When One Falls Another Rises

The elections have passed. Liberty Dispatch is certainly glad Mr. Trump won the election. Liberty County moved along. The local Republican Party, under new leadership, became more active and the ending term of the outgoing Chairman Ken Coleman, filled with sharp criticism, settled down. Hence, the less troubles to report on for us here at Liberty Dispatch. We appreciated the break. 

But, as with most of the political history and corruption in Liberty County, as soon as one beast is slain another rises. 

Once the past Chairman was gone, a new hope fell over us here for the Republican Party. Perhaps differences would be put aside and work could begin to build a strong, united party. As the party kicked into gear it looked very much that way. Most of the fallen that remained, three at most is all that was left, seemed to lick their wounds. They didn't show up for any of the party meetings which lead to, for the first time in recent memory, committees being formed, resolutions being passed, events being planned. Positions that were empty started to be filled. The State convention produced a group of delegates that worked together and did Liberty County well. Those who remained from previous leadership did what was expected and fell down on their obligations to attend convention as delegates, which in the end lead to a more solid group of delegates working for purpose. 

All parties must come to an end. The cracks started to appear as the Elector, Art Sisneros, elected to represent this area with a vote in the Electoral College, decided he would not support the party nominee. That unleashed untold amounts of anger. Sighting his religious views didn't do much for covering his betrayal to his oath to represent us and vote for Donald Trump. The current Chairman did do a good job of not jumping the gun and calling for heads to roll and clearly stated he felt Mr. Sisneros should do his duty and vote for Mr. Trump. There were plenty of us doing that. In the end, Mr. Sisneros resigned from the last Liberty Dispatch has seen. There seems to be confusing information, but we will still get our representation and our Elector for Trump as we should. Liberty Dispatch agrees Mr. Sisneros was way off. He was to represent us, he should have been removed.

But, the biggest problem Mr. Sisneros caused was his actions feed the deflated old rulers just enough food to retake to the public platform of calling for heads to roll and misplaced anger and blame. This has made the perfect environment for the most socially awkward member left from the old guard in the party, Paul Newton, a soapbox. Mr. Newton has taken to the social media wasteland to proclaim that now somehow all of this is a failure of leadership on the part of the new Chairman and Vice Chairman and a group of Libertarians which he proposes is Jeff Leblanc, Mr. Sisneros and Keith Strahan just to name a few. 

Liberty Dispatch, as first, was actually in agreement with Mr. Newton, and this is how this investigation started. But, as we set out on this report and spoke to party members, we noticed there was much more at play in all of this. Being Liberty County as it was, this wasn't shocking. 


Mr. Newton is a precinct chairman in the local party. We have found he rarely has attended most meetings since new leadership took over the party. The party now, since new leadership has taken over, has moved to having monthly meetings, not just quarterly meetings as the past leadership had. it seems Mr. Newton has only made tow of those meetings. This was out first clue something wasn't right. If Mr. Newton hardly invests in the party, how can he claim there is some group influencing leadership? Additionally, surely Mr. Newton is not naive enough to think that local leaders could change anything Mr. Sisneros did on his own. Mr. Sisneros, according to news reports, was getting calls from all over the Nation. If that didn't force him to honor his role, we doubt Mr. Daniel or Mr. Bush could have. At this point, as some have pointed out, Mr. Newton seems like a rabid dog chasing a bone. Clearly, Mr. Sisneros was elected at convention not by them alone. He was elected at convention by over 400 delegates from all around this area. And these are solid republican delegates. So, placing this blame on local party leaders is asinine.

At this point, Liberty Dispatch has to wonder just what Mr. Newton's angle is? He shares his contempt for the party leaders while he serves as a precinct chair in the very group he tears down. His actions have gone far beyond some personal issues he has with his political adversaries to an outright liability himself to the local party. He's harming all outreach the party is trying to accomplish. No one wants to be involved with the train wreck he is trying to paint of  a party. Liberty Dispatch's biggest issue here is why does Mr. Newton still serve in the party? His own actions, in our opinion, have now become more harmful to the party's future than anything Mr. Sisneros might have been. His actions are almost schizophrenic. Liberty Dispatch did see where some have actually questioned whether Mr. Newton is even a Republican. If he is, why cause the party harm? According to his voting, record he did vote in the democratic primary in 2008, which was the rise of Obama, so perhaps those rumors aren't unfounded? Perhaps Mr. Newton has other agendas in mind. Perhaps if he tears the party down to shreds he can place the blame on the current administration so he can suggest he can be the savior and same the day come next election cycle? No matter his reasons, the harm he is causing the party is criminal and he should be ashamed of himself.

 Liberty Dispatch suggests to Mr. Newton he resign his position immediately, just as Mr. Sisneros did. If he believes the party is as bad as he has been stating, why stay and destroy its good works? If he doesn't want to resign, Liberty Dispatch suggests he either join party efforts or local leadership take a rightful role, in this local situation unlike with Mr. Sisneros, and consider censure of Mr. Newton and his removal from office. As far as the future, voters in his district should be desperately seeking a man of character and a spirit of optimism bold to replace him next election cycle. As with before leadership change, and still after, Mr. Newton claims so many others are causing problems, perhaps someone needs to get him a mirror.

 Our message, get over your personal feelings, Mr. Newton and do the job you were seated to do. And, that job was to help build a party, not destroy it.

Changes

As the new leadership begins moving in, Liberty County prepares for its long standing home advantage to the State  Representative to be moved to another home county in the district. Perhaps this is a good thing in one light as it gives the new leadership in the local party time to rebuild what was burnt to the ground by the outgoing leadership. In this unique instant, Liberty County GOP can rebuild with more than a system of old Democrats running a conservative party. Chances of voter outreach and building of coalitions can begin without the added pressure of a sitting State Rep. being in the business of the party as well as a senior staffer of said Rep. serving as a party official. On the other hand, comments by incoming State Rep. Bailes of "I don't need the Liberty County Republican Party" upon invites and new leadership reaching out to him,  may come back to haunt him in time.  Ernest Bailes was the clear winner in the runoff. As such, the office and Ernest himself, deserves respect. However, if the one holding that office doesn't respect the enormous gift given to him to represent an entire district, whether he agrees with them or not, will only cause hurt feelings of primaries to linger instead of moving on with the people's business.

Either way, Mr. Bailes has a grueling first session coming up. Like it or not, like the individuals or not, Liberty County and HD 18 in general has strong grassroots activists that work the legislative session very hard. That includes people in San Jacinto, Liberty and Walker Counties. The groups vary from Republican Clubs to Tea Parties and others. The key is they all work together for common Conservative advancements over infighting. Their connections flow through many Representatives and Senators besides 'needing Mr. Bailes' if the tables are turned and his attitude is returned to him. If only some put as much effort in battling liberal agendas as they do in fighting each other with the same beliefs, great things could come out of the new leadership in the Statehouse and the local party.  Simply listening, with respect, even if Mr. Bailes disagrees with the context and principle, will go a long way to serve him and all of HD 18 Republicans. After all, running in two years with a record, conservative or not, will make a lot of difference.  

Liberty County also embraces new Republican leadership and Democrat leadership in each party here as well. New times and new strategies are needed. An active Democrat party may be in the beginning stages here. While Republicans have claimed a solid red plot in Liberty County, do they do so in principle, or only in riding the Anti-Obama wave? It's a valid question. To say finding Republicans that were so long before the change is an understatement. In fact, they can be counted on less than two hands. Incoming leadership finds itself in a new cycle where they will have to stand on their beliefs and platform and hope the voters in this county have truly opted into conservatism and not Democrats who simply like guns and dislike abortion. In effect, some of those old Republicans that left the party in disgust during the Lester Ray and Coleman years may need to regain some strength and return to fighting for Conservative causes. Something the last few chairs have not had to do. 

New Chairman Sworn In LCGOP

New days are here for the local Republican Party as on June 13, 2016 a new county chairman was sworn in to take over the Liberty County Republican Party. This clearly marks the beginning of the transition of the party to a new generation of Republicans as Ryan Daniel will be one of the youngest county chairmen in recent memory. 

Some embrace this change and some don't, as always. However, the reality of the situation is the Republican Party youth are coming of age and while the hard work of elders is respected, we must carry on. The conservative message remains strong. Even our founders pondered these issues. "The question, Whether one generation of men has a right to bind another..." said Jefferson in a letter Madison. Additionally, "The generations of men may be considered as bodies or corporations. Each generation has the usufruct of the Earth during the period of its continuance. When it ceases to exist, the usufruct passes on to the succeeding generation free and unencumbered and so on successively from one generation to another forever. We may consider each generation as a distinct nation, with a right, by the will of its majority, to bind themselves, but none to bind the succeeding generation, more than the inhabitants of another country." Jefferson to John Wayles Eppers.

And so, we're proud to see the party move forward. The new Facebook page is already up and functioning, censor free, finally. https://www.facebook.com/libertycountyrepublicans/. Also, it appears the official GOP page that was once used to slander candidates and conservative organizations is being updated. We're excited to see its replacement, a page that will serve its original intent and purposes. Great job on the new leadership of the LCGOP, and good luck!

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I have read both accounts of Mr. Coleman’s actions at the local county convention. As tired as some of you may feel and as reluctant to go through the events one more time, you need to revisit the whole situation as soon as the new chairman takes over and proper discussion can occur.

“Why do this?”, some may ask.

“Let it go.” ,  others may express.

But the fact of the matter is, Ken Coleman made allegations against some of the most active people in the party. They are tarnished. From Mr. and Mrs. LeBlanc to Keith Strahan. They made these people and others and all that believe like them sound like nuts. 

They sent a message to the public, “ We will embarrass you if you believe like these people and come to party meetings.”

With Robert’s Rules of Order followed and everyone given notice, you can restore the image of the party by publicizing the results. By letting the public now that the local party has an order to it and it will be followed and people do not have to worry about this kind of authoritarian, cliquish behavior.

If you leave this alone, I believe Ken Coleman and his control over the website for weeks after this will leave a poor image in the public’s mind. You can be generous in allowing Coleman his say and it will make the public know all the more that the party is fair and that the people Coleman accused are a vital part of the party.

Name witheld by request 

Election Commentary

One Democrat was solidly defeated and one snuck in, here in Liberty County last night.

We are thrilled to see Matthew Poston take the County Attorney position. We wish him well.

Mark and Liz Beausoliel should perhaps consider returning to the Democratic Party and taking Todd Fontenot with them.

Ernest Bailes proves once again John Otto's dirty lobby money can buy anything around here. We will keep our eyes on Mr. Bailes to a level he cannot even imagine going forward. Next cycle, Mr. Bailes will have a record he will have to defend. And, if we were betting people here at Liberty Dispatch, we'd bet it'll be fairly horrible enough to make him easily beatable.

Liberty Dispatch holds high hopes that Mr. Daniels, the new incoming Republican Chairman, can create a decent and respectable party that has been desperately needed in Liberty County for some time. Liberty Dispatch has it on good word Mr. Daniels will be a fair Chairman and we can expect a professionalism outgoing Chairman Ken Coleman seems to have all but lost.

Letter To The Editor

This reader actually included his name and said we could use it. Refreshing change!

Dear Liberty County Voters,

As of tomorrow, it will all be over. We all will get a much needed break from political ads and mailers. Those that work on campaigns will get a much needed break as well. However, the results will matter and have a lasting impact. I have no doubt Ernest Bailes is a great man. I know Keith Strahan is. I have decided to send this out to a few friends on behalf of the vote tomorrow. In addition, I have also sent calls out to my entire precinct this evening to help turn out voters for Keith Strahan.

While both men can be great men, that we have to choose from tomorrow, they cannot both win. I can attest, personally, that running for public office is not an easy task. Whether it be a simple Precinct Chair race or a race for a seat inside a grassroots group, you give it your all and you believe in your reasons for running. I have not known Keith Strahan as long as some in this community. I have known him as long as I have been involved here in the local Republican Party and the Republican Liberty Caucus.  Knowing the pressure and hardship one goes through to seek this office, I am immeasurably proud of him for doing this. Keith did this because of his love of this community and his love for the people of Texas - Nothing more, nothing less. He sees what many Conservative Republicans see in our Texas House, and have seen for years. A heavy air of dysfunction hangs over that pink dome. We have Republican Leadership allowing the murder of babies while our speaker kills all legislative advancements to stop abortion in Texas. We have a Republican led House that continues to saddle unsuspecting Texans with more and more debt. We have a border that pours in illegal immigrants and human trafficking in untold numbers. We have had past representation here in HD 18 that has given little, if any, attention to the true needs of this district. Mr. Otto’s newspaper blurbs about doing something in Austin, which was usually beneficial to some special interests, served as a brief reminder that someone in a city far away was doing things that failed to represent home.

What we must break free of, in our county, is this obsession that because we know someone and that someone is a good Christian man he's the right man. That doesn't mean that person is right for the job of leadership. Also, stating facts, that may be uncomfortable to hear by candidates and their followers, isn't mud-slinging when they are true statements and they will impact the behavior of that person in the job for which he is applying.

Ernest Bailes lives in San Jacinto County and Keith Strahan lives in Liberty County. I don't care what you hear, both of those facts are true. I know how Keith has fought to educate an electorate in our area. I have seen him at local Republican meetings. I have seen him on forums and panels discuss his belief system and his vision of government from Houston to Beaumont to Dayton. I have had many discussions with him on Conservative topics and local issues for years. I have never seen Ernest Bailes at a Republican event until he decided to run for office. I can count the number of Republican events I have missed in the last 8 years on a few fingers, so I can tell you factually, Liberty County Conservatives were of no concern to Mr. Bailes prior to this election. The Republican Party was also of no concern to Mr. Bailes prior to this election. I saw him show up at one meeting and simply regurgitate a line or two from a County Chairman who was recently defeated, which included the belief that property tax abolishment was not a Republican belief. For a point of information, this is actually a legislative priority in the 2016 Republican Party of Texas Platform.  

I have been involved in enough elections to know how to follow money and to know, no matter what a candidate says, who will be controlling those votes. It was for this reason, though I found Wes Hinch a nice guy, his being 97% funded by John Otto made him a poor choice for State Representative. Mr. Bailes has huge amounts of funding from leadership PACs in Austin. The worst, I am sure everyone has seen by now, was the donation by Charles Butt of HEB of $15,000.00. Mr. Butt has worked endlessly spending his fortune fighting Conservatives in the State of Texas. He has fought open carry of firearms, he has fought school choice and he has supported amnesty and illegal immigration. Texas Farm Bureau, though a great support system to local farmers, has given Bailes a huge sum of money while they have advocated for amnesty and illegal immigration in Texas.  So, while I can clearly forgive some offhand backers that may be bad apples, when I see a candidate clearly bought and paid for, I take an issue with that. I take an issue when a man I have never seen invested in the Conservative Movement runs for office and is backed by all of the money that has been spent to literally kill and stop all Conservative advancements in the Texas House. I take an issue that he claims to represent the Conservative issues that are important to my party, but hasn't sat in on a party discussion or event in the last 8 years.

This, my friends, is not mud-slinging, these are the facts of the election before us now. We can reclaim our district and send a true Conservative to Austin, or we can continue to send future lobbyists in training like Mr. Bailes to Austin. We have the chance to add to the numbers of members fighting for Conservative legislation in the House, or we can send someone, to get along with the Democrats and corrupt leadership, who will work to stop true Conservative policies in Texas from becoming law. Please, choose the only Conservative Republican in this race. Please, vote for Keith Strahan for HD 18 Representative.

In Liberty,

Jeff LeBlanc

Chairman - Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas

Precinct Chairman Elect- Precinct 10, Dayton Texas

Election Law? Maybe its a math inefficiency?

We have great readers here at Liberty Dispatch. We appreciate all the information we receive. Clearly, some think Election Law doesn't apply to them, practice common core math, or just don't know feet? If Ernest Bailes' campaign can't follow Election Law, how can he be trusted to make law? Hopefully, this good citizen informed the Election Judge as well as us.

*All electioneering must done at least 100' beyond polling locations, by law

Justin Johnston Best Option for Constable Pct. 1

Liberty Dispatch highly recommends Justin Johnston for Constable, Pct 1. 





Remember during early voting, Keith Strahan for HD 18, Matthew Poston for County Attorney, and Justin Johnston for Constable, Pct. 1. 

Bailes - More Liberal Funding

Now that early voting has begun, we here at Liberty Dispatch want to remind you of a few facts as well as a final reminder to always follow the money. However, the most important thing we can do is remind you all to get out and vote. Of course we'd prefer you choose Strahan over Bailes and Poston over Beausoleil, but no matter what, vote!

Any Texas Conservative worth their salt knows who Charles Butt is. He is the man behind the HEB grocery chain. He also gave Ernest Bailes (candidate for HD 18) $15,000.00. For those of you who may not know about Mr. Butt, you're in for a shock.

"Charles Butt, the Texas billionaire magnate behind the H-E-B supermarket chain which forbid the open carry of firearms law that went into effect January 1, 2016, opposes school choice, funds anti-school choice lobbyists, and is even credited for his role in killing a 2011 state bill banning “sanctuary cities.”"- BreitBart, 1-3-2016      

"More than 85 percent of Texas Republicans voted to bring competition to public education, but one Texas billionaire is spending his money to make sure kids are trapped in failing schools."- EmpowerTexans, 1-18-2016

"Charles Butt and Texas Parent PAC are dumping money into legislative campaigns as the primary approaches. Parent PAC is a liberal group ostensibly dedicated to education. Really, the group seeks to maintain a status quo in which Texans fatten education interest groups in a system that continues to under-perform at educating children..... Charles Butt has been the outfit's main benefactor since its inception." - Agendawise.com. 2-26-2014

That is correct, Bailes has taken money from one of Conservative Republican's biggest enemies in Texas. Butt has opposed our Texas Values at every turn from the open carry of firearms, to supporting illegal immigration and blocking school choice. Remember, Republican voters voted overwhelmingly to de-fund sanctuary cities, while one of Mr. Bailes major donors has fought to keep cheap labor and illegal immigration alive and well in Texas. Also, we noticed former Rep. John Otto has added an additional $10,000.00 to Mr. Bailes. That puts John now in over $60,000.00 between two candidates to stop Mr. Strahan from taking this seat.

So, in review, we can clearly see Mr. Balies has been funded by many establishment PAC's. He has now retained almost all of John Otto's old PAC money. Mr. Otto himself seems to have a vested interest against Mr. Strahan. When big money joins forces this hard to prevent a popular candidate the people supported (1st Place Vote Total)  over money, when life isn't that important, when property tax relief for the working man is dismissed as being naive, then you know the guy all of that interest is pointed at- is the guy you NEED to support.  Big money fears the people and the election of representatives who they can't control more than anything else. We are confident Bailes will govern as a puppet to Austin money. Liberty Dispatch cannot make it any more clear how Ernest Bailes does not represent Conservative Values. We're even more concerned over him now that he is in bed with illegal immigration supporters like Charles Butt. 

Why does Ernest continue to gobble up liberal special interest money? 

Ernest Bailes; Liberal Republican - Bad for Liberty County, Bad for Texas

Beausoleil Suffers Amnesia; Bad For District

As posted in the Cleveland Advocate on 5/15/2016, Mark Beausoleil claims he has 'been a Republican as long as he can remember'. At this point, we here at Liberty Dispatch are more concerned over his metal retention abilities more than ever.

Mr. Beausoleil served under Democrat Jack Hartel for over 9 years in the County Attorney's office and sought this office himself as a Democrat before. His wife is also the former chairwoman of the Liberty County Democrat Party. Mr. Beausoleil was also mixed up in past Liberty County scandals and possible mail fraud.

This election has brought us many false conservatives in republican clothing. Voters beware. If you truly want a Republican Representative, vote for one, not past, crooked Democrat Party hierarchy.

Liberty Dispatch Link Update

Like the old Liberty Dispatch, you can now type www.libertydispatch.com into your browser and find us. We would like to thank you all, detractors and loyal fans for the years you have followed us through some crazy ups and downs. Love us or hate us, we have always been there to inform and question those who would seek to take our constitutional rights from us... God bless Texas and Liberty County!

Follow The Money- Always

Always follow the money! In most political situations, that is always the best answer to any questions one may have. Liberty Dispatch has shown that Bailes is clearly owned by special interest PAC money from Austin and big business. But, likely what concerns conservatives most is his money connections locally.  

As we addressed here, Bailes' major contributions locally raise eyebrows as well. His connections with Democrats and others involved in past embarrassing Liberty County scandals and Federal Indictments is a glaring example of such things. 

Our question here at Liberty Dispatch is, are we really conservatives, or are we merely Republican's of convenience? Believe it or not, THIS election answers that question. 

Liberal Republican candidate bought by outside money, or Constitutional Conservative for the people? It is your choice HD 18, choose wisely. 

This Week- Bailes Facts

As we close in on the final two weeks of the local runoffs, Liberty Dispatch will continue to put forth the facts on Ernest Bailes and his backing by Austin Lobbyists and Corrupt RINO Leadership Straus organizations. As we know, this final stretch will stuff our mailboxes with plenty of political ads from both campaigns. If what we have seen from Bailes is any indication, we're sure it will be more lies. We must decide if we want special interests buying our district, or if we want voters electing a representative of the people here.

While Liberty Dispatch is completely fine with angered Bailes supporters, as much as they protest, we can back up every claim they make with facts and citations. The opposition- not so much, as we saw with branding Mr. Strahan as a Personal Injury Lawyer, which was false. Liberty Dispatch, unlike some in local leadership (We'll deal with those next election), will back our hometown candidate. Not because he is just that, but because he is the ONLY conservative in this race. And, you're either a Republican or you aren't. Saying so without action- is empty.

Dear Mr. Beausoleil, we intend to continue to remind voters in these final days about your liberal pass and shady mail fraud accusations.

A Better Ad

Here at Liberty Dispatch we couldn't help but notice the numbers of emails we received about a political ad ran by Ernest Bailes in a local paper.  After a brief laugh and some review, we decided we could likely do better while being more honest. 

Here's Mr. Bailes' ad in all it's simple glory: (What's an unmarried bachelor?)

Here's ours:

One of these candidates is clearly an Austin owned candidate. One, has given his care locally to Liberty County as a youth pastor, teacher, and grassroots conservative. But, we welcome Mr. Bailes to continue to tell us something we in Liberty know better. Keith Strahan is one of us, born and raised.  

UPDATED: TLR; Once An Ally, Now An Anti-Conservative PAC

Ernest Bailes was endorsed by another big money, anti-conservative PAC yesterday, and in the usual fashion seems proud to be backed by another PAC connected to Joe Straus  that waters down Conservative Values. TLR (Texans for Lawsuit Reform) once was a champion for issues many supported. However, as with most large money PAC's, over time dissolved into nothing more than a big money campaign against usually good conservatives in favor of more moderate RINO's. While TLR had good interests at heart in its roots, eventually some legislation they wanted became too much of a crony capitalism organization for Republicans that held solid principles above favoring certain industries. At that time, it all began to fall apart. Since then, they have supported moderate Republicans and even pro-choice Republicans.

Back in 2009 & 2011, the tides began to turn against TLR.

"The conservative movement in politics has always been populated by two basic kinds of actors. One kind are the true believers, the “life and liberty conservatives”. True believers are all soldiers in the same army. Legislators of this stripe can be counted on to be solidly conservative on every issue, and can also be counted on to side with the people on unpopular fiscally conservative votes that specially privilege crony conservatives.....The other kind are “business conservatives”, in the fight to improve business conditions for themselves and/or those who sponsor them. As fiscal conservatives, they are unreliable when a big government vote helps one of their sponsors. Socially, they are only as conservative as they have to be to get elected. Social issues generally aren’t “compass” issues for them." -Adgendawise.com

"On the whole, TLR's actions can be viewed as a show of support for Speaker Joe Straus. In spite of the connections Straus' leaders have with liberals and his stalling of conservative measures like spending limits in 2009 and 2011, TLR's issue is safe." Further information about this is covered here as well: http://www.agendawise.com/2011/12/texans-for-lawsuit-reform-shift/

Even leading Conservative voice Dr. Hotze has weighed in against TLR's activities and its support of pro-choice candidates like Sarah Davis: "(TLR), a bi-partisan organization formed to support common sense reforms in civil justice in Texas back in the 1990’s, that has helped elect dozens upon dozens of pro-choice, anti-family Democrats who they have funded with millions of dollars. They have also supported Republican Sarah Davis, the only openly pro-choice Republican in the Texas Legislature because they support TLR’s pro-business lawsuit agenda"- http://www.crtpac.com/you-can-judge-a-candidate-by-the-company-he-keeps/ (via Texas Conservative Review)

King makers? "The people who provided most of TLR's PAC money made fortunes in industries with heavy legal liabilities... these industries include: the chemical and energy industries (toxic pollution, accidents); builders (injured workers and lemon homes); property managers (premises liability); accounting and investment firms (securities lawsuits) and medical manufacturers (patient injuries). In Texas-where there are no limits on most political contributions-the influence of the TLR tycoons extends far beyond their tort money. TLR's top 24 donors spent a total of at least $4.5 million to influence Texas politics in the 2000 election cycle. Houston homebuilder Bob Perry spent an astounding $912,500 in the 2000 cycle. In fact, all but three of TLR's top 15 donors gave more than $100,000 apiece to Texas PACs and candidates. Such donors go beyond mere political influence: they are king makers whose personal checks can determine who wins or loses a competitive race."- http://info.tpj.org/

Bottom line, once again, it is shown most of these major PAC's in Texas are not only focused on their pet issues, but tend to let all other Conservative issues fall by the wayside. Their advancement is paramount, not principles.

Liberty Dispatch continues to find more information daily about the ties to the Bailes campaign by liberal agenda leadership groups and PAC's. Once again, the King makers have started to try to buy our votes in Liberty County. Do we want to once again sell our representation to big money? Or, are we looking for a true conservative representative of us locally?  One man in this race is clearly being bought by special interests, one is not. Make the right choice.

UPDATED (4:22 PM) Some interesting information was sent in late this afternoon to us. Is this the organization Mr. Bailes is so proud of gaining the support of? Pro-Choice Representation and Gay Marriage supporting Republicans and Democrats? The biggest reaper of TRL's funding this primary season? 

TLR/WEEKLEY’S BIGGEST ‘16 PRIMARY $$$ WAS TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD DEM

He once sat on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood. He ran in the 2016 Democratic Primary against State Rep. Sergio Munoz (D-Mission RER18).  His name is Abraham Padron.

Abraham Padron was the single biggest TLR stakes winner for the 2016 primary – in either party.  The “conservative” graciousness of real estate mogul Dick Weekley and Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC (TLR) endowed the Padron campaign with a cool $173,500 according the Texas Ethics Commission filings – about the equivalent of the yearly salary of a United States member of the Senate or House of Representatives.  Weekley flipped over an easy $10,000 under his own name from his pocket change.

Read more: http://www.ragingelephantsradio.com/rerfirst-tlrweekleys-biggest-16-primary-was-to-planned-parenthood-dem-audio/

How It All Connects

As we get closer to the runoff election in HD 18, Liberty Dispatch wanted to review our recent posts about the State Representative race. We clearly showed a local Chairman going rogue. We provided video and emails of the lengths people have gone to in order to advance their agenda's over the will of even those elected to represent the people in the Republican party. We showed some of the money going into the Bailes campaign and how some of the same people that have been involved in all of the other issues we have in Liberty County are involved in his campaign. Lastly, we covered the consulting firm Bailes has used and some of the shenanigans they have been involved in throughout the state. These articles add up to show a picture of someone in bed with the establishment politics that we in Liberty County have tried to break free from for years.

While we are aware Bailes fans are angered, we only have shown that which some do not want to see. Some thought our attack on Murphy-Nasica somehow translated into Bailes being like the company he was keeping. We were glad to see this angered some. Why? Clearly, they did not want to see the crowd behind the curtain of his campaign. Yet, how soon many have forgotten, it was Bailes himself that stood up in public and suggested the untruths about Mr. Strahan first. He was used by the outgoing leadership in Liberty County  to send a message out that only fed their agenda. How easily one was swayed by local outgoing leaders before doing research only speaks to how easily one is swayed in Austin.  

So, what are we left with? We can clearly show through documented sourcing what we have stated. The Bailes campaign however, can only say Mr. Strahan is something he is not. He is attacked because he's a business attorney. Yet, every business owner, even Mr. Bailes himself, have no issue calling on people like Mr. Strahan for legal counsel in their business. Mr. Strahan is scorned by the Bailes campaign for caring for his aging parents. Liberty Dispatch takes a different view of this situation and sees nothing wrong with a son helping his parents. We could only wish more in our society felt compelled to return the love and care our parents gave us as children when they are elders.  And, of course, how can we forget the glaring statement that somehow Mr. Strahan has no grasp on taxation issues because he doesn't own property? Clearly, being a property owner doesn't make much of a difference in  taxation education as Mr. Bailes thinks property taxation is a good thing and even considers that thinking of alternative methods is naive. Yet, 75% of Republican voters disagree with him here, which they clearly stated in the last primary when supporting Prop 1. Liberty Dispatch feels by this alone, Mr. Strahan clearly has more of a concept of taxation than Mr. Bailes does.

In the end, all Liberty Dispatch has done is applied the same innuendos Bailes has tried to hitch to Mr. Strahan and applied them to himself. Clearly, turnabout doesn't please them. Imagine that?

WATERGATE 40 YEARS OLD, MAIL FRAUD FOUR MONTHS PAST STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

As we promised, we'd like to share a little historical reference to our past here in Liberty County and while the times may change, the names remain the same. Remember our past and our old Democrat guard now alive and well in Republican clothing as you vote in the the runoff elections. Unfortunately for Mr. Beausoliel, Liberty Dispatch has not forgotten his past. 




(Liberty Dispatch-2013) Forty years after the Watergate scandal, we can all be reminded of how what happened was all too much like politics and how some people decide what is right and wrong based off of how their party or their friends are effected by it. We can be reminded a local crime and its cover up.

 

The Watergate scandal was a political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s as a result of the June 17, 1972 burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. The scandal was worsened by the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement and its attempts to stop any legal actions concerning the crimes. It changed the nation as Nixon resigned and it jaded generations of voters’ views of how honest government was.

Of course, Liberty County has nothing that is comparable to Watergate in many respects. But one local crime and the way it was handled has plenty of similarities. Unfortunately one of the differences is that the local crime was covered up much more successfully than Watergate.

The crime written about here is of course the mail theft case. The case involved political enemies illegally tampering with mail and then attempting to use the mail to damage a political enemy’s re-election bid. The facts of the case also involved a brief case full of  cash being paid to someone in the courthouse who could have been a potential witness.

In the Watergate scandal, Nixon tries to neuter anyone who was too vigilante in pursuing prosecution. The local mail fraud case is just the opposite. The federal investigator left the case for local District Attorney to handle when it was determined that the mail was not stolen from an official U.S. postal office. It is fair to assume the video showing one of the key perpetrators faxing copies of the mail from an out of town Kinko’s and other FBI evidence would have been readily available to Liberty County’s D.A., but the District Attorney never got an indictment.

A few months ago the statute of limitations ran out and this case appears to leave no way for law enforcement to pursuit. For a short time late in 2012 rumors abound of a grand jury pursuing this case and the Phil Fitzgerald case, but the rumors were followed up by news that the grand jury that was suppose to be looking at the evidence was suddenly and inexplicably dismissed.

 

The dismissal of that grand jury and the subsequent passing of the statute of limitations, should not only leave a bad taste in people’s mouths, it should leave people wondering what would have happened if Liz Beausoliel and Mark Beausoliel and Phil Fitzgerald and D.A. Mike Little would have been forced to testify in front of twelve Liberty County jurors. In the future Mike Little and others will be called as witnesses where there has been selective prosecution in Liberty County and have to testify and explain their actions and inaction during the tenure of D.A. Little.

 

Watergate ended with a slew of people going to prison and Nixon being the first and only President to resign from office, but some Nixon haters were still not satisfied. That leads Liberty Dispatch wondering if some of these same people are just as angry because this mail case never gained ground enough to be reviewed by a regular jury.

 

While Nixon successfully fired a few people that were pursuing prosecution, he was unsuccessful at beating the system. He resigned in shame. We have heard of no effort to bring justice concerning alleged effort to squelch a local grand jury and the charges law enforcement filed are in a closed case file in the Liberty Police Department.

 

Where are those who were so indignant about Nixon on this case? Does justice have a different standard because the case involved a D.A. some say is the Godfather of the Democratic Party? Was Nixon hated by some for being a Republican more than he was hated for his bag of dirty political tricks?

 

The answer is clear. Unfortunately, it confirms that not only can the D.A. indict a ham sandwich as he has claimed, but he can also give criminals a pass too.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

In the last week, we here at Liberty Dispatch have been rough on Ernest Bailes. We do so because we feel he is not the right man for the job. It is as simple as that. At every event we have heard Mr. Bailes speak, he just doesn’t quite get all of the Conservative points in relation to government, individualism and the founder’s view of severely restricted government and a people free from its coercion. From refusing to acknowledge property taxes are an issue, to not seeing the issue Joe Straus has cost the Conservative side.  

We could have made this point without digging into every aspect of the negatives in his campaign. We could have done the perfume flowery comparison of the two. However, we were sickened to hear how Bailes decided to go after Strahan. We simply suggest Ernest run on his own merit.

The local Chairman in Liberty County is corrupt. He diminishes the office he holds by not following party rules, ignoring his executive committee and divisiveness. We fully expected a man like Ken Coleman to stoop to dirty politics once his feelings were hurt. But, we expected better of Bailes.  

These stories are known by many people in our county of underhanded, buddy placing, friends above competence in positions. An elite few who think they rule the kingdom and appoint yes-men. Every election you can think of in this county has a backdoor side where someone is plotting against someone because they’re not just like them. Those people are usually quite irrelevant and honestly provide great amusement. Let’s see, at one time they tried to say Ross Ward wasn’t from Liberty when he ran against Ken Coleman. Oh, and who can forget the postings about Jay Knight having an adulterous affair on the hood of his car and supposed video of it when he ran against McNair. As well, Leon Wilson was a racist when he ran against Norman Brown. People see this cycle after cycle here. It is nothing new. The problem is when the light is shown upon all their disgust. They are shocked someone will finally say something. Then of course, it’s off to discredit who’s exposed their corruption.

 This go around, they went to attack not only a good man who was born and raised here, but included folks to spread this ugliness that they are overtly aware they are selling a false narrative. We’re sorry, but that’s just wrong. In fact, some of those same people who KNOW these stories and even felt the nastiness directed at themselves have joined the propaganda, either knowingly or out of ignorance. They added Bailes to those talking points and weakened him as a candidate.

Now, if you want to sit around drinking tea and having cookies with the likes of old Liberty gossips and no good washed up politicians like Tookie Kirkham and Terri Bivins, that’s fine. Nothing wrong with being in the club and feeling important. But, here at Liberty Dispatch, we have never come in soft on such people and their actions. We won’t start now. We’ve been doing that way since 2006.

Bailes; Some Donors Raise Eyebrows In Liberty County

Many of us in Liberty County cannot forget the illegal activities after Hurricane Ike that embattled previous County Judge Phil Fitzgerald and ended in indictments and plea deals. Let's not forget Commissioner Groce and his buddy, Winston Sizemore, who reaped over $8M in cleanup contracts from the 'deals' that were made between them either. Least of all the reward of Groce's fully paid Vegas trip to Sizemore's wedding afterwards.

"It began with hidden camera video of trucks belonging to Liberty County Judge Phil Fitzgerald. We followed the trail to Lavernia, Texas, and the judge's brother-in-law.

Turns out Judge Fitzgerald and his family was paid up to $1 million. And the guy who got another big Liberty County contract was Winston Sizemore, Life-long friend of County Commissioner Lee Groce. Sizemore paid for the commissioner's trip to Las Vegas to be at his wedding." - http://poe.house.gov/1999/11/following-the-money-trail-after-ike

"When we asked Groce if he had a problem showing us receipts for travel and hotel records, Groce replied, "I have no receipts. I just don't."

That's because Commissioner Groce didn't have to pay for the trip. The groom picked up the tab. His name is Winston Sizemore.

"He's a lifelong friend of mine. He has been a friend of mine for my whole life and we would have went anywhere to get him married," said Groce.

We asked about the trip to the Strip because Sizemore's company got an $8 million contract to clean up Hurricane Ike debris in Liberty County last year. He was handpicked by Commissioner Lee Groce." - http://abc13.com/archive/6845243/

It seems Bailes was given $8,500 from Mr. Sizemore in his quest for the HD 18 Representative seat in the current race. Liberty Dispatch continues to question, why is Bailes so connected with bad company from Joe Strauss to John Otto, and a man who made questionable profit from a disaster that ended in criminal charges for Fitzgerald and Groce? Mr. Bailes continues to ask us to look at the company a man keeps. Perhaps he should be looking in the mirror? - http://votesmart.org/candidate/campaign-finance/166530/ernest-bailes#.Vx5mjvkrK1s 

Additionally, we took a look at the funding Texas Farm Bureau gave to the Bailes campaign. ​Texas Farm Bureau gave $20,000 to Bailes.  In the 2012 election cycle, the Texas Farm Bureau donated $10,000 to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.​

Why is this important?

Texas Farm Bureau is a leading voice for amnesty on illegal immigration.

"The American Farm Bureau Federation and its local arm, the Texas Farm Bureau, are strong supporters of a major immigration reform bill the U.S. Senate passed last year that offers a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The bill has been heavily criticized by many conservative politicians, both nationwide and in Texas, highlighting a rift between the Republican Party and the agricultural lobby that widened recently during debate over the farm bill.

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, proposed forcing employers nationwide to use the controversial E-Verify database, a federal service that checks to see whether someone is eligible to work in the U.S. Farm lobby groups predicted tens of billions of dollars in losses for their members. Similar efforts in Texas have also failed.

“All we have to do to put agriculture out of business in this country, you do two things,” Pringle said. “No. 1, you implement E-Verify. And No. 2, you don’t provide any kind of legal opportunity for a workforce.”"-Texas Tribune, 2/27/2016

Remember, Mr. Bailes is proud of his  lobbyist credentials. He has lobbied on issues most Conservatives stand firmly against. The Republican Party clearly does not support amnesty or illegal immigration, both of which Farm Bureau seem to lobby in favor of.

We stand firm in our belief here at Liberty Dispatch that Mr. Bailes simply has too many connections to non-conservative organizations as well as the shady underbelly of Liberty County politics. We've been through these issues with the corruption in the past in Liberty County, let's not make that mistake again.

Bailes Texas Life PAC Endorsement; Really Pro-Life?

As a follow up to our recent article on the information provided on Bailes consultants Murphy-Nasica we wanted to discuss an issue very close to our hearts as proud Conservatives here at Liberty Dispatch. Abortion and pro-life issues.

Now let us be clear before we go any further, Mr. Bailes may be a very nice man with family values, but since he, himself, seems to try to tie his opponent to the company he keeps, the same must be done for himself. Mr. Bailes is proud of his endorsement from Life Pac. However, one doesn’t have to look hard to see through past endorsements and lack of true work on the life issue to know it is a shill organization backing establishment candidates and has a far way to go to even garner the reputation that active legislative groups like Texas Right to Life has.

Additionally, that fringe group the Chairman in Liberty County went on a tirade over? The local Chairman of that group made the bold move to not only propose, but get passed at convention, one of the most pro-life resolutions we have ever seen, Abolishment of Abortion. He continues this fight onto the Republican State Convention and we fully support him in that.

Now, we’re not really sure how this was considered by Ken Coleman as not Republican? If protection of life is not Republican, then consider us not Republican and Mr. Coleman and his few henchmen can continue to believe their warped view they hold somehow is.

Time and time again, no matter what endorsements Mr. Bailes garners he seems to only attract mostly establishment shill groups. Always linked to Straus or Otto and the poison in Austin. Why is this? We hope voters can gain some education on the true political games behind the scenes, from Bailes Democratic past behavior to his establishment backing by Republicans In Name Only now.

The following is information about Texas Alliance for Life:

“Joe Pojman is the Executive Director of Texas Alliance for Life, whose stated mission is to “protect innocent human life from conception through natural death through peaceful, legal means.” However, the evidence is clear, Joe Pojman is being used by establishment powers to cover the tracks of politicians who are weak on life. Even worse, Joe has empowered the healthcare lobby and hospitals to end the life of a patient without family permission.

Texas deserves better. When pro-life groups are united, important victories can be won without the pink-shoes drama that puts pro-abortion politicians in the media spotlight. Thanks to Joe Pojman, however, many pro-life champions are left out in the cold, and pro-life legislation is under constant threat of self-destruction.”- joepojman.org

“Texas Alliance for Life not only endorsed, but sent political mail funded by Joe Straus in support of Bennett Ratliff and J.D. Sheffield. Bennett Ratliff is on record saying he sees abortion as a right that a woman has. J.D. Sheffield voted with Democrats on numerous amendments meant to water down and kill HB 2. Texas Alliance for Life endorsed these candidates and sent direct mail into their House Districts telling voters they were the pro-life options. These actions are confusing unless you know that Joe Straus provided the bulk of TAL’s PAC money used in the elections so they were forced to cover for Straus’ lieutenants.”

“Texas Alliance for Life has inexplicably ignored pro-life legislators in their endorsements, preferring to buddy up to the Austin establishment rather than judge candidates on their pro-life record. In the 2014 election cycle, numerous pro-life legislators, lauded for their leadership during the fiercest battles surrounding HB 2 and other pro-life bills, were left off of TAL’s endorsement list because they were not supportive of the Speaker and his dubious record. Jonathan Stickland, Matt Schaefer and Charles Perry are some of the most conservative Representatives in all of Texas and were opposed by the moderate wing of the Republican Party in their re-elections. Joe Pojman refused to endorse them based on their 100% pro-life voting record, but endorsed J.D. Sheffield who voted against pro-lifers numerous times.”- Source: TAL 2014 Republican Primary endorsements

“Texas Alliance for Life has begun to focus their efforts more on end of life issues than abortion. Unfortunately for the pro-life community they have teamed up with the Hospitals to craft SB 303, which removes end of life decisions from the family and gives hospitals the authority to end the life of a patient without their family's permission. They have become so focused on this issue that they are now forcing state candidates to support this legislation in their questionnaire before they can be endorsed by Texas Alliance for Life’s PAC. This is one of the reasons that none of your top conservatives are endorsed by TAL.”

Further, we think voters should see the article written in Breitbart Texas HERE

So the question remains. Just how pro-life is TAL’s endorsement? Or, is it possible, like many others, it is just a misleading endorsement to fool Conservatives by liberal leadership?