I'm Running for the Texas State Legislature

I've decided to challenge my current State Representative in the GOP primary for 2018, and so far while gathering signatures have discovered a new reason to drink-I've only met one person so far who knows what the Texas State Legislature is.

I grew up in Los Angeles, and when you're the only house on the block with a Republican sign, knowing full well that a brick will probably be coming through your window, being a Republican actually ****ing means something. Since I've moved to Texas I've come to the realization that politics is, well politics. The party in charge does what it wills, and if you don't like it, well that's just too ****ing bad.

My mother grew up in a trailer, my father was a surveyor, and I dropped out of high school and joined the Corps. I got real lucky and married into money, but I've never once forgotten where I came from, which ain't hard when your alarm goes off every morning at 4:30.

I'm getting real sick and tired of hearing how some overly educated, privileged son of a bitch knows what's best for me, so I'm going to go (figuratively) kick this dude in the dick and Make America Great Again.

 

Best Wishes with your efforts.

Here's a playlist of Huey Long speeches. Maybe they will inspire your message.

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Will you roll your sleeves up when you speechify?
And remember, a strong point is YOU are not just another lawyer. (see if opponent is)

Moi

 

Best of luck - it would be great to have a professional politician on board!

Besides, there always be a place for wise, grounded conservatism.

 

Both my opponents(the Republican I am challenging in the primary and the strongest Democrat) are lawyers. Most of my campaign is built upon the fact that I would completely destroy the Democrat, because it's really hard to tell working people "I graduated from the Ivy League and work big law, and I'll fight harder for you than my blue collar opponent".

Oh and **** that pinko commie bastard

I've been a "professional" when it comes to politics since I was 19. I spent 3 years working for the GOP until I realized how political machines truly work(regardless of party). Long story short I got my ass kicked because I was young, stupid, and reaching into my backpack as a US Senator was walking by. I then fought back after getting pepper sprayed as man after man piled on top of me. Once all was said and down my hero, who also happened to be a Republican superstar at the time, sat me down and asked me how much he'd have to pay me to sign a gag order.

A Republican Senator trying to bribe an employee of the GOP into not ruining his political future.

Ever since then I've been getting the little guy elected, and think it's finally time to step up to the plate.

 

Sorry to hear you do not admire Huey Long as I do.
Roads, Hospitals, Schools with free Textbooks, etc. is a worthy legacy.
And Standard Oil got to pay for their years of low taxes in Louisiana.

 

Very good luck to you. I'm looking to get into politics, too, but I'm looking for an appointed position, preferably as an economic advisor to someone, like a mayor, governor, or 3rd world president.

As a white collar Republican, I recommend not pushing the blue collar thing quite so far... you don't want to end up alienating some of the people whose money you will need to win. Go ahead and criticize the Ivy Leaguers, there aren't that many of those, but say a kind word once in a while for those who went to state and local colleges... there are a lot of those people with money.

 

Wow. Incredible and yet, I believe you. These things do happen.

You are taking on a big machine here. My advice is; Don't think you'll ever win, but at least, you could influence, change things by being honest and true to your ideals - and then history might remember you nonetheless. Do it for ideals rather than for the win, and stay honest to yourself - one never knows, you might win after all! Just look at Trump.

 

Best of luck to you. I always admire people who actually attempt to do something when situations bother them. I hope you make a difference.

 

I'm in Texas, which district?

 

There's only a handful of instances where the ends justify the means, and those aren't on the list.

Most municipal advisory boards are extremely noncompetitive, especially in smaller towns. My city has 35,000 residents, and when applying for a committee discovered that that was all it took to get appointed.

And you may find this to be shocking, but my wife graduated from one of the top law schools in the nation. I'll let her handle the fundraising.

I've been taking it on for years, and while I usually lose I think I have a pretty decent shot. Couple years ago a guy I had known my entire life got into it with the administration at his son's school over the typical bureaucracy. The principle ended up taking it out on his son, and he completely lost his ****.

Long story short, he had no money, no endorsements, no background or credentials in education, and no real background in local politics or community organizations outside of veteran's clubs when he ran for school board, and was subject to dozens of wild rumors that he was an unhinged loon.

His opponent was a belligerent college professor who was endorsed by everyone that mattered, had raised $20,000, and had dozens of volunteers and the local Democratic Club lending him plenty of support.

I hopped on his campaign, much to the outrage of everyone in town, and got him 48% of the vote. Shortly after the election the victor(the college professor) approached me and struck up a conversation, where he casually made it known that he had put a lot of time and effort into figuring out who I was and what my values were, and how many of them aligned with his own. At first I thought he was threatening me, because he knew extremely intimate details, but he was offering an olive branch that he'd play ball down the road, hoping that I wouldn't back future opponents.

You're right that political machines are extremely powerful and intimidating. But I'm the rust upon the gears.

There's no problems, only solutions.

115th, North Dallas County

 

Good luck; hope you win. I ran for President as a write-in; I only got 4 votes but at least I made an effort; my concession speech was made over a glass of wine at the local bar.

 

Republican territory. Slightly. However, a HOT Republican primary and uncontested Democratic primary would give the Democrat a chance. Carrollton/North Dallas is the decisive area, with the money in Las Colinas.

Your battle is in the Republican primary. Run an ANTI-LAWYER campaign. North Dallas Republicans can't stand lawyer-politicians. You MUST win over the Republican women's clubs to have a chance against an incumbent. The absolute best way to win is WORK - not talk. Most candidates waste their time going to meetings - when 95% there already know how they vote. To win, buy a LIST of Republican primary voters and WALK ONLY to their houses, calling those you can't other visit IN PERSON. Make certain they remember you name! There are 100+ elections in Dallas County so remembering a mere rep candidate - someone new particularly, is difficult.
Any time you talk to anyone, say your name at least 3 times AND spell it. Every REPUBLICAN primary voter you talk to in person or call, follow up with a short letter to the person thanking them for the time to speak to them. NO ONE but a person with a history of voting in the Republican Primary matters. Everyone else is irrelevant. Do not fall into the trap of just going to meeting with numerous candidates burning up all your time. Time efficiency matters. Go for the EASY votes - ie door to door and phoning - not the hard votes in clubs and meeting - other than NEVER skip a Republican club meeting. All the civil and business club meetings are worthless and candidates debates add up to next to nothing.

You also MUST give voters not only a reason to vote for you, but against your opinion. Your opponent is a lawyer. Has the law firm he is in ever defended criminals? If so, play that right and you'd win. If you are too noble to tell voters what is wrong with your opinion don't waste your time running. You are running in a very gossipy district with most Republican primary voters being well established long time Republican home owners.

Also, play the cities against each other. Do you and your primary opponent live in the same city? Every city he does NOT live in, use that against him as the lawyer outsider.

 

You looking for a job?

 

Pretty sure 4 votes puts you in the top 1% of the population

 

The incumbent is a weak candidate who barely campaigned last time, and has since quadrupled down on the Christian right base, completely ignoring shifting demographics. He's legislated to win the GOP primary, with absolutely zero thought to any strategy whatsoever to win a general election beyond having an R next to his name. That won't work in 2018.

While I am not unquestionably confident I can win the primary, I know for a fact that in a general election I'd win in a landslide.

 

You are in an area where there is a constant conflict on the Republican side between business/insider Republicans and social/religious conservatives. As an outsider, go for the latter. They are work horses.

I know two people who ran and won as challengers in the Republican primary years ago (won't name them) - one in your area and the other in Highland Park. But were outsiders given no change, but obliterated their opponents ON THE ATTACK. Both non-lawyers crushing the lawyer favor-son incumbents.

The BEST issue you could have is if you could find ANY Democrat ANYONE in your opponent's law firm contributed money too - and they likely did with the County being nearly all Democrat judges. Then, having this, exaggerate. Declare your opinion is a Democrat in Republican clothing, the typical LAWYER who will do anything for his own advantage. Claim he is a MAJOR Democrat contributor, doing so behind the scenes thru his law firm (look at judges contributor records, they are public.)
Ideally, he'd take the bait, claiming it wasn't all that much money and it was the law firm, not him. In politics, there is no such thing as a good defense, only good offense. The more he denied it him/his law firm financing Democrats is the issue. Then, for those judges, point out terrible things those Democrat judges did, judges HE financed. Let him deny it - the more he does the better as that is what people will remember. However, ALWAYS SMILE while attacking, even begin by saying you don't believe in negative campaigns, but people really need to know...

Again, NEVER spend much time on any one person and as a non-incumbent you can not win in the clubs and business circles. Waste as little of time as possible. Also, don't think for a second you can get the endorsement of the Dallas Morning News, Realtor's board other other quasi-government or business groups. They ALWAYS will go with incumbents and would see the other person being a lawyer as a decisive plus.
NEVER, let your opponent or his team define YOUR campaign or YOUR issues. NEVER go on the defense. Attack. And, again, say and spell you name over and over and over. Pick no more than 3 attack issues, making LAWYER and money given to Democrats two of those. Keep it simple. Stay on point. Go for the easy votes as a matter of time efficiency. Again, no one matters but Republican primary voters and they all are equal in worth.

 

Re.: Huey Long

We disagree.
I cannot support a candidate from the ole CSA States
who do not admire Huey Long.


Words start at 0:35

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And, Yes, I believe there should be a cap on personal property based on the GNP and a progressive tax ala Eisenhower Tax Code as an aid to mainlining a good, stabilizing distribution of wealth among the whole nation.
Owning your own home stabilizes. What happened to home ownership these last 5 decades?
Concentrating the wealth of a nation with too few destabilizes.
Today we have such concentrations of wealth we experience no real change between parties controlling D.C.

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The product of bipartisan tax cuts since JFK.
Hardly "Dinner and a Movie" for us and for the wealthy, not just a dinner and a movie.


Moi

r > g

And I bet you have a laissez faire attitude towards
Meanwhile Trump ain't gonna allow manufactured automobile parts
to count as made.
Today's news.​

 

Sorry, no.

Remember, incumbents support incumbents. So city counsel members, other politicians, people on committees and boards - and others who interact with politicians will overwhelming go for fellow incumbents.

As a challenger, it is YOUR job to show people why they need a change. If all you do is try to explain you are better with no reason given to not re-election the incumbent, why should anyone take a risk on unknown you?

Just odds and ends. A political sign in a person's yard is worth 20 on streets. One exception to going ONLY to primary voters houses is if you see a major residential intersection, if you have a magnetic personality you can knock on the door and then explain 2 things, summarily, that you are running for the legislature against a lawyer who backs up judges who put criminals back on the street (not mentioning your party affiliation) and that you really don't want to liter the streets with signs like some politicians - though have to put up a few - asking if their permission to put a sign on the street corner in there yard - and you are asking because you respect that it is their property so are asking for permission. Play that right and you can have your sign at key intersections - which people interpret means that person, their own neighbor, supports you.

People will tell you they hate negative campaigns, but that is what it is about. I remember working a poll on election day for one of the candidates. I had actually designed and wrote some of his literature, which was last minute vicious attack bulk mailed pieces targeting only past Republican primary voters. The candidate didn't want to use it, but finally was convinced. In persuasive, if what you are doing doesn't anger anyone, you haven't done anything at all.

Working the poll, a man came out of his car, saw the sign of the candidate I was supporting, and immediately was furiously ranting at me how much he hated the brochure he got and "I don't even want that trash in my mailbox!" He walked backwards into the polling place ranting at me, and coming out he was STILL ranting about it. As he finally was walking away to get his car he said "that negative material made me so furious I almost didn't vote for your candidate!" (It certain he otherwise knew nothing about either candidate.) What could I say but "thank you." That told the story, didn't it? His emotions didn't matter, nothing mattered EXCEPT that he voted for my candidate. He can hate the literature, my candidate, me - nothing mattered buy his vote.

Campaigns also are not a likability personality contest. They are battle. "Nice guys finish last." But, remember, like Ronald Reagan ALWAYS smile, especially when on the attack.

Campaigns are very interesting, a real psychological non-violence type of warfare. As a challenger, if you do what is typical you lose. A respectable losing campaign is worthless. The winner is everything and the loser is nobody, even if with 49.9% of the vote.

Finally, remember it is a LOT easier to lose than it is to win. Therefore, focus on the opponent losing. Your are running against a corrupt, no principles lawyer from another city (except the one he lives in) who supports liberal Democrat judges who puts drug dealers and violence criminals back on the street - and it is time to take our government back for the lawyer politicians. Its not like anyone can audit what you say - meaning it is NOT really a debate as the opponent isn't there to defend or dispute what you say.

If your opponent(s) loses, winning takes care of itself. No do people except opponents remember negative campaigns. They only know who won and maybe remember who lost. Most people don't like losers. Did the constant ranting against Trump attacking the other Republicans rudely and viciously hurt him? Or cause him to win - largely by making the others lose? "Low energy Jeb Bush." "Little Marco," "Lying Ted"... and all the ranting and editorializing against him. Now? Trump is everything and the losers? Just losers. It is 100% ONLY about who wins and who doesn't, however that goal is obtained. In short, be tactical, not ideological. Don't let ideology hinder your campaign nor try to be Mr. Nice and Respectable. People like a fighter - but always smiling.

 

Know the district. It could have changed, but likely not much.

Irving? Along north of 183 mostly are middle aged conservative intermixed with some blue collar and some social conservatives, but also some party people tending to go for incumbents. The Irving Republican Club was small, but influential. While it will lean towards incumbents of course, there was a militant counter social and religious conservative faction. You MUST do well overall with social and religious conservatives as a challenger.

Las Colinas are all high rollers or wannabe high rollers, business conservatives of little interest in religion topics. It is not as influential as they like to think they are in elections. South of Las Colinas is middle income conservatives.

Old North Dallas? Some of those precincts used to vote more heavily in Republican primaries than most precincts in the general election. 1 North Dallas precinct won is worth at least 5 Irving precincts and 2 or 3 in Farmers Branch and Carrollton. The people tended to be older or retired, in their homes for years to decades – and are conservative but not holy rollers. Definitely not for gay rights and anti-abortion, but not hardcore religious rightwing. Most are not into local or party politics, so their votes are easy to get if you GO ASK FOR THEM in person. Walk North Dallas, get them to remember you name, and some signs in enough yards, any you'd win the primary.

Your religious and social righters will be in Farmers Branch and somewhat Carrollton. While their views vary, they will be very hardcore whatever they are. Carrollton are people who want to be Plano people – ladder climbers who see themselves as a big deal.

Of course what is above is generalities and there could have been changes.

Always wear a suit, forget the campaign T-shirts. But don't wear lawyer's suits. A nice leisure suit, jacket included, wearing a tie, would play well in North Dallas. In F.B. Take off the coat, even roll up the sleeves, but leave the tie on. Jacket on it Las Colinas, off in North Irving.

Ok, that's enough. You do recognize as a challenger the odds are against you unless you just smartly out work and out smart the incumbent, correct? He WILL out spend you significantly unless you got the money yourself to spend, and while a cool job, the Texas legislature pays next to nothing.

(It was fun reflecting on that and writing this out.)



The fun of a campaign, to me, in the chess came of the tactics, very interactive and dynamic.

 

Oh, are you much older than the incumbent? If so, particularly in North Dallas Older "businessman" versus young ladder climbing lawyer is solidly for the older businessman. Hardcore attacks tend to be latter in campaigns, but do not hesitate to go after the opponent being lawyers. Point at that almost all Democrats in Congress and the legislature are LAWYERS - and the majority of Republicans are not, meaning the young liberal lawyer is in the wrong political party. Of course, be careful at all candidates forums as judicial candidates are lawyers, though now Dallas County is Democrat and back when I was involved it was Republican.

 

When did you work for the party?

And I was serious about offering you a job. Might not pay better than a Walmart greeter, but I've got plenty of good Bourbon and fine food for my friends.

 

Do you like Bourbon or Scotch?

 

I'm 20 years younger

 

The king of the old conservatives in FB knocked on my door a few months ago, and was quiet open and frank with me due to my multiple "extremely right wing/deplorable" bumper stickers on my car. Within 5 minutes he'd done something no man had ever done before-insulted me on every conceivable level-and I informed him that I'd take my time, due to his age, grabbing the ol' 870 before I blasted him with rock salt if he was still on my property. He was running against a 34 year old with a weak resume, 4 DWIs, assaulting a police officer, and 3 other arrests, who I jumped on board with.

Guess who's Mayor of FB.

 

I didn't know FaceBook had a mayor.

<bada boom tssss>




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