Political Note #128 Lizzi Pannill Fletcher TX CD 07

2018 General Election Elected 53 — 4

Is she a moderate?

…The opposite.

…The law firm where she practices does “high-stakes litigation for multinational companies.” 

…Not moderate.  But….

……Texas labor unions opposed Lizzie Fletcher’s candidacy in the primary. Her firm bankrupted a janitors’ union through litigation claiming the union had made false claims about the employer.

……Writing about Lizzie Fletcher’s appointment as a partner, the firm described her as:…A fourth-generation Texas trial lawyer and native Houstonian, Ms. Fletcher has a track record of courtroom wins…, 

  • dismissal of a multimillion-dollar … fraud lawsuit against a Houston investment banker.
  • a …verdict in 2014 for a Houston businesswoman …. sued over proceeds from allegedly fraudulent commercial property sales.  
  • Her opening statement in that case, the judge later reflected, was so masterful the court reporter was about to cry during the opening…By humanizing otherwise dry legal theories, Fletcher made her case in [the] opening
  • Not moderate.  Tough.  Colorful.
  • ….Lizzie Fletcher https://www.lizziefletcher.com/ is an effective lawyer and a great story teller.……Is she anti-Union? The law firm says Fletcher had nothing to do with the janitors union case. 
  • ……What kind of Democrat is she? 
  • ……She is a winner.  She led the pack in the primary and won the run off convincingly.……What kind of Democrat is she?  What does she believe in?……Her website positions:
  • Civil Rights, 
  • Expand civil rights to include prohibitions against gender based and transgender discrimination and enforce the laws.
  • Build a voting system that truly represents people and eliminates bias,
  • Fully restore the Voting Rights Act, challenge discriminatory voter identification laws,
  • Expand voter registration through same-day registration or universal automatic registration, and expand early voting and vote-by-mail options.
  • Education:
  • Invest in public education so all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
  • End the school-to-prison pipeline,
  • Address the rising costs of college tuition, [provide] relief from crushing student debt. …..
  • Hold for profit colleges accountable…increase support for community colleges
  • Healthcare for all, women included:
  • Stabilize the health care market,
  • Reduce premiums and drug costs,
  • Make the Affordable Care Act work,
  • Protect women’s access to reproductive health care  (she is a major supporter of Planned Parenthood in Texas.)
  • Gun safety:
  • Ban military style automatic weapons,
  • Raise age to purchase a gun to 21,
  • Ensure background checks that work,
  • Pass red flag laws that allow police to hold guns of people who are dangers to themselves or others,
  • Prohibit bump stocks,
  • Prevent domestic abusers from owning guns,
  • crack down on gun trafficking,
  • Allow government funded research into research about the impact of guns.
  • Immigration: 
  • Comprehensive reform with a pathway to citizenship and
  • Pass the DREAM act. 
  • National Security:
  • Congress should fill the vacuum the administration has created. 
  • Restore funding for diplomats,
  • Repair relations with allies,
  • Stop terrorists, and
  • Help police.
  • Houston orientation: 
  • Jobs for a Houston that focuses on technology, health care, and energy;
  • Infrastructure improvements to protect against future floods, and
  • Transportation infrastructure that supports the integration of Houston with its surroundings.
  • Unions
  • Nothing to say.

Moderate?

……Democrats sometimes yearn for toughness from their candidates.  Will they ever be as unyielding as Republicans? “High risk corporate litigation” is pretty good preparation for being a tough and unrelenting Democrat in Congress.

……Lizzie Fletcher https://www.lizziefletcher.com/  is ready to take on an incumbent who is almost a caricature of a Republican Congressman.  He calls himself a Jeffersonian Republican.……The incumbent is anti-abortion, favors cuts in federal spending except for the military, rejects the idea of climate change, supported repeal of the ACA, and supports construction of Trump’s wall. The best that can be said is that he was the only Texas Republican Congressman to support relief for the devastation caused in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut by Hurricane Sandy. 

……His moment of sanity is not enough.  Help Lizzie Fletcher win this election.  We want her in Congress.  We will be glad to have her  on our side.