Open Letter to Texas Voters
The out pouring of everyday working Americans, frustrated with the course of big government, had a definite influence on the 2010 election in the United States. This awakening of the American people became the Tea Party movement. It was a movement of Americans with an undying love of the country where freedom is not just a catch phrase but a way of life. This was the movement that sent the message to the government saying the governed people will not stand for the overreaching of their elected officials. Theirs was a strong message for the return of the constitutional rights and freedoms guaranteed in our founding documents. This out pouring of patriotism from the people of this country is truly the cause of hope for the future.
Our future now stands in sharp relief before us. The big government factions are fighting to retain their power. The American people must remain vigilant in their quest to restore the freedom envisioned by our founding fathers. We can not afford to be lax in the mission to defend the constitutional granted rights and freedom that makes this nation the greatest in the world.
Friedrich Hayek said complacency is the “Road to Serfdom.” A complacent society is doomed to suffer under the heel of despotism. No longer can we walk a path ignoring the chipping away of the foundation that is the Rights and Freedoms set forth by our Founding Fathers. We have steadily relinquished small portions of our freedom, transferring individual responsibility and obligation to the central government. We are locking the freedom hard won by our Founding Fathers in the chains of despotism. Complacency is the enemy of Freedom, but passionate people will tread the road to Liberty. We must remain passionate about our Liberty, and remain passionate about our Freedom.
Our founders envisioned a limited government. We stand facing a government overstepping its enumerated powers. We now have virtually limitless government reaching into every portion of our lives and our businesses. We as Texans must stand strong demanding the Federal government remain within its enumerated powers.
I implore all those who took up the banner of freedom two years ago to stand together once again to continue the fight to restore our constitutional government. Many of the officials that were elected out of this movement of conservative Americans have been working to uphold the values of those who sent them to government as the voice of the people. Once again it is time to send a message to the big government power that this is the people’s nation and their voice will be heard. When our voice is heard we insure that government by the people, for the people, and of the people will not perish from the earth.
Thank you,
Thomas C. Kincaid, Jr.
Freedom at Risk
We as Texans and Americans are standing upon a precipice. Our position is perilous, our footing is slipping out from under us. A misstep will send us plunging into a chasm with our freedom hopelessly out of reach. We can no longer afford to walk blindly along this path ignoring the chipping away of the foundation that is the rights and freedom so diligently set forth and constructed by our founders. Small portions of this foundation have been relinquished transferring individual responsibilities and obligations to the collective central government incrementally locking the freedom, hard won by our founding fathers, in the chains of despotism.
We as Texans have a unique dual heritage. Our forefathers braved hardship to conquer the New World and the frontier of Texas. Our forefathers stood against insurmountable odds to establish the United States and the Republic of Texas. They prevailed not with superior forces but with courage of heart and the unyielding spirit of freedom. This spirit was echoed in Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" and William Travis' "I will never surrender or retreat."
With the loss of our freedom, we stand once again facing what would seem to be insurmountable odds. The resolve of our forefathers is set forth in both the U.S. and Texas Declarations of Independence. Texans must call up the spirit and courage of heart that is our heritage, for once again we are facing a long train of abuses and usurpations designed to reduce us under absolute Despotism. Our grievances were patiently borne until they have reached that point at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. Once again in the course of human events it is our right, it is our duty to provide for our future security and that of our children.
Armed with the spirit of those first Texans who stood in the face of tyranny we must take back our rights and freedoms usurped by the federal government. We must demand the limited government envisioned by the founding fathers, a government that remains within the enumerated powers of the constitution. George Washington wrote in 1787; "The power under the Constitution will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can, and undoubtedly will, be recalled."
We Texans must hold our elected representatives accountable for the preservation of our rights and freedoms. As was written by those Texans on March 2, 1836, when long after the spirit of the constitution has departed, moderation is at length so far lost by those in power, that even the semblance of freedom is removed, it is a right and sacred obligation to their posterity to rescue them from impending dangers, and secure their future welfare and happiness.
Bandera County Commissioner Doug King; Thomas C. Kincaid, Jr.; and State Board of Education member Charlie Garza, packing Christmas boxes for the troops at the November meeting of the Conservative Women of Southwest Texas.
Education:
One of the most important things we can do for our children is to provide them with a quality education. A forward looking society educates its children thus providing not only for their future but also for the future of the society.
Education, therefore, is very important for the future of Texas. Often our government has just thrown money at the education problem and called it fixed. Ronald Reagan once said, "If you give a kid a bad hamburger you go to jail. If you give a kid a bad education the government gives you more money to do it with."
This downward spiral in our public education system must be reversed. Public school teachers have told me that their students are often quickly bored with the curriculum presented to them. Our young children are eager to learn. We must present them with subject matter that will hold their attention and challenge them to learn.
Employers have said that many high school graduates do not have the basic communication skills to write letters and emails or the ability to do simple math problems. I fear we have lowered the bar in favor of statistical numbers. This is a disservice to our children. A quality education must be provided to our children to prepare them for the highly competitive twenty-first century economy.
Taxes and Spending:
It is unconscionable for government spending to continue to rise while taxpayers are struggling. Those that govern must remember that the money they are spending belongs to those they govern. Every Texan must tighten his belt when income is down. This is a lesson government must learn. I will support a required super-majority vote in the legislature on any proposal that would increase taxes of the people of Texas. I will also support a cap on any increase in state spending that is linked to inflation and population.
Economy:
Our national economy continues to suffer with stagnant growth and high unemployment. The Texas economy, although somewhat depressed, has held up better than much of the nation. We must be diligent in keeping Texas a business friendly state, maintaining the businesses that provide Texans with jobs, and attracting new businesses to the state. The tort reform measures that Texas has implemented must be carefully guarded in order to keep the Texas economy the best in the nation. A highly educated work force will bring good paying jobs to our state. The ideal way to drive the Texas economy forward is to promote and release the engine of private free market enterprise. The entrepreneurial spirit of Texans when unleashed will lead to a prosperous economy.
The state of Texas must remain an example to the nation of how the unbridled spirit of the free market can fuel a growing economy. We need to send a strong message to our federal government that hard working Texans are tired of our tax dollars contributing to out of control government spending and that Texans will no longer be shackled by the ever expanding intrusion on their constitutionally granted rights by the federal government. The 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to those specifically stated within the Constitution, reserving other powers to the states and the people. I will vociferously stand up for the rights of Texas citizens. As your state legislator I will constantly defend the 10th amendment and demand the federal government remain within its enumerated powers.