Saturday, July 27, 2024
Congressional District 12 encompasses western Fort Worth to eastern Mineral Wells. U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R) has served the district since 1997 and is not seeking re-election in 2024. Republicans who are running in the March 5 primary for CD 12 include Graig Goldman, Shelly Gardner, Anne Henley, Clint Dorris and John O’Shea. Dorris and O’Shea spoke during a Feb. 12 Republican candidate fair and forum hosted at Rockwood Golf Course in Fort Worth.
Clint Dorris
Dorris, who just resigned from the U.S. Space Force as a two-star general equivalent, said he felt called by the Lord to run. He opened his speech by asking the audience about their present fears and worries.
“How many in the room feel like you have a lot of threats out there today?” Dorris asked the audience. “I can tell you right now, most people feel deep down inside that something’s not right with America, that it is not the America we had even just 10 years ago. It’s not that we’re worried about walking out the door here and getting mugged. What it is, is that China is nipping at our heels. In space, they can knock down, they can jam our satellites, they can attack us through cyber. I just happen to be the only candidate who has worn a uniform for this nation, sworn my allegiance to this nation five different times. I’ve fought the terrorists globally. I’ve fought the cartel in Mexico, Central and South America, and I fought China in space and in cyber.”
Dorris then went on to talk about the controversies at the southern border with Mexico, describing his solutions and voicing criticism on the efficacy of the current Republican House push to impeach United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
“When we talk about this southern border problem that we’ve got, that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Dorris said. “That’s not the big problem, (but) it is a significant problem. It is very simple to me. We don’t need any additional legislation, what we need to do is just implement what Trump had already done. We need to stop talking about impeaching Mayorkas because that’s just politicians pandering to the voters. What does that do? Makes us feel good. What we need to do is use the power of the purse. Our current congresswoman should withhold a few billion dollars a year from the Department of Homeland Security. Do you think that would get Mayorkas’ attention? I guarantee it. I spent 30 years busting this bureaucracy from the inside.”
Dorris concluded by describing the need for accountable representation in congress, casting doubt on the body’s honesty.
“I’ll say this, I kind of need to be a congressman like I need another hole in my head,” Dorris said. “We do need good people in D.C., and you do have to understand how D.C. works and I’m telling you right now they’re lying to you and me, unequivocally. Sometimes we don’t understand how much they’re lying. The big problem is that the executive branch, which is where we have all the problems, or a large (number) of em’, they tell Congress what they want them to know, not what they need to know, just like our children when they’ve done something wrong.”
John O’Shea
John O’Shea was the other CD 12 primary candidate in attendance. He started off by speaking about the race’s presumed frontrunner, Craig Goldman.
“One of the things that we need to address in this race is that there’s one person the establishment backed, and that person deemed us not sufficient to garner his attention and time to be here and explain his position and that gentleman is Craig Goldman,” O’Shea said. “I know this because when I first had lunch with Congresswoman Granger to tell her I was going to be running against her in April of last year, she asked me to wait. She said she needed two more years. I guess 28 wasn’t enough. She’s been there since the Clinton administration. I told her I was sorry, and I also felt called by God to run. I didn’t think I could go back to God and say well Congresswoman Granger wants me to wait two years.”
O’Shea then spoke about problems he sees the country facing in the near future and how expediency is necessary to prevent disaster.
“Also, unfortunately, I don’t know that this country has two more years. As hyperbolic as it sounds, we are at a fork in the road. One goes back to that shining city on the hill, that bastion of freedom and liberty that our founding fathers instilled when we were blessed with divine providence. Only two countries in the world were blessed that way: Israel, because they are God’s chosen people and the United States of America because we chose God. The other path leads to this authoritarian cultural Neo-Marxism that we’ve been subjected to for the last three years. I have also never considered running for office.
O’Shea said he felt he needed to take action because he believes the political establishment has been rigged against the average American. O’Shea also claimed the establishment has targeted former President Donald Trump for similar reasons.
“All he cared was about saving his country (and) restoring it to its American excellence, but also giving a seat at the table to its average working and middle-class people,” O’Shea said. “His proudest accomplishment was restoring the economy and national security, and we lived in peace and prosperity for three years before we had a COVID epidemic unleashed upon us and we enjoyed the George Floyd summer of love tour.”
O’Shea said such incidents served to unmask public officials who had strayed from serving their constituents.
“In this country, we own the country and it’s God, the people, the government (in that order) and not the other way around,” O’Shea. “They have totally violated our civil liberties and it’s time that “we the people” take the steering wheel back before they drive this country over a cliff. What we need right now are America First candidates who are not seeking a professional career or self-glory or self-enrichment, that are willing to go do exactly what President Trump said, which is that they’re not after him, they’re after us, he’s just in the way. Think about the difference there could have been if we had not had Paul Ryan and we actually had a Republican House that backed his legislative agenda, so it wasn’t all through executive order, that’s the person I plan to be.”
