FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MCTP Corrects Yollick’s Attack
In a January 5 press release, Eric Yollick attacked the Montgomery County Tea Party (MCTP) for not endorsing him in the race for Judge of the 9th District Court. The MCTP recognizes that it can be frustrating to a candidate when they do not receive an endorsement. And we recognize that candidates invest heavily in their campaigns – financially, emotionally, and in personal time. We express our deepest gratitude to the candidates for their willingness to make these sacrifices to improve their communities, even when we do not endorse them. Their spirit is one of the keys to the greatness of America. However, we are deeply disturbed by the unfounded attacks that Mr. Yollick launched against the MCTP as a whole and personally against the eight vetting committee members.
In his prepared statement, Mr. Yollick implies that our vetting process was influenced by “special interest groups conducting hidden lobbying campaigns, half-truths, inaccuracies and hidden agendas.” Poor grammar aside, this attack is inaccurate and based on a not-so-hidden agenda. Yes, the MCTP does receive information from outside sources, but we do not take them at face value. We always consider the source and demand evidence for any claim. We also listen to both sides of a story and publish the information once we believe it has been properly vetted. As such, we have published at usvotesmart.com our full analysis of donations made to Democratic candidates in Mr. Yollick’s name.
Mr. Yollick also implies that the MCTP inappropriately denied his supporters from having the opportunity to join the MCTP and vote on the recommendations. As explained at the meeting when he was in attendance, our by-laws require individuals to be active over the previous 6 months prior to becoming a member. This clause was placed into our by-laws specifically to prevent a special interest group from showing up at one meeting and improperly influencing our voting process. It appears that this was a wise decision on our part.
Mr. Yollick has also suggested that we did not have a quorum. As stated in our vetting policy, the vote to approve our recommendations is made at a regularly scheduled meeting by those in attendance; there is not a requirement on the number of attendees. Our regularly scheduled meetings are the first and third Mondays of each month, and the vote was held at our meeting on the first Monday in January.
Finally, the MCTP believes that Mr. Yollick’s comment that our vetting committee is “a small group of blithering idiots” does not demonstrate the calm, thoughtful, and considered demeanor expected in a wise and effective judge. The judge of the 9th District Court will be called upon to make decisions that will have significant impact on the lives of Montgomery County residents. Those decisions should not be reckless or presented in a manner that would allow the defendant to launch a successful mistrial appeal. His response has reaffirmed to us that Kate Shipman Bihm is the right candidate for this position.
But don’t just take our word for it; we have a transparent process. The answers to all of the candidate questionnaires for each of the 19 races we evaluated are posted at UsVoteSmart.com, along with videos of candidate interviews and our research results. Our first goal as a true grassroots tea party organization is to educate citizens with the facts; our endorsements are derived from these facts.
Sincerely,
MCTP Board of Directors
Mr. Wertz really needs to get his facts straight, although I suspect that, as the Chief Blithering Idiot, he lacks the ability to do so. I contribute to Republicans 100% of the time. My $5,000 donation to the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee in early 2015, which I made at the request of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, is more money than the entire MCTP (fake name, fake organization) has contributed in the past three election cycles.
While Mr. Yollick continues to exhibit why he doesn’t have the judicial temperment of the judges’ position that he seeks, here are some facts which Mr. Yollick seems to be in short supply of:
* The MCTP only has 45 dues-paying “active members” – see membership qualifications required, linked above;
* While Bob Bagley & I were co-founders of the MCTP, along w/a handful of other former board members of the Patriots PAC, it wasn’t because of Bagleys’ failed HD-3 campaign, but the PACs’ Vetting Policy – compare the differences now. https://www.usvotesmart.com/ vs. http://www.texaspatriotspac.com/home/ .
* Bob Bagley, who’s campaign manager was Abigail Allison(rather than me, as Yollick continues to assert), was indeed qualified;
* The eligible votes of our Vetting Committee are clearly spelled out in the Vetting Policy also linked above, which Mr. Yollick continues to either purposely ignore or just cannot comprehend;
* Commissioner Jim Clarks’ “9” – IRS liens, as uncovered & reported by MCTP, was material to his race; just as your 60% of campaign donations to Democrats is relevant to you running as a Republican https://www.usvotesmart.com/index.php/assertion/view/151;
* Dr. Wally has done an admirable job of bringing all kinds under a huge GOP tent, despite some disagreements w/him that even our own (any) group might have. After all, this is America where we still have 1st amendment rights, contrary to what the party to whom you donate the most, 60% of the time, would like to have…a more controlled electorate.
In conclusion, I don’t think your pity party is going to earn you any more votes, than your wagon-load of friends whom tried to crash our organizations’ election the other night, especially in a race like this, and with a formidable foe like Kate Bihm.
Best of luck, Mr. Yollick.
Many people in this county know precisely why MCTP, an organization of 47 members, with only 21 showing up to the endorsement meeting, exists. The Texas Patriots PAC refused to endorse Bob Bagley for County Commissioner, Precinct 4, because Mr. Bagley was completely unqualified for public office. As a result, Mr. Bagley and his campaign manager John Wertz picked up their toys and ran home to form a fake Tea Party organization which they called “Montgomery County Tea Party.” The new fake Tea Party organization, MCTP, tried to do a hit job on Commissioner Jim Clark. Now, they’re trying to do the same to me and to other candidates as well. MCTP is not conservative and they’re not a Tea Party. They’re just a small group of disaffected argumentative anti-Republicans who can’t get along with anyone in the Republican Party, so they’re attacking everyone.
The special interest bail bondsmen issued their instruction to their buddy Bob Bagley and the so-called vetting committee, which operates in secret behind closed doors, and the vetting committee followed their endorsement instructions. Then, when the MCTP couldn’t even muster a quorum of its membership to vote on the endorsements, the backroom-controlled group of anti-Republicans chose to let 17 of the 21 people proceed with the vote anyway.
Part of being a District Judge is being able to recognize the truth and cut through the propaganda and euphemisms. In the instance of MCTP, it would be inappropriate for me, as a life-long Republican activist, to let these people get away with trashing me and other candidates without making sure the true facts of this disaffected bail bondsmen-controlled special interest group come out.
In one contribution that I made to the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee in spring 2015, I exceeded the total amount of money that the entire MCTP and its members contributed to Republican candidates and the Republican Party during all of 2015. Since they are anti-Republicans, it’s not too surprising that they chose to attack me along with several other candidates, my wife, County Commissioner Jim Clark, the Texas Patriots PAC, Dr. Wilkerson, and many other committed Republicans.