Category: Commentary

    Informational Meeting – April 24th, 2023

    April 3, 2023 by Mark L. Torrey in / /

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    Meeting location will be at the BCRP Office Meeting Room, 443 Highway 71 West, Bastrop.
    (Between First National Bank and Tractor Supply, Next door to Harbor Freight.)

    The April BCRP Informational Meeting will feature Austin Prochko.  Austin is the Deputy Campaign Director for Next Generation Texas, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s (TPPF) education-focused campaign. Prior to joining TPPF, he was an educator at private and charter schools, where he taught literature, history, and government. Between his stints as a teacher, Austin worked on various political campaigns throughout Texas.

    Austin will be speaking about efforts to empower parents with Education Savings Accounts, which are state-managed accounts that can be directed towards various educational expenses, including private school tuition, instructional materials, certain kinds of transportation, and other education-related expenses.

    Austin is the author of Foundations of Freedom: The Layman’s Guide to the Philosophy of the American Founding. He has a B.A. in Politics from Hillsdale College and a Master of Politics from the University of Dallas.

    Doors open at 6:00 for networking, and the program starts at 6:30pm.


     

     

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    Bastrop County GOP Club

    March 7, 2023 by Mark L. Torrey in / /

    Pints & Politics Monthly Meetings March 7th

    The Bastrop County GOP Club hosts a monthly social called Pints & Politics.

    We meet at Cedar’s Mediterranean Grill in Bastrop at 6PM on the second Tuesday of the month.

    You can have dinner, just enjoy fellow Republicans, or have a pint! We’re fired up to Keep Texas Red.

    Please register in advance.

    Tuesday, March 7, 2023 
    PROGRAM: Bastrop ISD Proposed $321.5 Million Bond for May 6 Election.

    Did you know that Bastrop ISD has a $321.5 million dollar bond issue on the May 6, 2023 election? Superintendent Barry Edwards and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Kristi Lee will provide an update on the 2021 bond issue and detail what’s in the May 6 proposed bond issue.Reservations: https://stormzero.wufoo.com/forms/kbnp5t10bi43nf/

    “I Voted” Sticker Contest

    March 6, 2023 by Mark L. Torrey in / / /

    The Bastrop County Elections Office conducted their First Ever “I Voted” and “Future Voter” sticker contest announcing the winners and presented awards at the Commissioners Court on February 27th.

    “I Voted” Sticker Contest Winners

    Congratulations to Sophia Royster, a Junior attending Smithville High School, for winning First Place!  In second place is Avery Fobert, a 7th Grade student at Bastrop Middle School. Third place goes to Mateo Martinez, a Sophomore homeschool student, and son of BCRP Precinct 1003 Chairwoman Cathy Martinez and husband George.

    “Future Voter” Sticker Contest Winners

    Congratulations to Kyla Coleman, a 2nd Grade student at Bluebonnet Elementary School, for winning Bastrop County’s first “Future Voter” Sticker Contest! In second place is Isaiah Mubasher, a 3rd Grade homeschool student. Third place goes to Henley Duty, a 1st Grade student at Smithville Elementary School.

    For the rest of the story, the full winners list, and winning designs, visit BastropVotes.org

    Informational Meeting ~ March 27th 2023

    March 2, 2023 by Mark L. Torrey in / / /

    The March 27th Informational Meeting will feature Rebekah Warwick, Central Regional Coordinator and Lobbyist for Heritage Action for America, based in Mansfield, TX.   Meeting location will be announced by email and website update …   As usual, the doors open at 6:00pm for networking, and the program will start at 6:30pm.

    Prior to Heritage Action Rebekah worked for the Majority Whip of the Colorado Senate Republicans and on various local campaigns in the Denver Metroplex. She holds bachelor’s degrees in history and political science.

    As Central Regional Coordinator, Rebekah partners with 4,000 Heritage Action Sentinels and over 125,000 grassroots activists to hold lawmakers accountable and advocate for conservative policies. She is an experienced public speaker and regularly hosts trainings with activists on how to influence the policy debates at the federal and state level. Her editorials have been published in the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

    Heritage Action Mission:

    Heritage Action’s unique strategy combines inside-the-Beltway lobbying with outside-the-Beltway grassroots pressure. They communicate directly with lawmakers in Congress and in our state capitals and work with grassroots on the ground to know the issues and take effective action to influence the legislative process. Through this strategy Heritage Action works to bring about the conservative policies that hold true to our Founding Fathers’ ideals. Heritage Action exists to ensure that these ideals are not only maintained but flourish, both now and for future generations.

     

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    Gun Owners of American (GOA) Sues ATF

    February 17, 2023 by Mark L. Torrey in / /

    Thanks to overwhelming support from GOA members, we filed suit yesterday against the ATF’s pistol brace rule.

    Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) jointly filed a lawsuit with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton challenging the Biden Pistol Brace Ban. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

    This new rule, which took effect on January 31st of this year, will force Americans to register or destroy approximately 40 million of their lawfully owned brace firearms within 120 days, or face possible felony charges.

    The Gun Owners’ lawsuit, which can be read HERE, documents how the ATF has waffled on the topic of pistol-braced firearms for almost ten years. Originally, the agency stated that such braces would not convert a pistol into a Short-Barreled Rifle (or SBR). And in 2014, the ATF even stated that if gun owners were to brace such a pistol against one’s shoulder, that would not reclassify the pistol as an SBR.

    The preceding excerpt is from a recent email from the Gun Owners of America. Click HERE to view the full context. Or, you can visit the Gun Owners of America website HERE.

    2023 Texas State Rifle Association Annual General Meeting

    February 7, 2023 by Mark L. Torrey in /

    2023 Annual General Meeting Information

    February 17 – 18, 2023

    Bastrop Convention Center

    The Texas State Rifle Association will hold its Annual General Meeting the weekend of February 17-18th at the Bastrop Convention Center.  Please join us to learn about TSRA, attend seminars, and help us raise funds to protect the Second Amendment and promote competition shooting and educational initiatives. Please purchase your tickets by February 13th.

    Friday, February 17th – Open to the Public

    • The Seminars and the Friday Night Gala Fundraiser – “Boots Suits and Diamonds” are open to the public.
    • Non-members can attend the seminars for a $10.00 contribution, and
      • For “Boots Suits and Diamonds” ticket and table prices please visit the TSRA Website
    • Our Cowboy Action Shooting Director, Scott Love will make a short presentation on this discipline, and
    • A panel of 3 speakers called “Guns, Government and Me”.  U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions, Texas State Representative Briscoe Cain and Bastrop District Attorney Bryan Goertz are confirmed for the panel.

    Please join us for this fun-filled weekend!

    Your receipt is your ticket.

     

    Saturday, February 18th is closed to the public.  You must be a member to attend the Members Meeting and Luncheon.  Our luncheon speaker is Ed Monk of Last Resort Firearms who will speak about Active Shooter Situations.

     

    Legislative Priority Number 5

    February 4, 2023 by Mark L. Torrey in /

    #NoDemChairs

    Over 5,000 Texas GOP delegates voted for our 2023 Legislative Priorities at our GOP Convention in Houston last year.  Number 5 was banning Democrat chairs of our legislative committees.  Committee chairs are very powerful and can block bills from even getting a hearing, let alone a floor vote for passage.

    According to Jill Glover, SREC Legislative Priorities Committee chair, “In the March primary election, 81.24% of Republican primary voters (close to two million people) agreed that Republicans should not appoint Democrats to chair legislative committees.”

    No matter how you feel about this issue, it’s important that you share your thoughts with our new SD-17 House member, Stan Gerdes.  Legislators want and need to hear from constituents. Always be polite, concise, and respectful.
    From LPRW eMail News

    Informational Meeting – February 27th

    January 28, 2023 by Mark L. Torrey in / / /

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    The next Informational Meeting of 2023 will be February 27th in Bastrop, at the BCRP Office, Meeting Room.   Doors open for networking at 6:00pm with the program starting at 6:30pm.  This meeting will feature Wes Virdell, a USAF Veteran, staunch 2A at the state and federal level, and current serves as the Texas State Director of Gun Owners of America.    

    Here’s a little more about our speaker.

    Born and raised in the heart of Texas, Wes Virdell is a veteran and small business owner in the Transportation Industry. Like many hardworking Texans, Wes places a priority on faith, family, and freedom. Wes is 9th generation Texan and 14th generation American.

    A few short years after graduating from Brady High School in 1998, Wes served in the U.S. Air Force where he worked on Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and served as a Military Training Leader.

    After being honorably discharged from the military, Wes returned to his hometown of Brady and got involved in the fight for the right to keep and bear arms.

    Wes started attending committee hearings for gun legislation in Texas in 2011 and was active in the battles for open carry in 2015 and Constitutional Carry in 2021.

    Wes has served as a 2020 and 2022 State Delegate for the Republican Party of Texas and as a 2020 National Delegate for the Republican National Convention.

    Most recently, Wes served as the Texas Hill Country Coordinator for Gun Owners of America from 2020 to 2022.

    With the support of his family and countless liberty-loving Texas patriots, Wes now serves as the Texas State Director for Gun Owners of America and leading the fight to protect our inalienable rights.

     

     

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    County Chair 2022 Christmas Message

    December 22, 2022 by Mark L. Torrey in / /

    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


    On behalf of the Bastrop County Republican Party, I would like to
    wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
    This year has been very successful because of all the activities in
    which we were involved including a new party administration, a
    successful election, informational meetings with dynamic
    speakers, and more. We are building a better Republican Party in
    Bastrop County and we need you to join us to make 2023 the best
    year ever!


    I am looking forward to working with you in 2023. Our victories will
    come as long as individuals, like you, step up and volunteer.
    Thomas Jefferson said, “We in America do not have government
    by the majority— we have government by the majority who
    participate… All tyranny needs to gain a foothold, is for people of
    good conscience to remain silent”.


    We have many opportunities for you to get involved so I
    encourage you to call our office at 512-409-1415 or call me at
    512-925-6034 and we will find a place for you. Unaccompanied it
    is a struggle but together, with Jesus Christ, we can move
    mountains. Help us to spread the message of Life, Liberty and the
    Pursuit of Happiness to everyone in our county. Let’s KEEP
    BASTROP COUNTY RED!


    Sincerely,
    Curtis Courtney, Chairman Bastrop County Republican Party

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