"Jason Kyle"* and Joe Frizzell blow cork

They get rebuked by Ellis County Republican Party Chair --

"Frankly, I am surprised that Mr. Frizzell has such an allergic reaction to it."

On April 17, Jason Kyle filed a complaint with Nelson Baird, Ellis County Republican Party Chair, against Republican Party Precinct Chair David Lister, stating "I would like to file a formal complaint regarding a "newsletter" that was distributed to voters in Midlothian this past week with Precinct 142 Chairman David Lister's name and contact information on it."

"I consider myself to be a conservative, both politically and socially, and I almost always vote Republican," quoted the e-mail.  We were fascinated by the "almost always."  We thought if you were a party member, you voted for the party.

The complaint continued:  "In this "newsletter" Mr. Lister lists all of the candidates for Midlothian City Council, however he only lists the websites for two of the candidates.  The two that I assume he personally supports.  The "newsletter" also goes on to list Mr. Chambers and Mr. Hale as being delegates in the Republican party.  I believe this was done to try to make it appear that they are supported by the Republican party of Ellis County in an effort to make them look more legitimate." 

It should be noted that Councilman Chambers and Mr. Hale ARE delegates in the republican party.  We can't speak for Mr. Lister, but the policy of CFARG is to try to list anyone's website at least once in each article.  This was done when Councilman Wickliffe ran against Bill Redding.

However, we can't publish the site if we don't have it.  Several weeks ago, when we were publishing candidates' expenditures, we sent an e-mail to Mr. Frizzell at his city e-mail, asking him for the domain name of his website (we saw the expenditure, so we assumed he had one).  We have not received a response.  We also asked Councilman Wickliffe for her preference for title -- i.e., if she'd rather be addressed as "Councilmember" or "Councilperson."  We received no response from her, either.

Kyle continued to whine about Lister's newsletter, but you get the idea.

Nelson Baird, Ellis County Republican Party Chair, responded:

"Jason Kyle and Joe Frizzell,

"The "Conservative Voters of Precinct 142 Newsletter" is not an Ellis County Republican Party publication.  I saw a copy of the Precinct 142 Newsletter for the first time last night at about 10 PM when I opened a US mail complaint from Joe Frizzell.  It has been my plan to call the number provided tonight (Wednesday 4/21/2010).  Since you appear to be representing Joe, I will take this email as that response.

"The newsletter copy I saw contained only factual information like who was on the ballot, and who the delegates were/are.  It does not purport to come from the Ellis County Republican Party.  It does both indicate that David Lister is precinct chair of precinct 142.  The English text does not indicate which party.  The WEB address is not associated with the Republican Party.  The only reference to the Republican Party is where the letter advocates contributing to the Ellis County Republican.

"The County Party does not endorse candidates in primary races, nor generally does it endorse candidates in non-party races.  In the past, county Chairmen and Precinct Chairs have been known to express their strong personal preference in various races.

"The county party does not endorse any WEB sites beyond its own.  It does, however, have links to other WEB sites on its WEB site.  We also send email with links to WEB sites now and again.  The WEB sites in the newsletter are not linked to the Ellis County Republican Party.

"I am sure that in his capacity as precinct chair, David Lister would be happy to include WEB addresses of known pertinent WEB addresses in any newsletter he may puts out for the Republican Party in Precinct 142.  The party would look kindly on any precinct chairman who was sufficiently committed as to communicate with his or her precinct in a newsletter of their own.

"The County Party does control what any external organization including the "Conservative Voters of Precinct 142" say or publish.

"I see nothing in the county party rules that would prohibit a precinct chair from advocating a position especially in an external organization.  However, in looking at the copy of the newsletter that I have, neither I nor others I have asked about it see such advocacy.   Frankly, I am surprised that Mr. Frizzell has such an allergic reaction to it.

"Neither I nor the County Party are associated with the newsletter.  I do note that the idea of confiscating property without representation or creating conditions to do so (i.e., by involuntarily annexing citizens into a taxing or zoning authority) runs counter to conservative principles.  That is the position I have heard taken by Mr. Lister and others that were mentioned by Mr. Frizzell.  I strongly suspect that the majority of the Texas GOP would (when asked) be strong advocates against taxation without representation.  I recall that we fought a war with the greatest military force in the world over that idea amongst others.

"From what I read elsewhere, Mr. Frizzell may not be in alignment with that view.  I would not know, because I have never seen him at any political event in the county -- including those in Midlothian.  Mr Frizzell is welcome to speak at most party events.  I suspect that he would also be welcome at the various affiliate organizations.  The next party event is the ECRP Executive Committee Meeting on Tuesday the 27th at 7:00 PM at the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce.  If Mr. Frizzell would like to speak, I can put him on the agenda if he notifies me 24 hours in advance.

Mr. Lister responded:

"Thanks for the support.  The last thing on my mind was to cause any problems for the county party.  I just want to keep our Republican voters informed.  At the time of printing, I did not know Jason or Joe even had a website.  Fill free to call me about anything you think I may be able to help you with."

Our position is. "we thinks Mr. Kyle and Councilman Frizzell doth protest too much."

* Technically, internet e-mails can be forged, so it's difficult to prove anyone on e-mail said anything.  While the stories between the parties "make sense," you can determine if you feel these are the names of well-known political figures in Midlothian, or simply monikers on the internet.  We have not asked "Jason Kyle" for verification, as that would also be an e-mail whose veracity might not be able to be confirmed.  Therefore, all monikers used represent the e-mails forwarded to us, and may or may not be the first person who comes to mind. (See "Boyce Whatley")