“Keep Texas Working” is a new confuse-the-grassroots business lobby initiative who want Republicans as a base, but who aren’t ruling out supporting Democrats too, according to Capitol Insider.
Run by high-powered lobbyists, Keep Texas Working are trying to build a grassroots network for the bi-partisan ruling class machine, who have newly decided their days of simply buying elections are numbered.
Their strategy seems to be to pretend Tea Party conservatives, a group originally galvanized by reckless bailout spending, are something besides the most staunch fiscal conservatives in Texas. In doing so, they hope to create the impression of a void for fiscal conservative grassroots that they have nobly come to fill.
In fact, it is Keep Texas Working’s favored establishment wing of the GOP that has softened its commitment on fiscal issues, not the ever-vigilant Tea Party.
Still, these fiscal moderates will take on the impossible task of painting Tea Party conservatives as social-issues-only voters in an attempt order to help justify their entrance into the political marketplace.
Keep Texas Working are crony capitalists, a clan that commonly pushes for more government spending, more bureaucracy, and better conditions for politically-connected businesses over small businesses. They are not fiscal conservatives.
In general, the business lobby isn’t the friend of mere businesses or would-be businesses. They are the friend of businesses with lobbyists. The conservative grassroots are already very fiscal-minded, but tend to be small business, economic freedom types, not crony capitalists.
Establishment rhetoric gives itself wiggle room via pseudo-synonyms for “fiscal conservative”. They prefer the terms “business conservative” and “economic conservative”.
The Capitol Insider reported on Executive Director Luke Bellsnyder, former chief lobbyist for Texas Association of Manufacturers and Texas Association of Businesses employee. According to the article, Bellsnyder thinks there is a “silent majority” who are motivated to vote by fiscal issues, not social issues.
This comment seems confused. The majority who vote, at least right of middle, are motivated by fiscal issues, but they are not silent. They are quite vocal, in fact. They sometimes call themselves the Tea Party, and they are motivated by conservative issues of every kind.
Taking a page from President Obama, these “conservatives” are currently trying to take the economic high ground by saying the word “jobs” much more than anyone else. “Pro-jobs”, “jobs agenda”, “jobs, jobs, jobs” – it’s worked for the Democrats in Washington DC, as they’ve mortgaged their grandchildren’s future, so why not try the same thing in the Lone Star state?!
A cocktail of “jobs” propaganda and attempts to smuggle anti-social issues snobbery from Austin into Texas districts is likely in store for Texans who cross paths with Keep Texas Working.
Such Texans will also get to meet Trent McKnight, who at last mention was still going to be the spokesman for this group. McKnight was the moderate establishment candidate who lost to two more conservative candidates in his District 68 primary in 2012. Drew Springer eventually won.