Stefani Carter Supporter "Feels Like a Fool"

The celebrations following the Republican sweep of Texas state offices in the November election didn't last long. The knives are out as the victors, fresh from vanquishing the Democrats, now turn on each other to root out those Republicans whose conservatism is not deemed pure enough. The first litmus test: choice of speaker of the Texas House.

After the jump, a Stefani Carter supporter expresses disappointment and Carter's surprising response.

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Ken Emanuelsen (whom the website of the Dallas Tea Party identifies as being a member of its steering committee) has published an open letter blasting newly elected Stefani Carter (R-Dallas, TX House District 102) for betraying her supporters (The Dallas Morning News story is here).

"[I]t is with considerable dismay that I receive the news that you have cast your lot with the Straus leadership team, a coalition of left-wing Democrats and moderate / left Republicans. ...

"If it is true that your vote for leadership ends up being the exact same vote as your liberal opponent Carol Kent's would have been, I honestly feel like a fool for having worked to elect you, as should any other grassroots conservative who spent their time and energy working to help you defeat Carol Kent. After all, if you're on the same team as Carol Kent was, what was the point of all that hard work?"

Carter's response was revealing. She could have defended Joe Straus and explained to her constituents why she thinks he is the best choice for House Speaker. (That would have been the high road.) Or Carter could have ignored the invitation to mud wrestle and let the story die. (That would have been the safe road.) Revealingly, Carter chose to attack Ken Emanuelsen personally. (That's what we call the low road.)

"There is one name not on that list of volunteers, Ken, and that is yours. Because we are friends and because you are so active in the Dallas tea party, I am quite disappointed that you never made one phone call, never knocked on one door, or never raised or donated one dollar."

Maybe this negative response is instinctive. If you attended the candidates forum with Stefani Carter and her opponent Carol Kent on October 13, you may have come away with an impression of Carter as belligerent and occasionally just plain rude. Her response to Emanuelson is entirely in keeping with that impression. We now have evidence that Carter's campaign persona wasn't all act. We know she can snarl. But can she work with people to find realistic solutions to the complex issues facing Texas? This first test didn't provide very promising results.

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Ken Emanuelson's open letter, as it appears on Wade Emmert's website, is reproduced below:

November 23, 2010

Rep.-Elect Stefani Carter
Texas State House District 102
6959 Arapaho Road, Suite 565
Dallas, Texas 75248

Stefani -

I write you today as a longtime friend and a supporter.

You and I have been friends for many years, and I hope that what I have to say below will not impair our friendship, but there are things that need to be said.

As you hopefully realize, the most important decision you will make as a State Representative is the leadership team you choose to support. That single decision will have more impact than any other vote you cast.

Thus, as you hopefully also appreciate, it is with considerable dismay that I receive the news that you have cast your lot with the Straus leadership team, a coalition of left-wing Democrats and moderate / left Republicans.

As you know, the Straus leadership team is the same good ol' boy network that was supported by your liberal Democrat opponent, Carol Kent.

The Straus team was the group that suppressed and delayed the voter ID bill, employer verification, concealed carry reform and a whole raft of other conservative legislation last session--and will do so again, if you return them to power.

The people of Texas elected a conservative majority to the State House this election, and you are poised to throw a golden opportunity away by re-electing this same liberal establishment leadership team.

Is that really what inspired you to go to Austin, the chance to prop up the good ol' boy network? Surely not. Is this not, in fact, exactly what you campaigned against?

As you likely know, in the course of this prior election season, grassroots conservatives did quite a bit of get-out-the-vote work for you in District 102.

Whether we were phone banking, precinct walking or emailing our friends and family in the district, we were all giving up precious time with our friends and families, doing whatever we could to help you -- a self-described conservative -- defeat the liberal Carol Kent.

We did all that, Stefani, and spent all that time because we believed in you.

We believed you when you told us you would adopt fellow conservative Jodi Laubenberg as your mentor and model for a good legislator.

We believed you when you told us you were keeping an open mind on the Speakers' race and hadn't decided anything.

We believed you when you told us you would always listen to the wishes to your constituents and supporters back home.

It is because -- and only because -- we believed in you and took you at your word that we were willing to spend so much of our time calling your constituents and walking the streets of your precincts.

If it is true that your vote for leadership ends up being the exact same vote as your liberal opponent Carol Kent's would have been, I honestly feel like a fool for having worked to elect you, as should any other grassroots conservative who spent their time and energy working to help you defeat Carol Kent.

After all, if you're on the same team as Carol Kent was, what was the point of all that hard work?

We didn't work for you to go to Austin and "play the game." We have all had more than enough of the political games, the backroom deals and the smoke-filled rooms. I ask you, as a friend, to reconsider this decision. Please let your supporters know that the faith we placed in you and the time we spent working for you was well spent.

Please search your heart of hearts and find the courage to be the Stefani Carter I've known, a woman of character and a young statesman full of promise, who will represent the will of her people honestly and faithfully.

Sincerely,
Ken Emanuelson
Dallas, Texas