Austin city council shoots local economy in the foot

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The leftist idiots who control Austin's city council were oh, so pleased with themselves:

The Austin City Council passed a resolution this morning aimed at ending business and travel ties to Arizona to protest a new state law that allows Arizona law enforcement officers to detain people they suspect are in the country illegally.

The resolution, proposed by Council Member Mike Martinez, calls for ending all business-related travel to Arizona by city employees, unless it is related to police investigations, providing humanitarian aid or protecting Austinites’ health and safety. It also asks the city manager to review all city business with and investments in the state of Arizona and devise a plan to end those ties.

Council members have said that the new law is discriminatory and that they don’t want to put city employees at risk of being detained during business travel. Martinez said Thursday that he wanted to clarify that the resolution calls for ending business ties with the state of Arizona, not businesses located there.

Only a few people showed up to speak in favor of the item before the council approved it unanimously.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

The city council’s decision to boycott travel to Arizona is resulting in organizations and individuals boycotting the city of Austin in protest.

A growing number of political organizations, including the Odessa and Burleson Tea Parties, have decided not to do business with the city of Austin until the council rescinds the Arizona boycott they passed a few weeks ago.

[...]

The boycott apparently is already being felt according to the Austin Hotel and Lodging Association who sent KXAN this statement:

“The AHLA is not a political association and does not in any way support travel boycotts of any kind. Hotels in Austin are now beginning to experience concrete evidence from the many visitors now canceling their leisure or business plans to Austin.”

KXAN was told some of the cancellations include riders who normally take part in the Republic of Texas Rally.

So it never occurred to the council members that their little resolution would be subject to Newton's Third Law of Motion, i.e., for every action, there is a reaction equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. But that's the problem with leftists -- they don't think. They act on pure emotion, and their first inclination is to punish whoever they feeeell is responsible for their imagined outrage.

Wow, they really showed those raaaacist Arizonans, didn't they?

It's not like the Austin City council didn't have better things to do than pass moronic leftist resolutions:

At a time when the City of Austin faces a $28 million budget shortfall, its electric utility admits its own bankruptcy, and its public transportation system is in shambles, members of the Austin City Council Thursday decided that making a symbolic statement against Arizona is a more important use of their time than dealing with the problems which impact its citizens.

The stupid in that council chamber must have been so thick you could cut it with a Bowie knife. But that's the political left for ya, folks.

God bless Arizona and its governor for standing up for the rule of law. God bless Gov. Palin for standing with her. And God help the hotel and restaurant owners, waiters, waitresses and other employees in Austin who will suffer the consequences of the City Council's hubris.

- JP

More coverage of Austin's Evening With Sarah Palin

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James Armstrong, who blogs at The Austin Declaration was in the audience last night. Here are some excerpts from his post "An evening with Sarah Palin":

Her address began with a few brief remarks about Obamacare, complimenting Attorney General Greg Abbott for taking the health care mandate to court and calling on us to remember the pro-life Democrats who "caved at the last minute."

Concerning the pro-life movement itself, Palin found encouragement in the new Gallup poll results that for the first time showed pro-life respondents outnumbering pro-choice respondents. For years, she said, pro-lifers have been told to "Sit down and shut up," and that their cause was futile. Luckily, they decided to "Go rogue" and keep up the fight.

During the Q/A session, author Raymond Arroyo mentioned a recent New York Times article about the kind of rationing to be expected under the new health care law, the very thing that lead to Palin's "death panel" statement last year. Palin followed up on Arroyo's comments by saying she "feels vindicated" on the matter, and that rationing will [affect] those deemed "less productive."

Read James' complete post here.

Dave Montgomery, the Fort Worth Star Telegram's Austin Bureau Chief, covered the event for his paper. A few excerpts from his story:

About 1,500 people gathered at the Austin Convention Center to hear Palin, who is often touted as a potential presidential contender in 2012.

"I think she's a big crowd draw, a neat lady and a real asset for the Republican Party," state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, said as he arrived for the event.

Today, Palin will be in Dallas as the headliner at a gala at the Fairmont Hotel to benefit the Uptown Women's Center, a health and wellness resource center serving professional and collegiate women in the North Texas community. The appearance is being coordinated by Dallas' Downtown Pregnancy Center, which served 787 women in 2009.

Palin's Texas appearances were expected to further energize anti-abortion groups who rallied behind Perry in his successful primary race against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, while also bolstering Palin's popularity as a champion of Tea Party activists and anti-abortion groups.

The governor described Palin as "a great patriot" who is working hard to "protect the unborn across the nation." Perry, who is seeking re-election to an unprecedented third four-year term, also sounded a strong anti-abortion theme and renewed his support for legislation that would require pregnant women to be presented ultrasound images of their unborn child before receiving an abortion.

Palin at times blasted Obama's healthcare policies and denounced the administration for not pursuing policies to help women find abortion alternatives. But her speech was largely devoid of trademark political attacks and she instead sought to boost Heroic Media and similar groups.

Reporting on the speech for the Dallas Morning News was Christy Hoppe. Excerpts from her report:

Sarah Palin slammed the federal health care bill in a speech Thursday night that was peppered with politics but largely devoted to her personal journey of finding the strength to become the mother of a special needs child and a pregnant unwed teen.

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She told the 1,500 people gathered that they should remember politicians who fight abortion and they should continue working to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortions.

[...]

Palin took a jab at President Barack Obama, saying there are some politicians who believe abortion is an intellectual debate over constitutional rights, "or those who say the argument is above their pay grade, but that's a cop-out."

In 2008, Obama was asked when a baby gets human rights and replied that there are theological and scientific answers, but "answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade."

Excerpts also from Peggy Fikac's article in the San Antonio Express-News:

Palin and Perry both took sharp aim at the Obama administration over abortion, with Palin calling him “the most pro-abortion president to ever occupy the White House.”

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Perry blasted Obama's action last year to overturn the “Mexico City Policy,” which prevented U.S. funds from going to international family planning groups that do abortion referrals.

“America is in the business of exporting abortion. I'm not happy about that,” Perry said, adding that he was proud of Texas' efforts to protect unborn children.

“Too bad we can't protect them from the federal government,” he said.

Finally, a few excerpts from the story filed by Asher Price for the Austin American-Statesman:

She linked the new federal health care law with abortion, telling the crowd that "we will remember the names of those who caved" on stopping the bill.

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She told the crowd that Giddings, where she has been staying this week, has "become a home away from home."

She said she felt comfortable in Texas because she is "surrounded by patriotic Americans."

"You're not afraid to cling to your guns and to your religion," she said.

[...]

Many of the attendees said they were pro-life and Palin supporters.

Eric Graham, 46, who lives by Lake Travis, brought along his 15-year-old daughter, Rebekah, who said Palin "is one of my role models because she stands up for what she believes in."

- JP

Sarah Palin speaks to pro-life crowd of 1,500 in Austin

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According to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's PoliTex blog, the turnout was "approximately 1,500 people."



Austin television station KVUE's story pegged the crowd at "about a thousand" and said Gov. Palin spoke for 40 minutes:

"It's always good to be back in Alaska's little sister state," Palin told the crowd. "You're not afraid to cling to your guns and your religion."

Governor Perry introduced Palin. The two met at a Republican Governor's Convention. Palin repaid the favor by raising many of Perry's campaign talking points. She complimented the state's budget, cited job creation and housing statistics, as well as touting states rights and the 10th Amendment.

"There are so many things to admire about your governor," Palin said.

[...]

Following the fundraiser, supporters [said] both both governors had a good message.

"I thought they were fabulous representations of how people who are pro-life really feel about this issue and think about this issue," said Patricia Fanning, a Palin supporter.

Speech excerpts from the Houston Chronicle's Texas Politics blog:

Palin and Perry both took sharp aim at the Obama administration over abortion, with Palin calling him "the most pro-abortion president to ever occupy the White House."

She praised Texas and its record, saying it has "so many prolife pro-family legislators" and touting "my friend Rick Perry."

"You're not afraid to cling to your guns and your religion," she told the crowd.

More from the Chron blog here.

Update: Austin's KTBC (Fox 7) aired this video package:



We will update with more reports as they come in...

- JP

Sarah Palin speaks for life in Austin this evening

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Sarah Palin speaks tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center. Ticket sales ended at noon today. The fundraiser is sponsored by a nonprofit pro-life group, Austin-based Heroic Media, formerly known as the Majella Society. The organization places TV, Web billboard ads targeted to women with unplanned pregnancies, hoping to connect them with pregnancy resource centers in an "heroic" effort to save the lives of their unborn children:

In a posting Monday on its Facebook page, Heroic Media said: “The numbers keep growing tremendously for the Sarah Palin event this Thursday! Thanks Austin for such a great response!!”

Because Heroic Media celebrates the heroism of motherhood, the group’s president, Brian Follett, said it was fitting to invite Palin to speak. “Sarah’s faith and commitment to protecting life at every stage is evident in her words and actions,” he said, according to KLBJ-AM.

Palin, the 2008 Republican nominee for vice president, fervently opposes abortion. According to The Huffington Post, she once wrote in an election questionnaire: “I believe that no matter what mistakes we make as a society, we cannot condone ending an innocent’s life.”

In a 2009 speech to a pro-life crowd, Palin said that “for a fleeting moment,” she considered having an abortion after discovering that son Trig would be born with Down syndrome, according to the Washington Post. But, she said, “I had just enough faith to know that my trying to change the circumstances wasn’t any answer.”

Travis County Democrats are attempting to use the governor’s Austin appearance to raise money for its candidates and causes.

In an ironic message to Democrats, Sarah Weddington -- the Austin attorney who argued the landmark Roe v. Wade case before the U.S. Supreme Court -- accused Gov. Palin of spreading “a message of political pandering and fear mongering”:

“It is of vital importance that we never return to the days pre-Roe v. Wade when women often ended up doing self-abortions or having illegal, back-alley abortions.”

Self-abortions? Illegal? Back alleys? Who is really fear-mongering here? We believe it's clear to all who value human life that the culture of death is no match for the light of life. Good will ultimately triumph over the forces of evil, and their is no more effective spokesperson for the forces of light and life than Sarah Palin.

- JP

Now it's Central Texas' turn

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Last week Sarah Palin made appearances in both East and West Texas, one in Beaumont and two in Midland. Early in February she headlined two more East Texas events, one in downtown Houston and another in the Bayou City suburb of Cypress. The former Alaska governor hasn't been seen publicly in Central Texas since early December, when the Going Rogue book tour brought her to Fort Hood (She was also in North Texas the same day at a Plano book signing).

It's Central Texas' turn again. As we noted last month, the first woman to be the GOP's candidate for vice president will be in Texas' capitol city April 29 to deliver a speech for Heroic Media. That organization, according to the Austin American-Statesman's Jason Embry:

"...places Internet, television and billboard advertisements to reach out to women with unplanned pregnancies and connect them with pregnancy resource centers (with hopes that they will not seek abortions)."

The event will be held at the Austin Convention Center, and General Admission tickets start at $50, while seats in the Reserved Section are priced at $100 each. You can purchase tickets online here.

- JP

Pro-life group says Gov. Palin to speak in Austin April 29

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Rocky Hernandez of Heroic Media e-mailed us to announce that Sarah Palin will speak on behalf the life-affirming organization April 29 at the Austin Convention Center.

Heroic Media is an outreach of Majella Cares, an Austin-based non-profit that places television, internet and billboard advertisements to help women and babies in crisis pregnancies. Their advertisements provide help line numbers that connect women with pregnancy resource centers. Since Heroic Media entered the Austin market, it claims that the abortion ratio (number of abortions for every 1,000 live births) there has dropped 24 percent.

Heroic Media President Brian Follett said the organization is pleased to have Palin speak:

"We are honored to have her share her experiences and convictions regarding this issue with us. Sarah’s faith and commitment to protecting life at every stage is evident in her words and actions."

For more information go here.

- JP