Tarrant GOP Passes Oust Straus Resolution: Guess Who Opposed it?

Tarrant GOP Passes Oust Straus Resolution:

Guess Who Opposed it?

By

James Scott Trimm

On Thursday night (Sept. 14, 2017) the Tarrant County Republican Party Executive Committee joined many other Texas County GOP committees in passing an “Oust Straus” resolution, calling for Joe Straus to be replaced as speaker of the Texas House.  The resolution read:

Resolved, The Tarrant County Executive Committee calls on the State House to elect a new Speaker of the House that will be fair and apply the rules equitably to all members of the House on all Bills. Resolved, that a copy of this resolution be sent to all Texas House members that represent any portion of Tarrant county.

This resolution passed almost unanimously.  But there was opposition from a very interesting source.  Marie Howard spoke out against the resolution, made a failed motion to postpone it, and finally made a quorum call in a desperate effort to support Joe Straus and keep this resolution from being passed. 

Immediately upon making the quorum call, Marie Howard went back to the seating area, conferred with Jennifer Olson, who then joined her in immediately walking out, in a failed effort to deprive the body of a quorum and this stop the Oust Straus resolution. This was seen by many witnesses, and also caught on video!

Marie Howard is the leader of a group known as “The Boiling Point Tea Party.”  This “Tea Party” has been called a “fake Tea Party” by Julie McCarty, who leads Tarrant Counties Premier Tea Party, the North East Tarrant County Tea Party.  Marie Howard has recently posted attacks on Tarrant County State Representatives (and conservative heroes) Jonatham Stickland and Tony Tinderholt.   

This fake Tea Party has also joined its voice with Protective Parents of Texas in making demonstrably false statements attacking Tarrant County Family Court Judge Diane Haddock.

Howard is a close ally of Jennifer Olson the founder of Protective Parents of Texas.  In recent articles I have shown that Protective Parents of Texas (PPT) has used the most dishonest of tactics in attacking various of our Tarrant County Family Court Judges, including Judge Wells and Judge Haddock..  PPT is an organization co-founded and run by Jennifer Olson.  In a recent article I documented that Jennifer Olson, who is a family violence activist, was herself arrested just last year for family violence.  This organization has made claims in its many attacks on judges that I have shown to be factually incorrect. I have also exposed their blatantly dishonest audio edits aimed at creating the impression that Judge Haddock said things she did not say, or answered questions in ways she did not answer them.  (One edit was so blatant that Judge Haddock said something about a certain individual even naming them, and the edit removed the persons name and alleged that she had said it about a completely different person.)  PPT has gone so far as to attack judges for supposed for rulings in cases which the judges actually only simply signed off on out of court agreements, as the law compels them to do.  This organization has engaged in levels of deceit that are rarely seen even in the dirtiest of dirty tricks politics, going so far at to exploit the memory of a murdered child and her grieving family for a dishonest political agenda. 

Marie Howard (right) with PPT Pal Jennifer Olson (left)

Fortunately the entire meeting was caught on video by Amy Hedtke.  Amy Hedtke is well known for being illegally arrested at the orders of Straus lieutenant Byron Cook for recording a State House Subcommittee meeting. Our own Warren Norred is representing her in a suit against Cook for violating the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Link to Amy Hedtke's Video:  https://www.facebook.com/amy.hedtke/videos/1560880493958800/

Hedtke’s recording shows:

1. Marie Howard speaking against the Oust Straus resolution, first making a motion to table it then modifying that motion to a postponement.  This motion failed. (-39:50)

2.  Upon failure of her efforts to table or postpone a vote. Howard makes a quorum call, clearly hoping that there will not be enough EC members to meet the quorum.  (-31:32)

3.  Immediately upon making the quorum call, Howard (wearing the red shirt) goes back to her chair, confers with Jennifer Olson, then the two of them immediately leave together (this can be seen in the background of the video (around –30:20)

It is time for Tarrant County Republicans to wake up and realize what is going on in our midst!