… Texans will still pay for the primary.

Today, Scott O’Grady suspended his campaign in which he was seeking the Republican nomination for Texas State Senate in District 8.

Whether or not he decides to resume the campaign you should know that taxpayers of Texas will pay for the conducting of the primary. Most people are unaware that primary elections (which in my opinion are internal political disputes) are funded by the taxpayers.

This is why my party, the Libertarians, choose to hold local county and district conventions during which our candidates are nominated at no cost to taxpayers.

The time has come for the two parties to agree to defund these primaries via taxation and instead pay for them out of the budgets of the private organizations themselves.

If elected, I will introduce legislation to remove this funding.

O’Grady Drops Out, But… is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.

Two years ago, I laid down this challenge to my left-leaning friends – What, specifically, to you expect of President Obama and the Democrats in control of Congress over the next two years such that if these things are not accomplished you will consider it a failure?

I received the following answers (with my assessments):

• Close Gitmo – (Nope.)
• End the war in Iraq – (Nope.)
• End the war in Afghanistan – (Actually has expended it.)
• Nationalize healthcare – (I would say no, but I think it is more of a mess now.)
• Increase taxes on the wealthy, roll back the Bush tax cuts – (Will happen after January 1, 2011 when they expire according to the original law, I would call this a no!)
• Reduce unemployment to 6 percent – (Nope.)

Today, I make this same challenge to my right-leaning friends – What, specifically, to you expect of the Republicans in control of the House over the next two years such that if these things are not accomplished you will consider it a failure?

For those of you in Texas, I will add – What, specifically, to you expect of the Republicans in control of the entire state government by an overwhelming margin to do over the next two years, such that, if these things are not accomplished you will consider it a failure?

A Challenge to My Right-leaning Friends is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.

Got this today from “Barack Obama.”

The trouble with automatic emails is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.

This week on her monoblog (I call it this because it does not allow comments), my competitor, Senator Florence Shapiro writes:

As your Senator, my philosophy has always been—and will continue to be—that the role of government should be a limited one. Government cannot and should not be allowed to continually expand its role.

Really, Senator Shapiro? Then how do you explain:

• Your 47% economic ranking with the Heritage Alliance in 2009.
• The fact that under your party’s control the size of the Texas Government doubling in the last ten years. And, yes, as I pointed out in our candidate forum this takes into account population increases as well as inflation.
• The $21 billion shortfall in the state budget and worse the $193 billion unfunded liability that the state has racked up under you and your cronies from both parties.
• The fact that more members of the North Texas Tea Party, a group known for their true fiscal responsibility, thought that I was the better candidate.

If you are a true fiscal conservative, I challenge you to sign and the same pledge I have – a pledge to resign if you ever “vote for increasing the tax burden or increasing spending.”

Oh, yeah, and allow comments on your blog, someone on your staff should have told you how embarrassing that is.

Really Senator Shapiro? is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.

This video brings together three ideas about which I have posted: driverless car technology, red light cameras and “politician’s logic,” AKA the law of unintended consequences.

The very idea that we need traffic lights is just accepted without further thought. Please note I am not suggesting that we eliminate all traffic lights, just that would should look into some alternatives and experiment to see how they play out.

On Traffic Lights is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.

While there is much talk in the Texas media about the budget shortfall of $21 billion. I think the more important issue is the unfunded liability of $193 billion (and rising every year.) This is according to the National Center for Policy Analysis, Policy Report No. 329 by Courtney Collins and Andrew J. Rettenmaier, published July 2010.

I am no math whiz but this means that every child born in the state of Texas this year is already in debt to the tune of $7,720. Texas is in the middle of the pack compared to other states, but we are quickly headed in the direction of California where this has become the biggest problem plaguing the Golden State.

It is so bad the even Democrats such as Willie Brown are beginning to rethink what needs to be done. Why? Because it is impacting their ability to get other progressive laws passed.

If I do nothing in this campaign but continue to bring this to the attention of Texans, my campaign will be a success. When this becomes an issue about five years hence, please remember you read it hear first.

Here is a video about the problem in California from reason.tv.

On Unfunded Liabilities is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.

While I did not receive the North Texas Tea Party endorsement two weeks ago at the candidate forum, I did receive the personal endorsement of one of its leaders, Michael Openshaw.

In his endorsement he states:

It was not a decision I take lightly; Ed is a fine articulate fellow and a true believer in the Libertarian message, while Florence had followed a pretty conservative line in the past, only sliding off in the ‘moderate’ realm in the last few sessions.  There are parts of the Libertarian platform- those dealing with drug legalization and an isolationist foreign policy- that I have serious disagreement with and would contest most of the Libertarian objectives there.  However, there is one overriding factor in my decision: Impending national bankruptcy trumps all other issues and the fight for rigid fiscal constraint renders all other issues secondary. And, most importantly, the Republican Party- as it is now and always has been- is NOT the answer.

It was Senator Shapiro herself convinced me to take this step in the recent candidate forum, when she defended her poor fiscal responsibility rating (42% by Heritage Alliance, 53% by Empower Texans) by pointing out that no Senator got out of the 60s in rating by Heritage Alliance.  That is true and that needs to change, even if it requires a substantially different viewpoint to get that fiscal picture properly aligned.

All emphasis is his.

Thank you Michael, I am honored by your endorsement.

Another Personal Endorsement is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.

Today, the Cato Institute released its report card on the fiscal policies of governors. For the full report click here, but here is what that had to say on Texas Governor Rick Perry:

Texas – Rick Perry, Republican
Legislature: Republican
Grade: B
Took Office: December 2000

Governor Perry has generally avoided tax increases during his long tenure, but he has not cut state taxes or reduced the size of state government. In 2003, he signed into law a package of tax and fee increases. In 2006, he approved a major business tax overhaul that replaced the corporate franchise tax with a modified gross receipts tax called the Texas Margin Tax. The new tax hit a much broader array of businesses and increased state-level taxes by more than $3 billion annually. The $3 billion of added state revenues was used to reduce local property taxes, but the overall effect of the package has been to centralize government power in the state and reduce beneficial tax competition among local jurisdictions. In 2009, Perry supported an increase in the exemption amount for the Margin Tax. On spending, he has presided over moderate increases in the Texas general fund budget. In 2010, he proposed an amendment to the state constitution to require a two-thirds vote in both legislative chambers to increase taxes. He has also proposed an amendment to limit increases in the state budget to no more than inflation plus population growth.

Emphasis mine. Stop voting for the man you want Rick Perry to be. Vote for Kathie Glass!

Cato’s Governor’s Report Card Earns Perry a B is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.

During the Allen Area Patriots Candidate Forum last Thursday, my opponent, Senator Florence Shapiro, was being facetious in speculating on what Texas might look like if Libertarians were in power. The response, however, was not what she planned. I would love for FoxNews to do one of their “body language” assessments.

Thanks for Bryan McAninch, chair of the Collin County Libertarian Party for posting this video.

PS – Word  comes today from the League of Women Voters of Plano/Collin County that the Senator will not be attending the Candidate Forum scheduled for October 7. No reason was given and I will not speculate as to why.

OK, so that is not exactly what she meant! is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.

In an article on texting while driving in the Christian Science Monitor yesterday, two ideas that I talk about on this blog came together.

First, the idea of politicians not understanding unintended consequences of the laws they pass. I have no doubt that most politicians (including my opponent Senator Shapiro) truly want to help their fellow human beings. My questions of course are a) is it government’s job to protect people from a safety perspective and b) what are the possible unintended consequences of any law?

In the case of texting while driving, I think it is clear that these laws are not needed. Distracted driving is already illegal why pass a special law about texting. If a cop sees someone texting while driving, simply pull the person over and issue a summons for the law that is already on the books.

The unintended consequences are also obvious if you give it some thought. Instead of not texting, people will continue to text, but hold the phone lower so as to elude getting caught. This in turn increases the number of accidents because the driver in now looking down farther and the line of sight is more impeded.

The second idea this article mentions is anticollision devices in cars which are part of driverless car technology about which I have written. A video from Kelley Blue Book demonstrates this idea.

The problem is that some laws prohibit the operator not been in control of the vehicle at all times. This might make this technology, which would actually improve safety, illegal. (BTW – I would not be in favor of requiring this on all cars.)

Ultimately though, this is a rights issue, not a safety issue. We could have a law that would reduce traffic fatalities to near zero and would be simple and of little cost to implement. If the purpose of government and laws are to protect our safety, simply pass a law requiring all steering wheels have a huge metal spike attached which is aimed at the chest of the driver.

Traffic fatalities would plummet, but the impact (pun intended) on our freedom would be disastrous and unacceptable.

A Confluence of Two Ideas is a post from: Elect Ed Kless. Please click to view any multimedia content and/or comment on this post. Thanks.