The Texas House Speaker’s Race Religion Kerfluffle

Since the topic has gotten to Fark, I thought I would clear up the whole “Republicans oppose Straus because he’s Jewish” myth, a myth entirely based on one dumbass (or one plant) sending out email. (The truth is, Republicans oppose Straus because he’s not conservative enough.) In particular, I’d like to point out that those who say that Republicans haven’t condemned this religious bating are wrong:

Reps. Warren Chisum and Ken Paxton, conservative Republicans who’ve launched long-shot bids to unseat House Speaker Joe Straus, on Wednesday condemned campaign e-mails that have introduced candidates’ religions.

E-mails, some of unknown origin, have surfaced in recent days that mention Straus’ rabbi and underscore the Christian faith of his leading critics in the House Republican Caucus. One e-mail promises that “Straus is going down in Jesus’ name.”

“I repudiate that in the strongest terms,” Chisum, R-Pampa, said in an interview. “That is not what this is about.”

Chisum later issued a release saying, “No one working with me on my campaign for speaker has anything to do with such tactics,” which he called “deplorable.”

Paxton, R-McKinney, released a similar statement.

“There is absolutely no place for religious bigotry in the race for Texas speaker,” Paxton said. “It is just as shameful for anyone to imply that I would ever condone this type of behavior. My campaign is singularly focused on a message of providing proven, dependable conservative leadership to the Texas House.”

That was way back on November 18, people. If you’re going to repeat a liberal smear, how about one that wasn’t already debunked three weeks ago?

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One Response to “The Texas House Speaker’s Race Religion Kerfluffle”

  1. Danielle says:

    Under Straus’s leadership, Republicans have actually GAINED 23 seats, as opposed to the 12 LOST under previous leadership. He has overseen a budget that has decreased general revenue spending and he is dedicated to working hard to working within a balanced budget WITHOUT raising taxes. Joe Straus IS the kind of leadership Texas needs.

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