The Power of Election Season in Shaping Future Legislation

This week on the Family Freedom Caller we discuss the Texas legislature's failure to pass Education Savings Accounts (ESA) despite widespread support across various demographics.  We also touch on the upcoming election season, emphasizing its significance for education reform and parental rights, and urge listeners to participate actively in the electoral process to influence future legislative outcomes.

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Transcript

The Texas Constitution calls for the legislature to meet for 140 days in odd numbered years. The governor is empowered to call additional special sessions for 30 days each, which he has done 4 times this year. The legislature has ended its time and the election season is upon us. There are more contested elections this year than normal for several reasons. 

Many are frustrated because the legislature failed to pass education reform in the way of Education Savings Accounts (ESA). Polls show that a majority of every political demographic and ethnic demographic strongly support this reform measure and yet a group of 21 Republican House members joined all Democratic House members in killing that bill. 

Some ask me, how can that be? Why would members of a political party vote against the will of their own voters? The answer is one that I learned many years ago. A friend told me of a conversation he had with a city council member of one of the major cities in Texas. He asked why the council did not support a measure that polling showed a majority of city voters supported. 

The response he received was that the council members were responding to the people who actually voted and a majority of them did NOT support that measure. There is the answer to passing legislation. 

Elected officials respond to whom they believe to be a majority of the people who actually vote to elect them. The 21 Republican House members who killed ESAs very likely believe that a majority of their supporters do not support education reform. Although some seem to believe the voters will be against them, as there have been about 5 of those 21 members who have decided to retire rather than face their voters in the primary next March. 

However, all of those Republicans have opponents and education reform will be a key issue in their campaigns. Whether it is enough to make the challengers successful remains to be seen. In addition, all of those Republicans also voted against the legislation in 2019 to allow homeschool children to participate in extracurricular activities in the public school districts in which they reside and pax taxes. 

With only one exception, all of these Republican legislators also voted to impeach the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton who has been the most supportive AG we have ever had in Texas on the issue of parental rights. 

For those two reasons we will not be supporting these 21 House members. We will be vetting the challengers and many other candidates and using that opportunity to educate them on issues that are critical to homeschoolers and the families of Texas and then we will be working hard to get all of our friends across the great state of Texas out to vote because who is elected is critical to our efforts to protect and defend the God given right of parents to raise their children as they see fit. So be looking for information from THSC and FFP in the coming days on this very important election. 

It is also important for all of our friends to be registered to vote. Failing to participate in choosing our elected officials is giving up the right to hold accountable those whom we elect to office. Our freedom depends on our actions.