So let's take a look at what Andy has to say.

Thank you very much for coming.

Thank you.

True Texas Project for hosting this amazing event.

Let me just say, like, I think I'm a little unusual as a state representative that, you know, was an activist before we got involved.

And so we ran Wise County Conservatives.

And I will say True Texas Project has been amazing over the years because they're they're in it for the cause.

Oh,

Mm

... you know, months now.

"Hey, we need to stand together as Republicans.

We're all standing together as Republicans to defeat the Democrats." Great.

Got it.

Totally down with that.

But then on a Sunday, yesterday, we decided, I guess, collectively, some Republicans that, "Hey, we're gonna go after one of the statewide elected officials," that they would rather have a Dem in that office than a Republican is the only thing I can discern from it, Steve.

So closing thoughts, and then where do people go on social media to follow you, Andy?

Mm

... for, you know, months now.

"Hey, we need to stand together as Republicans." We're all standing together as Republicans to defeat the Democrats.

Great.

Got it.

Totally down with that.

But then on a Sunday, yesterday, we decided I guess collectively some Republicans that, "Hey, we're gonna go after one of the statewide elected officials," that they would rather have a Dem in that office than a Republican is the only thing I can discern from it, Steve.

So closing thoughts, and then where do people go on social media to follow you, Andy?

So it makes me wonder, why do we still have tax abatements? Why are we still doing corporate welfare when we've done the thing better than corporate welfare? We've created a friendly market environment.

Yeah, I think that's exactly right.

I think the reality is that- there is a long storied history of Republicanism in America and in Texas that is at odds with some of our conservative ideals.

And, and that's okay.

Like, you know, if you look at both parties, things have changed over the, over the last 150 years and Republicans had it right on many of them.

But when you look all the way back into the 19th century, when Republicans were just getting started, when Lincoln was in the white house, the brain trust of the Republican Party was literally right out of the Whig Party.

And mercantilism was the main view of what Republicans hoped to achieve if they got power, which is exactly what happened with the transcontinental railroads.

They have done a very good job of presenting themselves

So talk a little bit about that, please.

Yeah, no, I think it's been really good.

We had such a good class of conservative freshmen that had such a good relationship before they got into the legislature.

A lot of us have been friends for a long time.

So this issue, I think it was very clear, should be very clear to us that the folks that are orchestrating this invasion of Texas are very... astute to the fact that the legislature that we have, for good or bad, right or wrong, only meets once every two years.

And I just don't think it was a coincidence that it didn't really become part of the public conversation until literally the day or day after the filing deadline.

I mean, if you go back and look at the news cycle, people were not talking about it until it was basically too late to file bills.

Legislatively speaking, what are the top few things you can think we should do?