the resources already out there like Texas Eagle Forum and Liberty Institute to grade our legislators. It is our responsibility as voters to hold our legislators accountable - the tea party has shown that. We need to get away from abdicating our civic responsibility to a higher source even if it's the Republican Party.
I strongly support a report that makes public a "report card" of our State Legislatures . Republicans need to know how their representatives handle important issues.
We need to let the world know what kind of representative Government this party and its candidates stand for.
This is a great way for the constituents to hold our elected officilas accountable . If they are going to receive money from the RPT, then they need to vote in line with the RPT conservative principles or be voted out. Thanks for publishing this report.....
Illegal immigrants policy should be zero tolerence!!
I believe the vote on either publishing the report or changing the bylaws should be a recorded vote for all to see.
We should demand accountability to the Platform from our elected GOP officials. If we governed according to the Platform with integrity... state government would be much better!
it is HIGH TIME for some transparency in the Texas legislature.
The report doesn't cover the 46 priorities written by Rep. Christian and rubber- stamped by the Platform Committee. It covers only the few items actually having record votes. It is a meaningless report intended to promote Rep. Christian as it's main goal. It is sad to see the grassroots used so openly. The full voting records of every representative are public and available, a fact lost on the howling mob.
I like the idea of a report so that our elected officials at least know the priorities of the SREC, County Chairmen and delegates to the State Convention. Unfortunately I am not convinced that our Republican elected officials pay that much attention to the party at all unless they are contacted by people in their districts regarding the various issues. That is the only thing that seems to work
It would provide an excellent unbiased tool for the voters to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions.
I thank you for your efforts in doing this. It is MUCH appreciated. Mary Breitung
TRANSPARENCY!!!
List all votes, organized by Republican Party Platform planks related to the issue . In the very unlikely event that a bill is unrelated to the platform, put it in an all other category.
The argument against this is that free thought is the victim and that all persons must think and vote the same. That is not the case. Each individual representative can think and vote his/her conscience. He/She just needs to know that they have to stand by their voting record. And, if they are representing their constituents that should not be a problem.
It is an essential part of Party accountability to take ownership of and distribute this type of information. Such transparency is essential if the GOP is EVER going to improve its overall approval rating as an entity.
The SREC should be very careful not to hold itself out as instructor tot he GOP legislative caucus. The members of the Legislature were elected by the people, not the SREC. But, it is entirely appropriate for the Party to say: "Look, this is our list of priorities based upon the votes of delegates to our convention." Beyond that is an abuse of the SREC because it is not elected by Primary to represent all Party members.
As GOP leaders we have the responsibility to make governance as transparent as possible . To that end, it is obvious that an easily accessible report on the voting record of our Senators and Representatives should be pursued by the RPT. The report should include a brief summary of each bill, the advantages and disadvantages of the bill , and a record of the votes cast on each bill.
Anytime exposure is fought, it is by those who want the "good 'ol boy" poitics to continue. i want it ended and exposure will help in doing that!
Why have a platform if we cannot hold our elected officials accountable to it? I was a delegate and my husband was a delegate. We both voted for this report, and we feel it is vital to have it out before primary election season. Right or wrong... it looks bad for the party, the chairman and the SREC to keep this from being published with as much information as the legislature was able to vote on .
i didn't know how to answer question 4. i like this idea. it lets everyone know how their legislator voted on numerous issues. i think this will give the people more transparency on their legislators and their actions. unlike the transparency offered by the obama administration.
The only way for the Republican Party to stay at the forefront of politics is to be totally open. Americans crave a Party of values and conservative beliefs. This would go a long way to assure voters that their politicians hold constituent 's views.
Report should address special interest groups promoting and/or opposing proposed legislation.
Republicans have a right to know who the moderates and RINO's are in our midst so we can evaluate them. And we need the easiest method possible to identify who stands with our (each individuals) values. It appears to me that this is the most direct and consistent method. I would certainly personally examine the motives behind anyone voting against this report.
I would like to see it!
All legislation in state and federal sessions should be open to the public. We vote to send representatives that we believe share our positions and we should be able to determine that our policies are being supported by those elected.
99%+ of citizens do not have time nor would the know where to get the information provided in this report. This information will let them know whether the rhetoric they heard from the candidates matches how the legislators voted in representing them. A VERY valuable service.
It's high time that the Republican Party of Texas started behaving in a manner consistent with its voter base. This measure would help.
I want to see how each rep/senator is voting. No closed door, no veils, just open information for all. I believe that Government is responsible to the governed, not the other way around. This report will help hold our officials accountable.
Need to be specific what Republican values are. Let not let this become a negative to elected officials who have to govern.
I think this is an attempt at hiding the voting record of some of our reps and we will remember who is trying to do this when we go to the polls.
be accountable and 'perfectly clear'!
I understand that there were only 14 bills that addressed any of the 46 legislative priorities outlined in the Republican Platform. This was because bills addressing the remaining priorities were killed in committee by "moderate" (liberal) Committee Chairs appointed by our "moderate" (liberal) Speaker Joe Strauss. I think that this should somehow be reported as well...name the Committee chair in which bills relating to Republican Party legislative priorities got killed and why, despite super majority status, they didn't even get brought to the floor for a vote.
I feel the Republican Party needs to stand up and be counted and not be ashamed of their record.
Transparency, transparency, transparency. The delegates donate an incredible amount of time and money toward our state GOP platform, and the state party spends thousands of dollars every 2 years for the convention. If the state party has a problem with complying with the state platform, or any elected official that stood to benefit from running under the GOP banner has a problem with platform compliance, then the party should dissolve or the official shall resign from the GOP party. America is a Republican form of government. How can the People understand who is the Republican if not by all of their actions. "Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either." -A. Einstein
Our elected officials must be held accountable for the actions that they take on the citizens behalf, good or bad. To do so their actions must be public and easily accessible. The ability to hide, disguise or hinder easy access dilutes accountability and allows elected officials to do under the table deals and stealth legislation . Why claim transparency if there is no vehicle to establish transparency?
We don't need an agenda for the legislative session. It just gives the old left media something else to twist. Just hold taxes low, regualtion rare and get out of the way.
Do what the platform says to do.
The Texas Republicans agreed to publish this report as part of the platform. To not publish this report would be a discrase on the Texas RINO Republican Party!
I think that people nationwide want their representatives to be open, honest, and not subject to back room deals as they are now. I find that sickening and disgusting .
No more pledges to the incumbant Speaker or new Speaker of the House.
It lets WE THE PEOPLE of TEXAS know how are elected reps are working for us or for themselves, its called being transparent in your actions, If you are doing the bidding of the people, whats the problem?
THE MORE WE KNOW ABOUT WHO IS REPRESENTING US THE BETTER. THAT'S ONE OF OUR PROBLEMS , WE HAVE BEEN SAILING ALONG WITHOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY NEEDED.
It is the right of the people to know what/how their state rep's and senators vote on issues. They are there in Austin at the leisure of the people that put them there, hence they are accountable to the Texas public, and guess what, I have a right to know how they conducted my business in Austin.
The idea is good but I worry about linking voting to the"Republican ideals." Who determines which bills emulate Republican ideas? This could get political. I like the idea that shows how each rep voted on all bills.
There should be more openness at ALL levels of government, especially if it is being hypocritically demanded from the Obama Administration.
Do it now!
We need a reprot that lay people can understand just how our reps are voteing
I feel all constituents of our elected officials should have access to a concise , RPT Legislative Priorities Report,including all Bill NO's and pertinent data so that constituents can more easily determine how their elected officials are voting on their behalf and whether or not it matches or represents the voter's wishes.
I believe that it would be very helpful in realizing if our priorities are the same as our elected officials.
Are all "final" votes listed on the report? Who picks what votes are on the report ? I am infavor of following what was adopted by the platform committee at the "08 State convention.
I think any legislator should be proud to have their vote on these issues published so their constituents will know that they are truely living up to their promises
Anything that is CLEAR, HONEST and with Total Commitment to REMOVE the Democrat Party's Issues from ALL OF TEXAS!
We, as Republicans, need to be as transparent in our dealings if we hope to muster the votes to defeat those that have ulterior agendas for our state and country.
WHO THE HECK CARES!!!!!
I can not respond to numbers 2 and 4 because I have not read or even seen the Bylaws . I definitely want the Republican Party of Texas to publish a Legislative Priorities report.
Anytime a politico wants something suppressed....I worry. What are they attempting to hide and WHY! Business as Usual means that we are being lied to and taking it in the shorts.
It is time that all Rino's be held accountable for their votes and actions like not allowing bills to the floor for a vote. Failure to do so will surely destroy the Republican Party of Texas and bring a third party to the state. Would hate to divide our vote for 2012, but it might prove necessary. Joe Strauss & David Duherst should never be allowed to run as a Republican.
I would like to be regularly informed of how my representative and Senator vote. I would also like to know how others are voting and the issues they are taking under consideration.
It is very important that we police those within our party, who call themselves Republicans. Talk is cheap, but a voting record is purely factual. We need the SREC to report to us members, whom they serve, the actual voting records of those we elect. And we need it in a form that is clear and easy. If we the delegates produce a platform and prioritize legislation, then we need the accountability step of having our elected reps and senators voting records to compare with our priorities.
I think that public servants should remember WHY we elected them to office and so they could get rich is NOT the reason.
We need more honesty and transparency. If an elected official truly believes that he/she is representing the concensus of his constituents, then this report would be no problem.
I believe the American people have an absolute right to know what is going on in America in every way. Especially how our elected officials are voting.
I think the report is an excellent idea and would give us more visibility, which we normally do not have.
The three times I have been to a State Convention there was always a vote to somehow keep those elected adherent to the Republican Party Platform. It always failed . This Priorities Report seems to be a way for each really concerned voter to check theirs and other legislators to weed out the RINO's. It is true other voting records can be obtained from other groups but they are usually listed as to that group' s primary focus. This report would seem to cover a broader spectrum which is needed . I am unsure whether it would violate the SREC bylaws but it still needs to be done if the vote at the Convention was for doing it. Failure to do so is on it 's own a violation of the delegates vote.
Test
We need to vote in favor of publishing a report. Publish the Report this year and then at the next convention in 2012 we can figure out if the report should stay in the platform or changed.
I believe that we have a right to see how each of the Representatives or Senators voted. I do not believe the party,the Speaker of the House, or any other "servant " of the people should have the right to restrict information about what our Legislators vote on or meet about when they are supposed to be working for us, the voter.
I like the idea of knowing what is going on.
for such a time as this we have to know who really represents us so we can make an informed decision in voting. I believe the people spoke at the convention, that is the most concerning. The SREC's knew this was coming, so they should come to the table prepared. Pam
I believe that all efforts to bring full transparancy of any/all of our government 's actions is a MUST. If you oppose having your voting record brought to the attention of your constituancy in a transparent and easily understood manner, then you should give up your seat, go back home and return to your old job. And if you do not have a real old job to go back to then you probably were not qualified to hold a governmental seat in the first place.
It should also include a section on successes or failures (including reasons for failures) of the previous sessions legislative priorities.
As a Conservative, we need to know how the Legislature is voting on key issues. Get rid of Rino's, such as those who support Straus. Good competition makes for better elected officials.
The people who participated at the RPT convention as experts like parliamentarians , rules and bylaws experts and legal counsels are not being consulted at all by the SREC now and yet it is a matter of record that they followed proper procedures otherwise they would not have allowed the separate amendment (separate from the Platform Committee) to be presented to the floor of the Convention. I would like for them to be the CURRENT CONSULTANTS to resolve the issue that the SREC is dealing with after all of us have long left the 2010 convention quite satisfied with the platform. Also, let’s not forget that at the 2010 State Convention, there was a group who presented an amendment from the floor who wanted the 2008 Platform to be the replacement for the 2010 Platform and they were loudly booed from the convention floor by the delegates and their amendment was voted down. It appears that this crowd is now in the SREC trying to do what was booed and voted down. Well, I don’t see anything in the Rules and By-laws that mandates what the Platform can and cannot contain other than it cannot be involved in a “scorecard” of elected officials. I’m certainly no expert in Rules and By-laws but I don’t think I have “lost my way” in knowing what is vitally important to improve our effectiveness as Republicans. Surely the perilous times in which we live demand a higher standard and not the “business as usual” or “we’ve never done it this way before” attitudes . This is really more about not listening to and complying with what the delegates have already decided last June in 2010 at convention. It is now time to deliver on the promise.
While you're at it, get all the Republican candidates to sign off on the Republican platform that we all work so hard to create!
I already get a voluntary report on how my representatives vote on key issues with our central government and can see no reason why we should not be able to get a similar report on our state representatives.
Lay it all out on the table.
Where were all the RPT convention experts during the process; parliamentarians, rules and bylaws experts and our legal counsel? Were they asleep? No, I don’t think so. Are these individuals included with the current process of considering the bylaws challenge? The premise that this effort of dispensing the report would in essence be somehow inadvertently impact current and future Republican candidate campaigns is ludicrous. Educating the voters is beneficial to all concerned. Unless of course the current powers that be are concerned the voters will see the light .
Transparency is key to any success in developing trust with voters and attracting support...actions not talking points win.
The platform is no place to try to pass rules. At the convention, we debated the rules proposals as long as we could after the delay tactics of the people confused about temporary and permanent organization. When we got to platform, I believe it was moved to "move all pending questions" and we voted on the whole platform in about 20 minutes. The Republican party should not take sides in primaries . There are dozens of outside groups that provide scorecards, candidates are very accessible, and Republican voters are very independent people. When county chairs take sides in primaries, the results are always ugly. We do not want to foist that ugliness on the State Party. If you want a scorecard for a political race, do your own research ( or find someone you trust to do it) and publish it yourself. Let the party be impartial.
I think the idea of knowing and understanding how our legislators voter is very good. But the problem is with who interprets whether it lines up with Republican values. Bills that are voted on can be very complicated, and sometimes concessions must be made in light of conflicting issues within a bill. The legislators should be accountable to the public by answering why they voted a certain way and how it is reflected in Republican light. I am not going to depend on one mandated opinion to decide whether someone lines up with my conservative ideas or not. Many people will....and will take this "report" as a mandate of who is best to vote for in a Republican primary. So, I do not believe we should give this one-sided option and allow people to think for themselves.
Republican officeholders should work to uphold the principles outlined in the party platform, and Republican voters should hold those officials accountable for their votes.
YOU STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS WORK FOR ME....I WANT TO SEE HOW EACH OF YOU VOTE ON LEGISLATION PRIORITIES.....SO NO COVER UP HERE.....PUBLISH THE REPORT. THANKS YOU . JOHNNY MARSHALL BEDFORD, TEXAS
The Republican Party should always be the party of transparency in what ever we do. The democrats talk it and we should do it.
As a voter, I believe I should be able to see how Legislators vote on the issues . We in the grassroots more & more are finding the Legislators are not listening to the people. Thank you for doing what you do.
The Republican Party of Texas can expect donations to drop from individual activists and can expect more and more people to identify themselves as conservative independents if the TX GOP keeps up this nonsense. You'd better believe that if the Party does not hold itself accountable, the constitutional conservative activists will! It is beginning to look as if the TX GOP Chair & his team do not want to hold the House and Senate leadership accountable because they are pouring money into the Party to buy silence on their records. The question is - will the SREC do the right thing? I urge you to do so. The Report needs to be published or the TX GOP can be expected to get a bad reputation among all these conservative activists. We knew what we were voting for when we voted for this at the last convention. We expect results.
The more the general public "knows" about what is going on, the better informed voters we will be.
The only reason the party leadership wants this report supressed is because of the extremely poor job the Republicans, under the leadership of Ministeri, Straus and Dewhurst, is so poor that it is embarisng. The RINOs like these three are destroying our state.
If Texas and America is to be saved, we MUST start holding our elected representatives fully accountable.
This is not totally applicable. However, I think ALL 50 STATES should hold our first primary on the same day in January. Then the top 2 candidates should have a "run off" primary in APRIL or MAY in ALL 50 STATES to determine our nominee for president . In this way NO SINGLE state has any more influence than ANY OTHER state. This would be a simple and fair way for EVERY STATE to have the SAME VOICE as it should be in a REPRESENTATIVE REPUBLIC!!!
As a 2010 Platform Committee member, I can attest to the fact that there was no objection to the Legislative Priorities. And as best as I can remember, it was unanimously approved. I would hope that the elected party officials will find a way to uphold the will of the whole party.
Accurate documentation of the records of the elected officals and how they performed with respect to the Republican platform is essential for delegates to know who to elect in the future. Without it it is merely a popularity contest or who spends the most money campaigning.
I want to know how the people I've helped put into office vote when I'm not standing next to them. It's one thing for them to agree with me and another for them to vote contrary to that agreement.
Why make anything at all to do with political environs "secret" to the people that votr?
I want to know how legislators are voting. We are electing lots of Republicans and still having trouble getting conservative legislation passed. There is a problem someplace.
Transparency is always an important factor.
I do not have time to even keep current on what my SRECs are doing much less find , read, study and keep lists of all the introduced, passed and defeated Texas Legislation , in order to have accurate assessments of the jobs that Texas Legislators are doing with regard to my fiscal and moral values. The SREC will have my deep,heartfelt appreciation when they make available an ACCURATE compilation of voting records of Legislators' representing Texas Republican Platform issues.
I want transparency and this appears to be not desired by professional? politicians
Any Republican that is not conservative or is opposed to the Tea Party movement needs to be replaced.
At the convention a lot to time and effort goes into writing the platform. I think it is the responsibility of the party to make available the voting record of elected officals, especially in regards to platform issues. Voters need to know those who do not support the platform with their votes.
Follow the platform. Release the report.
The more the voters know about the Republican values and how their Reps voted in regard to them, the more informed the electorate and the more responsive the reps .
we need complete and open accountability and full disclosure
we need an quick, easy way to access infomation on how all our legislators vote.
It gives transparency, shows integrity, loyalty to commitment and a willingness to service the people.
I think that our elected officials are always accountable to "We, the People," and should always be willing to make their choices, voting record, etc. available to any legal voting citizen who wants to know. They should not be ashamed to make it public, unless, of course, they ARE ashamed of their choices.
THE ONLY REASON LEGISLATORS WOULD NOT WANT THE REPORT PUBLISHED IS BECAUSE THEY ARE ASHAMED OF THEIR VOTES AND WANT TO HIDE THEM TO ENSURE THEY GET RE-ELECTED.
Delegates at the convention are there to communicate with other Republicans, including and especially our elected officials, what we want our party to support or not support, which in turn their votes should reflect. Emphasizing legislative priorities shows the delegates that it does matter - that the party is listening to us.
I like such a report because it holds the legislators accountable for their votes , which SHOULD be in the best interests of the people they supposedly represent. When we as citizens finally get good language into the platform, those elected should abide by the platform.
I don't know anything about the Bylaws. But I am for making things clearer for everyone to understand.
The Report is very important. The Report should reflect the Republican Platform and how the voting member supported the platform or not. We want to know who does not support our platform. The platform reflects the citizens will and if the members (Legislature) vote contrary to our platform-they should be scored accordingly. It is obvious why the opposing members do not want their record exposed. These servents need to be retired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Keep everything open & honest to hold elected servants accountable.
I think it is vital that we know how the people who are our voice in office vote . Once again, they are there to represent ONLY we constituents. We SHOULD be aware when they brake that trust. For the Republican Party of Texas to drag their feet in acting on this hints at corruption, cover-up and cronyism. Why would they not want us to know?
I don't know if it violates rules. If it does, the rules should be changed. I don 't know if it should be revised. Everything has room for improvement. If revised , the principle of accountability should be retained. EVERY candidate seeking/receiving RPT funds and/or endorsement should be REQUIRED to state their positions on each plank of the RPT platform.
We need to know how our elected vote and the bills they bring forth
Leave it the way it is.
This would be just one barometer in which we can measure our REPUBLICAN elected officials accountability. Republicans should first and foremost be transparent, conservative and accountable. It is obvious in todays society there needs to be simple tools to guide the voters in assessing the honesty and integrity of Republicans elected to support our values. And even more important, that said Republicans know their votes will be published. Isn't TEXAS the only state in the Union that doesn 't publish their votes??
An openness of what we have done and how we voted is a part of who we are.
I have been very upset with the shannigans with some of our so called Republican representatives. I swear that they are Democrats the way some of them vote. I want to know what they vote for so we can determine who gets voted out. I guess those guys have something to worry about. They are the ones that won't want that report published. I am sick of the Rhino's. jThey lie to get elected.
I believe a report is needed in order to have a simple way to track your Senator or district Representives voting performance. We currently are faced with a very difficult of searching for information and most of us just don't have the time. Simple report would allow us to know who needs to go and who needs to stay.
I think as voters we have a right to see this report! I our elected officials would do what they ran on, they wouldn't have to worry abouet the report.
As a convention delegate, I definitely believe this report must be published. I trust Wayne Christian to handle this project. I have never and do not now trust Steve Munisteri (or HIS legal team). If Steve thought there was a problem, he should have addressed it long ago with the SREC, the Platform Committee, and brought it out when he met with Wayne in January.
we need more conservatives on SREC!
Reports such as this are usually used as tools by some to malign those they disagree with. These are open to interpretation and who decides?
My congressmen's voting records are very important to me. Besides,how they vote is public information so why shouldnt a Legislative Priorities Report be published ?
We need accountability from our elected representatives.
This report could be done by anyone. The fact that it is being done by the Party itself with the backing of almost everyone, speaks well for the Party. The fact that the Party is now trying to hide it, change it, bury it - is going to wind up backfiring against the Party and most especially those that are involved in trying to dismantle this report from the eyes of the people of Texas.
The publishing of this information needs to be accomplished. I believe Republican Party organizations run the risk of pushing their most ardent supporters to 'third party candidates' when they fail to adequately listen and respond to their constituents . This is a chance for RPT/SREC to let the voters be heard.
If those in legislature do not want this it shows they wish to never allow the people who voted them into representation to know why and what they are doing. This is the way the PEOPLE of Texas wish it to be and it should, for you who are in legislature are there only by consent of the people. No more back room deals, or good ol boy systems in Texas, it's to show the people are in charge not polititicans That is why I am in deep favor of keeping this report as part of our SREC platform for 2012.
The entire platform is a priority.
I think that it is high time that the RPT takes a stand for the PARTY PLATFORM; otherwise, there is no reason to HAVE the platform in the first place. If we have no way to hold legistlators responsible for their own votes, then we have no voice and no real reason to even have the convention. Release the report NOW. Stop playing games. We have been fighting this particular battle for over 20 years . How do we keep re-electing RINOS. It's because we have not had a way to inform the voters of how their elected officials are REALLY voting, not just coming home and telling them what they want to hear. I for one am tired of it. Do your job , release the report and get on with it! Gloria Howell Precinct Chair 104 Denton County
We voted on this action at the 2010 Convention in Dallas. When the Convention acted on it and it was passed, why were the requested actions not taken by the SREC? Are Convention Delegate wishes not to be considered. If so, why hold a Convention at all? We see enough disregard of voter wishes at the National level and we are fed up with it.
This kind of a report should not be a threat to any elected Republican who generally agrees with our platform and then goes ahead and generally abides by it in his legislative and other public service work. To grow stronger in the public's eye , we must abide by what we say we are about and what we believe. Truthfully, there are a lot of Democrats in Texas who have been elected on our ticket, then act like the Democrats they are. Exposure is a good thing.
This post provides my thoughts: http://www.bigjollypolitics.com/wp/2011/10/14/fighting -our-friends-won%e2%80%99t-defeat-our-opponents/
Without a report which identifies the voting record of those who are supposed to represent us, how do "We, the people" of Tecas know whether we are actually being represented by those who claim they will uphold the Republican Party Platform? It it imperative that such a report be published.
All our elected officials should have to make public everything they do as concerns the job we sent them to Austin (Washington as well)! If everything is posted and circulated as public information alot of the under the table deals would be a thing of the past and we may be able to move forward instead of treading water all the time!
I was one of 3 people who called Steve Munistere (SP?)after the initial e-mails came out about the opposition to publishing the report. Steve told me that Wayne Christian had not complied with the deadlines and procedures of the Platform relative to this report. Being away from home for 2 weeks and not having access to the Platform, I was unable to verify the "seemingly" plausible explanation given by Steve. Now I think he was not giving an accurate synopsis of the issue of "publish or not".
The proper way to handle these things is in the primaries -- by voters. We don' t need the RPT to be taking sides in primaries, or a select few determining these voting "priorities" based on a platform that was railroaded through rather than debated and discussed.
None
The only reason to hesitate about the report is if there is information that would indicate misleading information from various reps and senators. Information is the lifeblood of a republic and is only protected from the public eye by unscrupulous bureaucrats
We need something with teeth in it to make sure that elected officials do what they pledge to do. Not just "promise" whatever they think will get them elected. We need to hold them accountable for conservative values and refuse party support without proof that they followed conservative values whild voting on bills. They should not be able to be on the Republican Ballot without a passing grade.
I think it is imperative to publish the report so the people of Texas know how their legislator voted on issues related to the Platform. So much chicanery goes on behind the scenes. Many of us are very involved following the legislation, informing others and giving our opinions to our legislators. There is a huge list of bills to follow, and it is not easy to keep track. I believe we are entitled to have this report. We might lose our enthusiasm to be delegates if we are ignored and this report is not published.
I think the RPT should publish the report, but I also support independent publishing of this important information.
It is time for the Republican Party to quit using its state apparatus to support the same old candidates, i.e., RINOs.
This seems like a softer, less confrontational effort to achieve the goals of a previous "Rule 43" effort to disqualify candidates for office that violate the platform . Rather than challenging state law, the RPT would, through this report, actually adopt the public policy position of Texas regarding campaign donations: you can do what you want, but there will be full disclosure. Legislators can vote as they wish, and we will not interfere w/their efforts to secure renomination, but their record will be fully disclosed to primary electors, so the latter might make a more informed decision.
If these public SERVANTS are afraid of a report showing how the think and or voted then they don't deserve to work for us. Fire them!!!
The State House and Senate should publish their priorities for the upcoming session immediately after electing the Speaker. The Speaker and Senate Pro-Tem offices can publish their own priorites or ammend the exisitng ones published by thr entire bodies. The SREC and RPY should be given an advance copy and asked to conference on the final copy. The House and Senate shoudl also seek counsel from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Empowert Exasn and other conservative groups to help compile the priorities. This report should be availabe to the public once it is complete.
I was a member of the 2010 RPT Platform Committee led by Rep. Wayne Christian, a man of integrity and one who holds conservative principles in all that he does. The latform Committee and the RPT Delegates voted for the entire RPT latform, including the call for a Legislative Report. It is important that SREC members and the Party leadership to step up and do whatever is necessary to see that a Legislative Report as called for in the Platform be published. Having worked with the YCT when the leadership was on the campus of UNT, I have every cnfidence that the in-depth research that was done to produce a valid Legislative Report shouild be submitted to all Republican voters. We expect our duly-elected members of the SREC to listen to the grassroots and Party activists by publishing this Legislative Report and to stop arguing points to not publish this report.
I have always had some concern about the RPT consistently supporting those that vote against the Republican Party Platform. If you are not going to require your members to support the platform, then it is useless, so do away with it. I believe Munisteri has done a good job financialy, but if he is going to protect the RINOs , then he needs to go.
I beleive that our committies should always be above board and truthful with the rank and file republicans. Doing anything that someone can critize as not being an open and frank group will always cause problems. Please do it right and avoid any repercussions and criticisms that can cause any divisions of our party.
The Republican party has yet to address any of the issues effecting actual citizens , their concentration is on keeping the rich and corporations happy.
I believe that the SREC should do what is right,after all they were put in that position to represent their district. If their districts are against or for it they should speak up.
We must have an accounting as to how the people WE elect have carried OUR wishes and needs to the Congress and Senate.A true and honest accounting so that we may as employers take the appropriate action reguarding their continued employment.
Lets see what you all are doing and lets see why your doing it.
Good luck in getting this report published. Grass roots does not mean to the party leadership and the legislators what it means to voters. I believe it will be very difficult to pass the bylaws change and I believe the study committee will say that to publish the report there will have to be a bylaws change since that has been said in years past. I will hold my SREC committee members accountable for their votes.
PLEASE stop using all those initials! Not everyone keeps up with what they stand for, and without the ahole thing, it is impossible to tell what you are addressing ! I think that everything the Party does should be aboveboard, and as such, it would not hurt to publish everything. We have been hurt, deeply, by the stand on giving illegal aliens state college tuition and many other benefits. But since I don't contribute very much, my voice has not been heard.
All Republicans should immediately resign from office.
Results would be tainted by the composition of the SREC. What are today's conservative issue may not be next cycles critical issues. This has happened in the past and it is a trap for Legislators to be okay with something then the Party changes their stand and that person is deemed a flip-flopper. RPT monies should be used to publicize issues and the post primary candidates, educate the voter base and stay clear of anything that would give the Democrats ammo against the Republican Party.
The problem is not with the Legislative Priorities Report, but with the platform . If the platform came from a process which accurately reflected the views of most Texas Republicans rather than those of vocal special interest groups and if the platform had not been rammed through with almost no debate at the convention, and if the platform did not contain planks which range from irrelevant to offensive to most voters, then this would not be an issue. Until the platform is fixed - ideally replaced with a simple statement of basic principles - trying to hold legislators accountable to it will always be controversial.
If the SREC and the RPT wish to represent the platform that the delegates to the 2010 RPT Convention overwhelmingly approved, the same convention where the SREC members and the current RPT Chair were elected, they must remove blocks and take the needed steps to publish the Legislative priorities Report immediately.
As soon as we get Gov Perry in the White House, let's secede. He's for it, he has said so before. And last time we tried it, it was Mr Lincoln's decision to make war against us and our Southern brethren. Rick Perry will not do that.
The platform should be a statement of conservative principles, not a special interest driven manifesto.
Transparency is always the way to go. We should always let the voting Republicans know what is going on. The SREC runs our business between conventions. That is why they should keep us informed. They are representing those of us who are delegates .
Transparency is always the way to go. We should always let the voting Republicans know what is going on. The SREC runs our business between conventions. That is why they should keep us informed. They are representing those of us who are delegates .
The Republican Party brand stands for nothing. Without the priorities report I will support a conservative third party to REPLACE the GOP.
I believe that our elected senators and representatives at the state and federal levels should be accountable for voting the way the people in their districts have directed them to vote. Providing the LPR and showing how legislation passed and defeated aligns with the LPR is a start at providing accountability.
With the Idiots we live with question is going to confuse them. Surveys should never have the word BUT in it unless your trying to trick the people.
I like it because I like being informed and this will give us more information than we have now.
Republican office holders should be held to account and such a Legislative Priorities Report is a good first step in letting them know that we expect them to act according to the RPT platform.
Republican office holders should be held to account and such a Legislative Priorities Report is a good first step in letting them know that we expect them to act according to the RPT platform.
Anything that allows us to feel the pulse of our elected officials is good in my opinion
At the 2010 State Convention, there was a group who presented an amendment from the floor who wanted the 2008 Platform to be the replacement for the 2010 Platform and they were loudly booed from the convention floor by the delegates and their amendment was voted down. It appears that this crowd is now in the SREC trying to do what was booed and voted down. I don’t see anything in the Rules and By-laws that mandates what the Platform can and cannot contain other than it cannot be involved in a “scorecard” of elected officials. The Legislative Report is not a scorecard. Surely the perilous times in which we live demand a higher standard and not the “business as usual” or “we’ve never done it this way before” attitudes . This is really more about not listening to and complying with what the delegates had already decided last June in 2010 at convention. It is now time to deliver on the promise
I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT HELPS ME VOTE...JUST HAVING AN "R" AFTER YOUR NAME DOESN'T MEAN THEY ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH YOUR THOGHTS.