"The facts, ma'am, just the facts."

Betty's worst enemies in her bid for re-election are the facts:  she likes some of them, but stays away from others as if they carry the plague.  The more facts that come out about Betty's record, the more tortured her explanations become.  On Feb. 26, she put out a statement entitled, "Betty Brown Sets the Record Straight."  The line on Betty's record is about as crooked as the devil's backbone, so setting it straight would require an effort of Herculean proportions.  But Betty gave it a shot, and her statement yielded what it always yields with Betty:  half-truths, selectively chosen pieces of information, and an overall misrepresentation of the facts.

Betty began by attacking Wade Gent (no suprise there even though he didn't deserve it) and went on to say "I am very proud of my record and have enjoyed discussing it with voters throughout the campaign." Two days after she put out this statement, she was a no-show at a political forum hosted by the Cedar Creek Lake Republican Club.  They thought she was going to be there, they waited for her to arrive so they could start the forum, but Betty never came.  She didn't bother to call beforehand, she just didn't show up.  If that's "discussing [her record] with voters," then I'm the Tooth Fairy.  I can tell Betty what it actually is:  it's rude. 

In her statement, Betty discussed four issues about which she would like to set the record straight:  taxes, Trans-Texas Corridor, public record voting, and in-state tuition.  She is weak on all four, but she is bound and determined to make us believe she's not.

Betty's Spin...

On Taxes:  she lists a couple of titles she has received (only incumbents are eligible to get them), and she says she "has voted again and again to lower taxes."  She cites property tax reduction and lower taxes on small businesses.  We already know Betty spent most of last year gloating about a 1/3 reduction in property taxes that never materialized.  We also know she subsequently blamed school districts after our tax bills came in and the relief she promised wasn't there.  But Betty takes the cake by implying that she lowered small business taxes, because they are higher now than they ever have been.

Beginning in May 2008, small businesses are going to have to pay a new tax called the "Texas Margins Tax" for the business they did in 2007.  The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which protects the rights of small businesses across the country, has repeatedly called this new tax "an income tax in sheep's clothing" and an "income tax for many small business owners."  Betty supported the "margins tax."  If you have a small business and you are meeting with your accountant to figure out how hard you're going to be hit in May, you can thank Betty Brown for the opportunity.

On the Trans-Texas Corridor:  Betty says, "I voted to put the Trans-Texas Corridor on hold.  I do not and will not support the plan as it has been proposed."  WRONG.  Betty voted for the plan as it has been proposed, and a couple days ago, she took a campaign contribution from Zachry Construction Corp. in San Antonio, who has partnered (Cintra-Zachry) to build the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Her statement says, "she has taken a strong stand against taking property away from homeowners" and "Like most Texans, Betty was very concerned and angry when the Trans-Texas Corridor project appeared to be moving forward outside the constraints of legislative oversight."  That is bunk.  "Most Texans" were concerned in 2003 when Betty voted for the plan; Betty didn't jump on board until four years later in 2007. 

And even after she voted to postpone it, her position was lukewarm.  Betty came home to our district and told us "Chambers of commerce were for the highway system while property owners are leery of it" (The Monitor, 8/16/07).  "Leery" means "suspicious."  Property owners were as "leery" of the Trans-Texas Corridor as I would be of someone who had a gun pointed at my head.  A reaction a little stronger than suspicion would result.   I'll tell you when Betty started really worrying about the Trans-Texas Corridor:  when she thought she might lose the election because of it.

On Public Record Voting:  Betty's statement reports she "has always supported complete legislative transparency and public recording of votes in the State Legislature."  WRONG.  In September 2007, Betty told a Republican group that recording all votes of the legislature would be "cumbersome" and would "slow down the business of government."   I was there when she made the statement, and I wrote down her words verbatim.  So there's no "always" about it.  She didn't support recording all votes of the legislature 6 months ago; why she expects us to believe her now is beyond me. 

Her statement goes on to say, "she has invited everyone in her district to contact her directly on any piece of Legislation to learn how she voted and why."  I have written 5 letters to her office in the past 6 months to learn about her record, and I haven't gotten a single response to any of them.

On In-State Tuition:  Betty says she co-authored a bill to revoke the in-state tuition she had previously voted to grant to illegal aliens.  I haven't had time to find out if that's true or not; it can be time-consuming to track down all of Betty's rabbit trails.  But her statement immediately follows by saying, "she has moved to stop every taxpayer funded program that provides benefits to illegals."  That claim is ridiculous and exceedingly bizarre.  Illegals attend public schools--Betty didn't try to stop illegals from benefiting from public schools.  Illegals receive medical care through government funded agencies--Betty didn't stop anyone from providing healthcare.  I can't think of a single government-funded program Betty-sponsored legislation has influenced regarding this issue. 

I think this is one of those get-by-on-a-technicality statements.  While Betty hasn't pushed any reforms through the legislative process, she can say she has "moved" toward something we are supposed to be believe is effective leadership because she has recently started talking about it.  Apparently, talking about the issue should count as "moving" to "do" something about it by our illustrious representative.  Meanwhile, nothing has really been done.

Betty's justification for voting to give illegals in-state tuition ends the press release.  It's pretty weak, and it has changed from her past stance.  She used to say the legislature had to pass the law because it was required by the federal government.  Now she says "many Texas lawmakers believed it would be mandated by the federal government."  Somebody back then should have checked a little further into the issue, because their decision cost the State of Texas a lot of money, and it was never a necessary piece of legislation, as Betty has pretended. 

She was Wrong

Betty's tortured explanations wouldn't be necessary if Betty would just admit she was wrong.  She was wrong when she voted for the Trans-Texas Corridor.  She was wrong when she told us she had passed the largest tax cut in Texas history.  She was wrong when she voted to give illegals in-state tuition.  She was wrong when she voted to allow Pickens and his employees to take away our land.  She was wrong when she voted to increase taxes on small businesses.  She was wrong . . . Okay, maybe admitting her many mistakes wouldn't be her first choice, but at least it would be honest. 

Betty has painted herself into a corner:  if she tells us the truth about her record, we won't vote for her.  When she tries to "set the record straight," she reaffirms every negative impression people have of politicians trying to save their own skin. 

I think the kindest thing for us to do is to vote against Betty and let her come home to take a break from all this back-peddling.  Betty can recover from the exhaustion of having to reinvent herself and hide her record, and we would get a representative who kept his promises.  Everybody wins.