Gary Polland says it best – “We can have a party of principles with no money or we can have a party with money and no principles.” If you have known Gary for any length of time, you have heard him make this statement. He is, of course, referring to the Harris County Republican Party. Reflection on Gary’s statement is particularly important as we head into 2020.
Paul Simpson, Chairman of the Harris County Republican Party since 2014, has led the HCRP down the pathway of self-destruction. For two election cycles, the HCRP has lost every countywide race on the ballot.
Entering 2020, the HCRP will not field a candidate in half of the local judicial races. Let that sink in for a second. In a time when crime in Harris County is out of control, the HCRP failed to recruit a candidate to challenge most of the incumbent (democrat/progressive/socialist) judges. In 2020, Simpson will put forth the weakest R ballot in party history – an incomplete ballot at that.
Who is the party serving? While there has always been a struggle between the conservative grassroots activists and the establishment/special interests in Harris County, the contrast in approach and results is stark. Simpson’s party of money and no principles is serving Dick Weekley.
Now, you have to think about that for a second. Why would a home builder closely aligned with Joe Straus fund Simpson and the HCRP? There are lots of reasons and none of them align with our party platform. Most importantly, the reasons fail to align with the policies of President Trump. Weekley is pro illegal immigration and an open borders globalist. This puts him in direct opposition to President Trump and our status as a sanctuary city – think messaging.
It took three years for Simpson to even utter President Trump’s name at a HCRP Executive Committee Meeting. One thing is very clear, with Never Trumpers and Trump apologists supporting and leading the HCRP, President Trump’s campaign staff cannot message the President’s themes is Harris County, and maybe Texas. James Dickey has been hanging out and taking Weekley money as of late.
If you support President Trump and his policies, the HCRP is working against you. Your interests have been co-opted by Dick Weekley and crew who love the open borders policies of the democrats and the Soros globalists. Weekley needs cheap labor for his business and wants you to pay the healthcare costs of his laborers through the county healthcare system (Harris Health). It is great work when you can get it.
We are moving into campaign season and now is the time to pay attention to funding sources and consultants. For example, the HCRP has used Kevin Shuvalov as a consultant since Simpson came into power in 2014. Dick Weekley has always conditioned his financial support of the HCRP with the mandate that HCRP use Shuvalov as the party consultant. In the recent city elections, we saw HRBC, where Shuvalov is also a consultant, support Sylvester Turner and Dave Martin. Keeping Houston as a sanctuary city is very important to Weekley. Sadly, the Kingwood Tea Party/ Jim and Robin Lennon have also been co-opted and supported Martin’s re-election for Shuvalov. So, this city election cycle, Simpson allowed an environment where our party served to re-elect Sylvester Turner.
Identifying a candidate’s consultant is often a way to better understand a candidate’s funding sources and motivation. For example, Allen Blakemore has been a paid consultant of the Houston Police Officer’s Union (HPOU), Shuvalov is also on their payroll. Both of these consultants did everything they could to help their client, HPOU, get Sly Turner elected and re-elected. These two consultants orchestrated pitting the fire against the police. The politics are ugly and HPOU pays them well.
As we close out 2019 and enter a new decade, it is time to search your soul and decide whether you want to support the current open borders globalist leadership at the HCRP. Think of the candidates in the March Republican primary. Do they support the President? When you support the HCRP, are you supporting the most liberal perspective on the political spectrum? There will be much more to come.
I will leave you with this, a picture of Cheryl Turner, the Mayor’s ex-wife at Cindy Clifford’s Christmas Party. She is the only Harris County Assistant District Attorney ever to go to prison.
