GPTX co-chair kat swift testified at the Texas Legislature today on Elections bills and then met with the TAG coalition for some updates on other bills needing our action.

From the support for the death penalty, to the willingness to wage "war", our political life is dominated by the idea that "bad" actors should be punished. The idea has such deep roots that it is almost never questioned. When George Bush the second  wanted to attack Iraq, and the threat of a nuclear attack by Iraq hadn't proved convincing enough, the administration turned to discrediting Saddam Hussein personally.  Why he was so bad, he even gassed his own people. This worked, and GWB had approval ratings of 90% after launching the attack. I want to suggest that, as a nation, our willingness to be swayed by simplistic arguments into committing great violence, has its roots in our societies widespread, though diminishing, support for corporal punishment of children. 

GPTX State Executive Committee has selected June 6th & 7th as the dates for our annual statewide meeting this year, to be held in Tarrant County, near Fort Worth. The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss bylaws, platform, state and local needs/goals, coordination, and to vote for new officers. April 22nd has been set as the documentation deadline for county parties to deliver all materials to GPTX in preparation for the state meeting. This includes drafts of all bylaw and platform amendments, county delegate lists, updated county officer contact & affiliation info, and candidate applications. This year we will be electing a co-chair, secretary, at least three at-large SEC positions.

GPTX has undertaken a regional coordination initiative, coinciding with the implementation of GPTX on the Nationbuilder platform, intended to help grow and improve the party organization. With improved ability to utilize our member database, we are attempting to revitalize county parties and do a better job of facilitating volunteers and members. Now is a great time to help get your local GP active again! Keep in mind, we need county parties to have their documentation in for the state meeting by April 22nd, so you'll need to get started soon if you haven't already. Our hope is to have GPTX primed & ready going in to 2016.

And of course, we could really use some help with fundraising to cover basic organizational & operating costs. Your support is deeply appreciated! We don't accept corporate money, so we only have the interests of people in mind!