Dear Editor,
It would seem we’ve tumbled down a rabbit hole where up is down and down, up. Here the March Hare and Mad Hatter host a party while the dormouse sleeps with his head in the teapot.
I received a paid political advertisement from Mr. Cullen Crisp, candidate for Texas House District 60, declaring he will “take on the Democrats and the Republican turncoats who support them.”
That language evokes imagery of a Soviet style purge where all who don’t comply with the party line are eliminated, conscience be damned!
Evidently, our local “turncoat” as defined by Comrade Crisp is Republican Representative Jim Keffer. In that same paid advertisement, he claims Representative Keffer helped increase government spending in Texas by 25%, a charge Governor Perry and the entire Republican leadership in Austin reject as pure fabrication.
In reality, conservatives like Jim Keffer helped guide Texas through a national recession making our state the envy of the nation in tax relief, job creation, tort reform and the protection of private property and gun ownership rights. While our state economy grows – as others shrink – and people move to Texas in droves to capitalize on the opportunities available here, total state spending has increased within inflation and population growth.
Jim Keffer is fiscally conservative by any objective standard. He supports a conservative interpretation of the Constitution, including the Second Amendment, and he is passionately Pro-Life. Jim co-authored the Texas Property Taxpayer Bill of Rights and helped pass the three largest tax cuts in Texas history.
Unfortunately, that’s not enough for the promulgators of the so-called Conservative Report Card – whatever the heck that is – or Texans for Fiscal Responsibility – whoever the heck they are. In clear opposition to the facts, they maintain along with Mr. Crisp and his supporters that Representative Keffer isn’t a true conservative. Why?
Perhaps their real beef with Jim is his support of Texas SB 346 which would have instituted new reporting and disclosure practices for non-profit political advocacy groups, and their donors.
Clearly, Representative Keffer has been targeted by a vocal minority with extreme views within his own party who know they cannot control him. This has nothing to do with spending or conservative values. Jim Keffer is a champion of transparency and, therefore, a threat to the special interests opposing him. He has represented this district with honor. Accusations that Jim has abandoned his core conservative values are misguided and uninformed at best, but intellectually dishonest and intentionally misleading at their heart.
When you read claims that Jim Keffer isn’t conservative, ask yourself if the claimant has been hoodwinked by Mr. Crisp and his cronies or might that person have a dog in this special interest fight.
Representative Jim Keffer’s congressional record can’t beat him. His chief adversary isn’t even Mr. Crisp; it’s apathy. In an election this close, every vote counts. Every single one. Vote. Exercise your constitutional right. Let your voice be heard. Vote. Make sure you are represented on March 4. Vote!
If you haven’t already voted, I encourage you to vote for Jim Keffer.
If you value intelligent, thoughtful leadership from a man capable of making his own decisions, I encourage you to vote for Jim Keffer.
If you admire the integrity of someone guided by his own conscience, not the directives of a puppeteer, I encourage you to vote for Jim Keffer.
If you covet the fellowship of one of our own, a man who has lived in this district for decades, raised a family here and served his neighbors with honor and respect, I encourage you to join me as I vote for Jim Keffer.
Brian Perry
Eastland, Texas
