"Elected office isn’t just about passing legislation, or having 1 out of 435 votes, it is about leadership. It is about using your power and influence for the good of the people in Houston." ---Dan Crenshaw
JOUR-PAC is proud to endorse Dan Crenshaw for Texas' 2nd Congressional District. This district is currently represented by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX 05), who is retiring. Dan Crenshaw is a hero, a Navy Seal, and a veteran who would be a strong conservative reformer in Congress. The following is some of his background and his amazing story: "Lieutenant Commander Dan Crenshaw (retired) is originally from Houston, Texas, and a proud 6th generation Texan. His father’s career in the Texas oil and gas industry moved his family all over the world, including Ecuador and Colombia. As a result, Dan is fluent in Spanish. From an early age, Dan knew that he wanted to serve his country with the most elite fighting force in history: the U.S. Navy SEALs. Dan graduated from Tufts University in 2006, where he earned his Naval officer commission through Navy ROTC. He immediately reported to SEAL training in Coronado, CA, where he met his future wife, Tara, just a few months later. After graduating SEAL training, Dan deployed to Fallujah, Iraq to join SEAL Team Three, his first of five deployments overseas. On Dan’s third deployment in 2012, his life changed forever. After six months of combat operations, Dan was hit by an IED blast during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was evacuated and awoke from his medically induced coma learning that his right eye had been destroyed in the blast and his left eye was still present, but badly damaged. Dan was completely blind and the doctors did not believe he would ever see again. Tara stood by him every day and night, keeping faith and praying he would see again. After several difficult surgeries, he eventually regained sight in his left eye, a miracle according to the head surgeon. Dan refused to quit and went on to deploy twice more, first back to the Middle East in 2014 and then South Korea in 2016. Dan was medically retired in September of 2016, after ten years in the SEAL Teams. He left service with two Bronze Stars (one with Valor), the Purple Heart, and the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor, among many other recognitions. Soon after, Dan completed his Master in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In September of this year, he was back in Houston, volunteering for days on end in areas of Katy devastated by Hurricane Harvey. He saw first-hand the unthinkable losses that his neighbors suffered, but he also saw Texan grit and resilience. He wanted to do more, and this November Dan and Tara decided that the best way to serve the people of Texas would be in elected office. Dan is now running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ 2nd district, where Dan grew up and where his family lives now. He believes in service before self, and understands that there is no higher calling than service to the American people. His wife Tara is no stranger to service either: she comes from a career Navy family, and is an active fundraiser for families of fallen service members and suicide prevention. Dan is a staunch Republican and knows the importance of carrying the conservative movement through to the next generation. Dan can no longer fight on the battlefield, but he can bring the integrity, leadership, vision, and tenacity learned in the SEAL teams to fight in Congress for common sense policies that ensure our nation’s prosperity and security, represent our Judeo-Christian values, and again give Texans a reason to be proud of their leaders." The following are some of his positions on important issues (we were extremely impressed with how in-depth his thoughts and positions were. The type of explanations that he provides is exactly what JOUR-PAC looks for from candidates!): "North Korea cannot be tolerated as a belligerent rogue regime for much longer. We must stand behind the president as he builds a coalition against North Korea. However, we should be exceptionally wary of pre-emptive action against North Korea. The consequences could be catastrophic for both American service-members and the South Koreans. No one knows the costs of war better than I do. Fundamental tax reform is long overdue. As the debate in Congress rages on and Democrats make false accusations about Republican ideas, we must stick to free-market principles. We must lower the corporate rate while also removing unnecessary special-interest deductions. We have to give corporations the incentives to repatriate their profits so we can grow our tax base, and encourage investments in THIS country. Corporations are not evil, they create jobs, employ Americans, and grow our economy. We must simplify the individual income tax, and remove deductions that distort our economy and reduce revenue unnecessarily. We must stand for pro-growth policies, because we cannot lift the poor out of poverty or raise middle class wages without a strong and growing economy. This is common sense economics, and we must show leadership to make it happen. We must embrace free trade, and seek to give our businesses advantages by reducing regulatory burdens and lowering corporate tax rates. Small businesses are the primary driver of growth in this country and we need to ensure their success. It should be easy for entrepreneurs to start up their business and contribute to our strong economy. We have to protect the business owners that cannot afford to pay teams of lawyers to comply with tax law and regulations. Our national debt has doubled in the past ten years. We cannot keep borrowing from our children. We can’t just cut discretionary spending, we have to attack the hard stuff: mandatory spending to include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. If our debt continues to increase, we face increased interest rates that will reduce investment and become a drag on economic growth. We will be less flexible if we need to inject a trillion tax dollars into the economy, as we did during the financial crisis of 2008. Our credit will eventually suffer, and foreign investors will be less likely to buy up our debt, causing the U.S. dollar to collapse. It’s time we started making common sense decisions about spending before it is too late. Furthermore, border security leads to better legal immigration laws. When we finally secure the border – a proposal that used to be bipartisan – we can then talk about next steps for immigration reform. America is still the shining city on the hill and we need good, legal immigrants with skills, a hard work ethic, and conservative values to come into this country. But they should do it legally, and we should welcome them. It is time for Congress to take on out-of-control drug prices, and beat back the pharmaceutical lobby. We must change the incentives for hospitals, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies so that free market forces can effectively reduce drug prices. We need more transparency in research and development costs, and we need the FDA to assess the effectiveness of new drugs compared to existing drugs, so that consumers are not tricked into buying more expensive, but less effective medicine. We need to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and establish common formularies, much like the VA does. This encourages free market forces to drive down costs. One of the most promising areas of medical innovation is the expansion of telemedicine, where medical professionals treat patients across great distances using electronic communications. A significant barrier to telemedicine is the requirement that physicians obtain licenses from each state in which their current or potential patients are, or may be, located. We must fix this. It is easy to do, and it is common-sense policy." Perhaps the section that most impressed JOUR-PAC was about the type of role-model and leader he would be for the community of Texas' 2nd Congressional District: "Elected office isn’t just about passing legislation, or having 1 out of 435 votes, it is about leadership. It is about using your power and influence for the good of the people in Houston. If elected, I will immediately begin two outreach programs for our children and teenagers. The first will be focused on children’s nutrition and physical fitness, the second will be focused on teens who may be susceptible to gang activity. I am uniquely qualified to do both, so please allow me to explain: Children’s Health: Growing up in Katy, my mother was a nutritionist for the local school district. As a kid, I thought it was so exciting when she would come sit with me during lunch in the cafeteria. It made me feel special, and I knew she not only cared about me, but all the kids and what they were eating. She knew the importance of a good diet for growing bodies. She passed away when I was only 10 years old, after fighting breast cancer for 5 years. It was devastating. Before she died, she told me that she knew I would soar to great heights. For me, that meant I needed to help other people, the way she did. As a SEAL, I was constantly taught the value of physical fitness and good nutrition. Keeping our bodies fit and healthy is the building block for our success. If our health suffers, we cannot do the basic things necessary to be successful. We must teach our kids these lessons at an early age. I will not only be an advocate for healthier school lunches, but I will be on the ground working with kids on their physical fitness. I will encourage my fellow Navy SEALs to travel to Texas and do the same. We will show kids what is possible when you start building a strong foundation early on in life. Gang Violence: Houston continues to have a serious gang problem. It is absolutely poisonous to our young teens, resulting in criminal records, school drop-outs, and even deaths. Leading a successful life after being in a gang is extremely difficult. We need people who can relate to the choices teens are facing with respect to gang membership, and we need someone who can show them a better path. But we can’t just scare kids into making the right choices, we also have to show them a different path. I want to be able to show them what it really means to be part of a team, have camaraderie, and be truly tough. We will show them what life is like in the greatest and most elite team there is: the U.S. Navy SEALs. We must show teens that their choices now affect them forever; that they are capable of amazing things if they start on the right path now. There is no time to waste. We must reach them now." Dan Crenshaw has the experience as a veteran and a hero to serve with honor and integrity as a strong representative for the people of Texas' 2nd Congressional District. He is a just, compassionate, results-driven candidate who will pursue justice, opportunity, and reform in Congress. Therefore, JOUR-PAC officially endorses Dan Crenshaw for Texas' 2nd Congressional District! We urge the citizens of Texas' 2nd Congressional District to support Dan Crenshaw for Congress. Visit his campaign webpage here: https://www.crenshawforcongress.com/
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