Hispanic Republicans of Texas Welcomes Aaron Peña to the Republican Party
State Representative Aaron Peña from Edinburg switched from the Democrat party to the Republican party today. The announcement was made at a press conference today..
In a welcoming statement, George Antuna, Hispanic Republicans of Texas co-founder, welcomed Pena to the Republican Party. "Aaron Peña is a man of integrity who embraces our Latino values of hard work, economic freedom for our small business owners, family and faith.”
Republicans had won 99 seats in the 150 member Texas House in last month’s election. Peña's move gives the Republicans a super-majority in the Texas House of Representatives.
Juan Hernandez, Hispanic Republicans of Texas co-founder added, “We welcome Representative Peña with open arms to the Republican party."
Aaron Peña a represents House District 40 in Hidalgo County in the Rio Grande Valley.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Will Peña switch today?
That's the buzz and has been all morning.
Just a little while ago, Peña posted a commentary from Harvey Kronberg on News8 talking about how party-switches don't really affect the status quo in the Texas House.
The Republican Party of Texas is having a press conference at 3:00. All will be revealed in time.
Just a little while ago, Peña posted a commentary from Harvey Kronberg on News8 talking about how party-switches don't really affect the status quo in the Texas House.
The Republican Party of Texas is having a press conference at 3:00. All will be revealed in time.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Gender and the free market
Labels:
where are the feminists
I can hear the cries to end women's suffrage now. Some ivory tower thinkers have discovered a causal link between female market participation and government size.
You know, I don't think I want to bother trying to debunk this one, because anecdotal evidence suggests a definite link. But is it any wonder, when women are targeted at a young age by institutional feminism? When there are more women receiving higher education, where the worst of the indoctrination happens? Just consider the fact that women receive more degrees in the fields where not just exposure, but immersion in fields with socialist overtones. Consider that they hear, all their lives, about all the good things government can do for them. Consider that for generations, they've relied on men - on man's government - to right the wrongs perpetrated on their sex.
One of the loudest arguments in favor of the vote in many women's circles a century ago was how the vote could fix their situations in life. Not all women lived in mansions on Park Avenue and had their children raised by nannies, and never had to really work a day in their lives. Many women didn't even fall in a middle class category where there may not have been opulence, but there was the opportunity to stay home. If you were poor and needed to work to make ends meet, a hundred years ago you didn't have child care to rely on. And women were victims of poor working conditions, just the same as men. Women could not participate in politics but they lived it, the same as every other class of citizens that at some point were denied participation. They had to live by the laws of the land and yet could take no part in framing them. There is no liberty in that.
Is it really any wonder that an entire group of citizens, who had to beg for the right to participate in the first place, had to be granted the right to do so, tend to want to use government to "fix" things for everyone else?
90 years after we got the vote, we should not have this impulse any longer. We should recognize that it was man's government that prevented us from participating in the first place. We should realize that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take it all away. If there is any intuitive knowledge left, I would think that is the most obvious.
All the more reason why we need organizations like the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute and the Independent Women's Forum. Why Smart Girl Politics is so successful. Why the Network of Enlightened Women is so important on college campuses.
It should never be assumed that all women everywhere are inherently in favor of bigger government, and it is sad to think that the study I linked to above may be used by some to make that generalization.
You know, I don't think I want to bother trying to debunk this one, because anecdotal evidence suggests a definite link. But is it any wonder, when women are targeted at a young age by institutional feminism? When there are more women receiving higher education, where the worst of the indoctrination happens? Just consider the fact that women receive more degrees in the fields where not just exposure, but immersion in fields with socialist overtones. Consider that they hear, all their lives, about all the good things government can do for them. Consider that for generations, they've relied on men - on man's government - to right the wrongs perpetrated on their sex.
One of the loudest arguments in favor of the vote in many women's circles a century ago was how the vote could fix their situations in life. Not all women lived in mansions on Park Avenue and had their children raised by nannies, and never had to really work a day in their lives. Many women didn't even fall in a middle class category where there may not have been opulence, but there was the opportunity to stay home. If you were poor and needed to work to make ends meet, a hundred years ago you didn't have child care to rely on. And women were victims of poor working conditions, just the same as men. Women could not participate in politics but they lived it, the same as every other class of citizens that at some point were denied participation. They had to live by the laws of the land and yet could take no part in framing them. There is no liberty in that.
Is it really any wonder that an entire group of citizens, who had to beg for the right to participate in the first place, had to be granted the right to do so, tend to want to use government to "fix" things for everyone else?
90 years after we got the vote, we should not have this impulse any longer. We should recognize that it was man's government that prevented us from participating in the first place. We should realize that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take it all away. If there is any intuitive knowledge left, I would think that is the most obvious.
All the more reason why we need organizations like the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute and the Independent Women's Forum. Why Smart Girl Politics is so successful. Why the Network of Enlightened Women is so important on college campuses.
It should never be assumed that all women everywhere are inherently in favor of bigger government, and it is sad to think that the study I linked to above may be used by some to make that generalization.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
A beautiful day for party-switching
A few of you have contacted me asking why Blue Dot Blues has been so quiet lately - frankly, the holiday season has kept me busy, and I haven't had a lot to say that isn't being said elsewhere a hundred times over. But I find myself with a relatively quiet Saturday on my hands, and boom!
Lots of rumors flying around today that Democrat State Reps. Aaron Peña (Edinburgh) and Allan Ritter (Nederland) are considering switching parties. It was such a slow news week for the Legislature that of course rumors are flying around. Members were busy with last-minute fundraising all week, a lot of which kept them out of Austin (and out of trouble?).
Peña would not be a surprise. He's been highly critical of the Democratic Party for years, and especially recently, going so far as to say that the Dems are out of touch with Hispanic values. Peña is currently serving as vice chairman of the Elections Committee in addition to serving as chairman of the Emergency Preparedness committee. He was first elected in 2002. Hidalgo County, where HD 40 lies, has been subtlely rejecting Democrats for a while now - most notably when several county elected officials switched parties earlier this year. What makes Peña's possible switch intriguing is that he's confirmed he's seriously considering it, so much so that we could see an announcement next week sometime.
Ritter is not someone I've followed closely before, so here's some background: he is currently chairman of the Natural Resources committee in the House, and he represents an area near Beaumont along the coast. He's a business owner (president of his family's retail company) and he's been in the Legislature since 1998. Paul Burka pointed out that Rick Perry won Ritter's formerly reliable Democratic county, and that Democrats down there were decimated on election night. A party switch, under those circumstances, is more of a ploy to stay in office (ala Chuck Hopson and Kirk England), but at the same time, that makes less sense in Ritter's case than in others'. Ritter did not have an opponent of any stripe in the 2010 election, and he's staved off challenges successfully in the past.
What would all of this mean? If just one of these two reps. switched parties, we would only need HD 44 to stay in Republican hands to reach the magic 2/3 majority. The Democratic Party, which has already gone from 74 members to 51 in the House, would be undone for at least the next two or three cycles (thank you, President Obama).
I guess we'll have to wait and see how things shake out. There's going to be a bigger news cycle next week - the HD 44 special election is Tuesday, and Peña says he will make a decision soon. Let's hope this staves off the rabid rumor-mongering so common in Austin just before session.
Lots of rumors flying around today that Democrat State Reps. Aaron Peña (Edinburgh) and Allan Ritter (Nederland) are considering switching parties. It was such a slow news week for the Legislature that of course rumors are flying around. Members were busy with last-minute fundraising all week, a lot of which kept them out of Austin (and out of trouble?).
Peña would not be a surprise. He's been highly critical of the Democratic Party for years, and especially recently, going so far as to say that the Dems are out of touch with Hispanic values. Peña is currently serving as vice chairman of the Elections Committee in addition to serving as chairman of the Emergency Preparedness committee. He was first elected in 2002. Hidalgo County, where HD 40 lies, has been subtlely rejecting Democrats for a while now - most notably when several county elected officials switched parties earlier this year. What makes Peña's possible switch intriguing is that he's confirmed he's seriously considering it, so much so that we could see an announcement next week sometime.
Ritter is not someone I've followed closely before, so here's some background: he is currently chairman of the Natural Resources committee in the House, and he represents an area near Beaumont along the coast. He's a business owner (president of his family's retail company) and he's been in the Legislature since 1998. Paul Burka pointed out that Rick Perry won Ritter's formerly reliable Democratic county, and that Democrats down there were decimated on election night. A party switch, under those circumstances, is more of a ploy to stay in office (ala Chuck Hopson and Kirk England), but at the same time, that makes less sense in Ritter's case than in others'. Ritter did not have an opponent of any stripe in the 2010 election, and he's staved off challenges successfully in the past.
What would all of this mean? If just one of these two reps. switched parties, we would only need HD 44 to stay in Republican hands to reach the magic 2/3 majority. The Democratic Party, which has already gone from 74 members to 51 in the House, would be undone for at least the next two or three cycles (thank you, President Obama).
I guess we'll have to wait and see how things shake out. There's going to be a bigger news cycle next week - the HD 44 special election is Tuesday, and Peña says he will make a decision soon. Let's hope this staves off the rabid rumor-mongering so common in Austin just before session.
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