In my new job I’ve also had the opportunity to interact with many armed service members of every branch. With every current service member and veteran I meet, I am more impressed by the love they have for this country. A love that compels them to put themselves between us and our enemies.

In the midst of those thoughts about the debt we owe those men and women, I found out about Carry The Load through one of the organizers, and a decorated former Navy SEAL officer, Clint Bruce. I immediately decided I wanted to take part in the event and help carry the load for those who protect and defend us.

Carry The Load is a non-profit organization helping people celebrate a meaningful Memorial Day by conducting a 20-hour event that honors veterans and active duty service members, law enforcement officers, firefighters and their families.

Through event participation and sponsorship, CTL raises money to support their 2013 beneficiaries: Assist The Officer, Heroes On The Water, Friends of Dallas Fire-Rescue, Tip Of The Spear Foundation and Sons of the Flag Burn Foundation.

What I’m doing

I’ve pledged to take part in the 20 hour march, carrying the load, on Memorial Day and helping raise money to support the charities listed above. I’m raising money individually and also as part of the ITS Tactical team. Every dollar raised goes directly to supporting those men and women who risk so much for us.

Who I’m “Carrying”

As I watched some of the videos from last year and thought about who I wanted to “carry” (like who you would walk for in Relay for life), a lot of possibilities came to mind but in the end, I decided on 5 individuals that I know personally.

- Grant: My cousin Grant just got deployed a few weeks ago. He joined up a couple years ago and it has been an incredible thing to see how he has matured into a strong, caring man who has long desired to defend his country. We got to spend a lot of time together as his deployment drew close and I treasured getting the opportunity to share in his excitement and trepidation as the day came closer. Please keep him in your prayers.

I met these next four guys after Chris Kyle’s funeral. The Pub where some friends and I met up to toast Chief Kyle quickly transformed into a SEAL bar as many of his brothers descended. I had the honor of spending the rest of my day getting to know a number of them and contributing the only things I could to their celebration of Chris’ life: cigars and beer.

- Jay Redman: “Still in the fight,” are the words that best describe Jay. A former SEAL officer, he was shot multiple times while leading his unit on a mission in Iraq. In the ensuing years he’s undergone 37 surgeries as part of his recovery from those extensive wounds. While no longer in active military service, he’s rededicated his life to serving our country by giving back and supporting his brothers and sisters in arms.

- Mike, Johnny and “Booster”: I can’t go into much detail about these guys out of respect for their security but these guys blew me away. Two are still active in the SEALS and another is out of the teams but still in sensitive work. The bravery of these guys and the humility they showed was inspiring to say the least. Getting to spend the afternoon with them and their brothers will always be a memory I treasure and inspired me with a much greater desire to seek out ways to support the men and women who serve us.

What you can do

As RedStaters, we love America and I’m proud of the myriad ways we show that love, including through supporting our fighting men and women. I want you to show that support in a few concrete ways as we lead up to Memorial Day:

- Put mental energy into finding ways to show your appreciation for veterans and active service men and women. Whether it’s shaking somebody’s hand and giving them a direct “thank you,” paying for the lunch of a uniformed member you see in line or sending a beer to one you see at a bar. You’re not going to take action unless you first put some focus on it.

- Put your money where your mouth is. Talk is cheap and saying “Thank You” only does so much. The organization I’m focusing on is Carry The Load but whether you give to them or somewhere else, please give something other than lip service to show your support.

Come Memorial Day, I’ll proudly spend 20 hours carrying the load for Grant, Jay, Mike, Johnny and Booster. It’s my hope that you’ll join us, either physically or financially, in that effort.

The suspect is a 25 year old former Marine. He was aprehended in Kyle’s truck last night.

Here is the statement released by his company this morning:

Chief Chris Kyle (USN) and his trusted friend, Chad Littlefield, were tragically killed on Saturday, February 2, 2013, by a troubled veteran whom they were trying to help. Chief Kyle lived by a personal motto that “it is our duty to serve those,who serve us,” and he and Littlefield died honoring this creed. Above all else, Chief Kyle was a unique individual and an amazingly loving father, husband, son, brother, friend and devout Christian who had a profound effect on the lives of those he touched.

Chief Kyle was publicly known for being the President of Craft International LLC and the author of the best-selling book, American Sniper. Chief Kyle, a former Navy SEAL, served four Combat tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom and elsewhere. For his bravery in battle, he was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corp Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation. After retiring from the Navy, Chief Kyle founded Craft International LLC, a military and law enforcement training company, and was involved in numerous charities, including co-founding FITCO Cares Foundation, and other charitable events benefiting wounded and disabled servicemen and women returning from combat.

“Chris was a true American hero having devoted his adult life to serving his country in combat as a member of the U.S. Navy SEALs and in training our military and law enforcement personnel after leaving the Navy. Chris was also an extremely devoted family man – a wonderful husband and loving father. He gave so much of his time to charitable causes that assisted military personnel and their families and died while trying to help a struggling service member. We are all saddened by his tragic death. America lost one of its finest sons and a true patriot. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Kyle family” said Steven Young, Craft’s CEO.

My heart absolutely breaks for the Kyle and Littlefield families. They have given up so much for our country and to lose Chris and Chad this way has to fill them with unimaginable pain.

I had the honor of meeting Chris briefly last December while we were at a shooting range for my brother’s bachelor party. Our collective reaction at meeting him was roughly equivalent to a bunch of 12 year old girls sighting Justin Bieber. Getting to spend those few minutes speaking with him cemented in my mind the image of him as not only one of our best warriors but as a loving father, devoted husband, loyal friend and a truly great Christian man.

There is nothing we can do to heal the pain of those impacted by this tragedy other than pray, and we should pray for them. I would also encourage you to join me in donating to help Chris’ family. You can do this by making a donation to America’s Mighty Warriors Foundation and noting that you would like the donation directed to the Chris Kyle Memorial. Chris worked closely with the foundation and 100% of the donations will go to the Kyle family.

Chris was fond of saying that our fighting men and women sign a blank check to their country when they sign up, “payable up to the price of [their] life.” He believed with all his heart that it was his duty to continue to serve his brothers and sisters in arms who write those checks. Last night Chris paid that ultimate sacrifice in that line of service.

May God be with the Kyle family and touch their grieving hearts.

“Well, there are some things a man just can’t run away from.” – John Wayne, Stagecoach (1939)

Throughout the last two years, Erick, Drew Ryun and myself have introduced RedStaters to many problems within the leadership of the Texas State House. Supporting evidence has been provided, most recently with Erick’s exclusive a few weeks ago, showing the Speaker’s office as the catalyst behind the war against house conservatives. It’s not a new fight but with the January vote on House leadership looming, it’s time to saddle up.

Straus’ was brought to the Speaker’s chair by liberal Republicans and Democrats. Since his rise to power, the Speaker has demonstrated himself to be more than proficient at rewarding his friends and punishing his enemies. As a liberal Republican, those enemies fall uniformly to his right. From his staff sending vulgar emails describing tea partiers and conservative representatives, to intimidating representatives with threats of redistricting, to fighting conservatives in contested primary elections, Joe Straus has proven himself time and again to be a petty and vindictive man.

Two years ago we pushed back against him, promising tough primary battles for Republicans who supported Straus’ reelection. We were scoffed at and told that there was no way the Speaker’s race would be a factor in the primary. While we were unable to stop his reelection as speaker, we made good on our promise during the primary elections.

The only significant victories Straus won (defeating Reps. Christian and Landtroop) required significant gerrymandering and incredible expenditures of financial and political capital from the Speaker’s allies. Conservatives on the other hand virtually ran the table. Several of the Speaker’s Chairmen were eliminated in contested primaries, a number more retired in the face of mounting opposition and even more liberal Republicans were taken out in open races. Not only was the Speaker a factor in the races but recently, Representatives have begun referring to him as “toxic” in private conversations.

While Governor Perry and Lt. Governor Dewhurst are saddling up for a strong, conservative legislative session, Joe Straus has made his opposition to a number of their initiatives clear. In Texas, the Speaker determines chairmanships of the house committees and appoints a significant number of committee spots. Between his opposition to the Governor’s conservative agenda and his penchant for appointing liberals to powerful positions, Straus has cast himself as the chief roadblock to conservative reform in the upcoming legislative session

In the face of the growing case against Speaker Straus, many Representatives with historically conservative voting records are balking and seem unwilling to push back. Having seemingly forgotten who both their friends and enemies are, they are shirking their duty. Reps. Phil King and Jodie Laubenburg are two prime examples. Both voted against Straus last cycle because they know he’s not a conservative but are caving this cycle. I have great respect for the record that each of these Representatives have made and hope that they will once again see this as a fight work picking. (Hint: The way to catalyze that change is for the constituents to call them!)

While some of their elders seem to have grown “weary in well doing,” a growing number of young conservatives are girding for a fight. They branded themselves as fighters during their campaigns and are prepared to prove their tenacity on their first day in office.

Representative David Simpson is the only declared candidate opposing Straus for the Speaker’s chair at the moment. He is a man of great integrity and his conservative credentials, as well as his sense of fairness, cannot be questioned. Probably best known for his Anti-Groping TSA bill, Rep. Simpson has fought against the cronyism and deception emanating from the Speaker’s office since his entrance onto the political scene. Even though his conservative beliefs are well-known, Simpson earned the respect of many opponents, including Democrats, for opposing the leadership no matter if it was unfairly attacking his friends or his enemies. As Simpson said in his letter to the House, it’s not enough to just do the right thing. “We have to do the right thing in the right way.” While it is unclear what choices will be present for a vote in early January, I have every confidence that Rep. Simpson would be a great leader for the House.

What is clear, even more-so now than two years ago, is that Joe Straus must go.  He has further proven his opposition to a conservative agenda and inability to equitably discharge his duties as the presiding officer of this representative body.

Here is your call to action: If you live in Texas, call your representative and make your opposition to Straus and his liberal cronies clear. Whether you think your Rep. is on the right side of this or not, they need your calls. They need to hear from you! If you live outside Texas, chances are you have friends or family here (…everybody’s moving here so the odds are pretty good…). Let them know what’s at stake and make sure they contact their representatives as well.

As a bonus, here is a speech that Rep. Simpson gave on the House floor at the close of the last session. I have no doubt that you’ll see the contrast between this strong conservative and Speaker Straus:

Featured image from StopJoeStraus.com

With Sequestration budget cuts looming, the Obama administration has decided they want to make up some new rules and hope it’s enough to make Virgina show up blue on November 6th.

Earlier today, Lockheed Martin, one of the largest employers in the battleground state of Virginia, announced that it won’t be sending out layoff notices to thousands of employees on the eve of the election. This was counter their previous warnings that they were required by law (the WARN Act) to notify employees subject to termination 60 calendar days ahead of time. This change in the company’s direction was a response to Friday’s politically charged statement from Obama’s Office of Management and Budget.

In the statement (a more bold reiteration of policy outlined in July), the OMB states that even though defense contractors (and the politically aware public at large) see Sequestration related military budget cuts as a reality which they are forced to account for in their business plans, they don’t need to follow federal law which requires them to inform the impacted employees of this reality.

The reason? Well, the Whitehouse is pretty sure that the affected workers won’t be rushing to the polls to vote for a second Obama term.

To be clear, there are two legal realities that the Obama Administration is so obviously ignoring: the budget cuts required by Sequestration are in fact law and will be implemented on January 2nd. Second, the Clinton-era WARN act requires large employers (over 100 employees) to give 60 days notice of potential layoffs.

Senators McCain, Graham and Ayotte released a statement on the subject Friday:

Obama is putting “his own reelection ahead of the interests of working Americans and our national security by promising government contractors that their salary and liability costs will be covered at taxpayer expense if they do not follow the law that requires advance warning to employees of jobs that may be lost due to sequestration. … Apparently, President Obama puts politics ahead of American workers by denying them adequate time to plan their finances and take care of their families. The people who work in the defense industry and other government contracting companies deserve as much notice as possible that they are on track to lose their jobs.

Several Republicans in the House and Senate have seriously questioned the legal basis for the Administration’s policy shift. Sen. Graham stated that he believed it to be, “patently illegal,” and House Armed Services Chairman Bud McKeon said it was the product of, “politically motivated memos with dubious grounding in the law.”

The administration is couching this policy as acceptable because there is “uncertainty” about what Congress will do (and how Sequestration budget cuts will be carried out). From the OMB:

 Dept. Of Labor concluded that it is neither necessary nor appropriate for Federal contractors to provide WARN Act notice to employees 60 days in advance of the potential sequestration because of uncertainty about whether sequestration will occur and, if it did, what effect it would have on particular contracts, among other factors.

In spite of contractors preparing for significant, across the board cuts, the Administration believes it would, “waste States’ resources in undertaking employment assistance activities where none are needed and create unnecessary anxiety and uncertainty for workers,” to alert employees to impending termination.

Nowhere in any of the statements does the Administration propose that the companies shouldn’t prepare to have their budgets gutted or that there isn’t a strong likelihood of being forced to lay off the number of employees that Sequestration cuts would cause. Rather, it seems that prudence and reason should be ignored in deference to the President’s electoral ambitions.

More than that, they promise that WE (the American taxpayers) will compensate employees and pay when employees sue, claiming that their employers were in violation of the WARN Act! We’re on the hook not only for legal fees for these companies to break the law, but also for compensation costs ordered by our own court system:

If sequestration occurs and an agency terminates or modifies a contract that necessitates that the contractor order a plant closing or mass layoff…any resulting employee compensation costs for WARN Act liability as determined by court, as well as attorney’s fees and other litigation costs (irrespective of litigation outcome), would qualify as allowable costs and be covered by the contracting agency…

It seems that due to “uncertainty” (a fact of life which government contractors are perpetually forced to account for), it is neither “necessary nor appropriate” to proceed with layoff notification. The likely result of these new rules to the Administration’s evolving game will be thousands of employees being laid of without significant notice and the taxpayers will pick up the tab so that Obama can collect a few more votes.

It seems that the only rule the Obama Administration plays by is, “It’s all fair as long as we get a second term.”

In what is widely being described as one of the TEA Party’s biggest upsets, Ted Cruz became Texas’ Republican nominee for US Senate on Tuesday night. Heavy advantages in name ID, money and institutional support were overcome by grassroots activists, ready to send a fighter to Washington.

I’ve known Ted for two years but this weekend at #RSG12 I had the opportunity to introduce a colleague of mine, Brian Sikma, to Mr. Cruz. We recorded much of the interview and wanted to share it with each of you.

For those of you not familiar with Ted, you need to be. For any who have been following him for awhile, the conversation will just make you love him more.

It’s been said by more than a few people over the last couple years that the TEA Party is dead. We’ve proven at many points that we’re alive and well, across the nation as well as here in Texas. We’ve had plenty of battles in the last several years and are nearing the end of one of the longest primary election seasons in the history of the state.

But we’re not done yet.

In less than two weeks the runoff election will be over and your voice as Texans for this election cycle will have been exhausted. Your vote won’t make a difference this November but it will be a deciding factor in the runoff election for US Senate and your down-ballot runoff elections.

Turnout for the May 29th primary was about 1.5 million Republican voters statewide and turnout is expected to be half of that, or less, between the start of early voting next monday and election day on July 31st.

Your vote will never be more powerful!

Your vote, however, is not all that’s required of you. It’s time to volunteer. Thanks to modern technology you can call from home very easily and help alert fellow conservatives to the critical nature of this race and help turn them out to vote.

TEA Partiers have been energized by Ted Cruz and pushed to get him to this point but letting off now will be to fail at the most critical hour.

As I’ve talked to folks over the last few weeks and heard stories from campaign staff on all levels of campaigns I’ve heard lots of excuses for why folks aren’t showing up to volunteer: “Phone banking isn’t really my thing,” “I’m not good on the phones,” and others have been rattled off all too frequently.

This is when TEA Party members SHOULD be showing up. This is where true conservatives SHOULD bet getting out of their comfort zone to produce results.

Picking up a few yard signs or waving them on street corners isn’t enough. Posting on facebook and twitter is great but it’s not enough. You need to get active and help out.

Yes, it’s summer. Yes, everyone is tired of robo calls, politics, and being bothered but the race is not over yet. No votes have been cast and none have been counted.

Ted is up in the polls and fundraising very well but we cannot slow down and cannot quit. If this race matters to you then you need to step up.

Email Kris@TedCruz.org and he’ll get you set up to phone bank from home or help plug you in to the phone bank nearest to your location.

It’s time to finish strong!

It’s decision time in Texas. The last hours of the contest to name the next United States Senator are running down and the choice for Texans couldn’t be more clear.

Ted Cruz is our man.

Erick wrote just the other day about the need for conservatives to open their wallets to help Ted win this battle against establishment moderate David Dewhurst. Polls and financial reports show the Cruz campaign surging forward in every dimension but time is short and the stakes are high.

Texas conservatives are standing up to send Ted Cruz to Washington but we need your help!

Here’s what we need you to do: Call Texans and help us spread the word about why they need to vote for Ted Cruz!

How you’re going to do it: Go to Votergravity.com/TedCruz and click “Connect with Facebook.” You’ll be logged into our Gravity Phone-Bank Portal. On screen instructions will guide you through the process of getting ready to call and within moments you can be contacting Texas voters.

You can either call with your own phone or using our Gravity Phone, straight from your computer. The script will pop up on the screen and you will be able to easily click the answers and input the voter responses. If a voter other than the targeted voter answers the phone, you can click their name in the household voter list to let the system know who you’re talking to. (For more answers about how to use Gravity see this blog post)

We need your help!

Whether you can do one call or one thousand, it’s time to make sure we send a strong conservative to Washington, not just another go-along-get-along Republican. Ted Cruz is our man and with your help he’ll be our next United States Senator from Texas!

For 18 years, Mark Davis has been a talk radio staple in North Texas. Over the last several, he has regularly filled in for Rush Limbaugh and had an ever-widening influence over the conservative movement. Through it all, he has been a faithful friend to conservatives, effectively articulated what we stand for and championed the TEA Party movement from day 1.

As of this week, Mark is off the air at WBAP. Cumulus bought the station and the parties were unable to reach an agreement on a new contract. While most of his listening audience assumes that he’s on vacation (since no formal announcement was made), Mark is left hanging in the wind.

Cumulus has a reputation in the talk-radio community for being cheap when it comes to salaries and they are trying to gut Mark’s now that they own the station. It also appears that station owners think that Americans are tiring of conservative talk radio and specifically of the style that Mark delivers.

I’ve been a loyal listener of Mark’s show for the majority of my life and have kept my dial tuned to WBAP in large part because of his influence. Even when we disagree on issues or candidates, Mark has always been kind, articulate and principled. He’s exactly the kind of man we need on the air, reinforcing conservatives and spreading our message.

Mark has been standing with us for 18 years and it’s time that we stand up and let his station owners know that we want Mark back on the air. I hope that you will sign our petition to get Mark back on the radio at WBAP!

We will be sharing your comments online and forwarding them to the station owners. With your help, I hope we can communicate an idea of the influence that Mark has had over the conservative movement and how badly we want him back on the air.

Visit TXAction.com to sign the petition and you can share our “Bring Back Mark” graphic on Facebook through our page.

Make no mistake, this is an attack on conservative talk radio as a whole. Today it’s Mark Davis. Who knows who it’ll be tomorrow. We need to make a concerted effort to fight for those who so eloquently champion our cause.

Whether you’re in Texas or not, it’s time that we stand up for one of our own!

The promise I’ve made myself in every election cycle since is that no matter what capacity I was working in, I would give everything I’ve got and that win or lose, I would know there wasn’t anything else I could have done to send my candidate to victory.

For the last three years I’ve been working full-time in conservative grassroots politics, training activists, identifying and equipping candidates. That’s been my universe and Texas has been at the center of it. During that time I’ve had the privilege of training and interacting with thousands of TEA Partiers and conservative activists who wan’t to move our state and country in the right direction.

Hundreds of thousands of conservatives across Texas have dedicated millions of man hours to get conservative candidates on the ballot for state office and volunteering for conservative causes during that time. All of this work now stands in peril.

After three years of preparation for this battle, the volunteer showing, financial contributions and effort from Texans for these state level races is frankly pathetic.

I’ve discussed this problem with TEA Party leaders, candidates and outside observers and it’s clear that the perception isn’t some figment of my imagination. The fact is that after three years of demanding conservative candidates and promising that they’d charge into fire to get them elected, Texas conservatives are on the verge of wasting a unprecedented opportunity.

Some of this is due to behind the scenes disputes and friction between big egos. Resurgent apathy and frustration with Federal level politics also plays a role. Neither of these are acceptable reasons to stand on the side lines.

We can argue about hurt feelings after we win. Until then, nobody on the left cares and we’ll accomplish nothing.

The Texas Primary Election is less than 2 months away. May 29 is D-day. There will only be about 10 competitive state house races in November but there are more than 60 state house primary elections in play on May 29! In some we’re playing defense (as with James White and David Simpson) but in most races we’re playing offense and have got strong conservatives on the ballot who have stepped up to our call of the last three years.

In the face of these incredible opportunities, we’re about to do what establishmentarians have said would happen all along!

If Texans don’t step up and make a statement on May 29th then much of the last three years will have been wasted effort. The preconceived notions of liberals within the Republican party will have been confirmed and we will have sent a generation of conservative candidates to be used as cannon fodder.

The primary election is really the only time that the vote of conservative Texans matters. We will vote in November for a Republican President & Senator, only a few US House seats will be competitive (if that) and the state legislatures will only have a handful of seats in play.

I’m confident that if I asked any group of conservatives or TEA partiers whether they would give their life for their country that every hand would raise. However, if I followed that up by asking for commitments to spend two hours block-walking or phone banking for conservative candidates, the hands would rapidly fall.

We’re not being asked to die for our country, risk our sacred honor, or even give up much of our modest fortunes. What we’re being asked to do, and what we must do to win, is commit to dedicating a few hours of our time between now and May 29th for a conservative candidate near us.

No number of hours spent in October will make up for a missed opportunity this May. There will be no chance for redemption.

The beauty of our situation is that it doesn’t require some Herculean effort to make a difference. A few hours of your time spent volunteering for a campaign, talking to your friends, registering voters or driving people to the polls could determine the outcome of these state and local races.

If you’re a conservative who wants to impact Texas’ future then now is your chance. It’s time to take action!

For a list of State House and Senate campaigns you can volunteer for, go to the Texas Action candidate database. 

For the last three years I’ve been working with grassroots organizers here in Texas, training and partnering with conservatives who believe that it’s time to take a stand. This election cycle I’m excited to be launching another effort that will work with TEA Partiers to elect strong conservatives and build the infrastructure to keep them accountable.

As many of y’all know, the battle that’s being fought in Texas is very different from most states. If you look at an electoral map, we’re about as red as they come. We even had a super-majority of Republicans in our State House this last session but liberal Republican leadership governed in such a way that a weak agenda was put forward and few victories were had. In a year where running the table was a literal possibility, we didn’t even push the envelope.

Today I’m excited to announce the launch of Texas Action, an arm of American Majority Action that will work to elect conservatives in Texas primaries and general elections. Toward that end, we will be announcing endorsements, conducting independent campaign efforts, deploying teams of block-walkers and phone-bankers and even opening Liberty Headquarters as physical bases of operation for volunteers during the last month of the primary election.

The efforts that TX Action undertakes won’t be unilateral endorsements and independent expenditure campaigns. We will work with grassroots organizations and community leaders across Texas in an effort to further engage conservative activists and empower individuals.

As we look forward to Texas’ 83rd Legislative Session it is important to send a crop of conservative representatives to Austin who understand the problems we face, grasp the difficulty of the solutions they must enact and possess the fortitude of conviction required for principled action. It is critical that Texas voters be heard and we look forward to working with conservatives across the state to amplify their voice.

We have less than 80 days to shape the face of the Republican Party’s slate of nominees to the State Legislature. During that time, Texas Action will do everything within our power to support conservative candidates and empower activists to have a larger impact in the process.

We need your help spreading the word! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook or visit our website.

Tomorrow we will begin rolling out our list of endorsements so signup for email updates!