Constitutional Republicans' Choice for Texas GOP Chair: Steve Munisteri

Fellow Texas Liberty Republican:

This is just a quick note before the upcoming state convention to both convention delegates and also to pro-liberty Texans who might know or be able to influence their local deleagtes to the State Republican Convention coming up on the 10th, 11th and 12th of this month in Dallas.

One of the most important activities at the convention will be the vote to pick a new state chairman.  Of the three candidates one is clearly the most effective advocate for both liberty issues and party reform, and with the problems our state faces and the substantial debt and legacy of mismanagement in the state party we need someone as State Republican Chairman who has the right experience and the right values to turn things around.

In my opinion and based on my research, the right choice for Chairman is Steve Munisteri.  I've spoken with him at length and asked some very pointed questions and I've also spoken with others who are supporting him to get a real feel for his beliefs.  I've done this because like any smart candidate he's being very cagey in his public statements, but I'm here to tell you that even if he's putting up a bland and generic front in his campaign, he really is the only real advocate for liberty, reform and fiscal responsibility in the race.

Steve has worked on scores of political campaigns, including working for Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp, and has experience as a grassroots organizer. He knows how to get good candidates elected and will use those skills to fight back against the highly organized effort to move Texas to the left orchestrated by President Obama and groups like MoveOn.org and Organizing for America.  Steve was one of the founders of the Young Conservatives of Texas and knows about reaching out to younger voters and new activists so he can grow the party.  He's also a successful lawyer and businessman who is recently retired and ready to dedicate his skills and experience to making the Texas GOP more effective.

As for the other candidates, both are strongly anti-liberty and offer no new ideas and no passion for reform.  Current Chairwoman Cathie Adams has been unable to balance the party's books since she's been in office and she is closely associated with the anti-liberty extremists of Eagle Forum.  Tom Mechler is a hardcore anti-reform conservative who commented at a recent event that he opposes a policy of "inclusiveness" for the party in a context which showed clear hostility to liberty activists and the tea party movement. That's not a great attitude at a time when we need to grow the party and bring in new blood.

In comparison, Steve Munisteri has been seeking advice from grassroots activists and from the Ron Paul organization.  Penny Langford Freeman from Congressman Paul's staff confirms that "Steve called the office to ask legislative questions and to discuss policy.  He is also using some of the old Paul campaign team for his race."  I'm not going to pretend that he's a hardcore libertarian or the candidate I would put in office if I could pick anyone in the state and just give them the job, but of the three candidates he is clearly the most pro-liberty and the most qualified to do the job well.

Most importantly Steve has an open mind and a willingness to work with all elements of the party and that means he won't stand in the way of those of us who are working to return the party and the nation to the core values of constitutionally limited government and individually.

If you want to help out the Munisteri campaign at the convention, contact Liz Young (lizleeyoung@gmail.com). For more information see Steve's website at stevemunisteri.com/.

I hope I'll see all of you at the upcoming Texas RLC statewide meeting on June 12th.  For more information see rlctx.org

Dave Nalle
(not writing in any of my official capacities except as a pro-liberty Texas GOP delegate)