OPINION — We reported he was posing as a pastor, but he said that’s not entirely true. “I am on the board of Pastors for Texas Children,” insisted David Currie, who is also the Chair of the Tom Green County Democrats. He wasn’t trying to pull off an incognito appearance at Texas Sen. Charles Perry’s town hall meeting Wednesday night, he insisted.
“[It’s] kind of hard to blindside a guy when you have eaten a meal sitting next to him in the past and walk up to him prior to the meeting yesterday and inform him you are going to ask him to clarify his position on vouchers,” Currie stated in an email to LIVE! after we published a first-hand account about the Chair of the Tom Green County Democratic Party identifying himself only as a pastor, not a local politico, when he popped a rambling question to Perry about school choice, vouchers, and raising the franchise tax.
“I wear many hats in this community and around the state and nation even,” Currie insisted.
Republican Party Chairman Jeff Betty said Currie was attempting to color his appearance at the Republican senator’s town hall as speaking as a pastor or for a group of pastors, while pushing a political narrative of the Left. That is, vouchers and school choice are bad, higher taxes on the wealthy business owners are good. These are issues the Democratic Party has adopted.
“He was misdirecting people about the reasons for his statements,” Betty said.
Currie said his question, and self-introduction as a head of a group of pastors, were legitimate.
“I wear lots of hats, I don't teach Sunday school as chair of Dem Party or go for interviews on TV for the Adult Literacy Council and say I'm Dem Chair. I fought David Barton for 22 years at Texas Baptists Committed and still fight his stupid ideas as board member of Interfaith Alliance. My opposition to him has nothing to do with my being Dem Chair and everything to do with me being a real Baptist,” he stated in an email.
David Barton is a Texas-based, self-described student of the U.S. Constitution who holds strict constructionist views on the document. He spoke at an event put on by the Concho Valley Republican Women last month. Before the event, Currie wrote an op-ed in the local paper condemning Barton as “dangerous.”
But what was up Currie’s crawl Thursday night wasn’t Barton, but what Currie perceives as Perry’s slight-of-hand on the school voucher issue. “Is he for them or against them,” Currie wanted to know for his pastors.
Betty said Currie’s question began with vouchers but quickly meandering into a question about funding public schools with higher franchise taxes.
Perry was adamantly against increasing franchise taxes on businesses. It will kill the Texas economic miracle, he said. Companies are fleeing high tax states like California to resettle in Texas because the business climate is nurtured by low franchise taxes, Perry argued.
Perry also said he opposes vouchers within the generally rural areas like his district.
Betty thinks Currie should identify himself for who he is, the head of the Democrats in Tom Green County with an agenda, when asking questions at political events like Senator Perry’s town hall.
Currie disagrees. “A lot of what I do has nothing to do with Democrats, but with my values,” he said.
Currie also said, “Jeff Betty just has no integrity or courage. Ask him on the record if he supports vouchers?”
As for LIVE!, Currie said we should have called him to clarify before reporting he was speaking as a pastor, not as the head of an organization of pastors.
For that, “don't let the facts mess with your lack of journalist ethics,” he said.
Maybe Currie could have been more clear about who he was when asking questions. All this time, we all really thought he was just a homebuilder.
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Comments
Listed By: West Texas Insomniac
If he's head of TGC Dems, he can't claim an alternative agenda. When was the last time you met a prog where their identity was anything other than their leftist politics? I'll tell you how long ago it was. They were called Reagan Democrats. "Moderate", (sane), Dems haven't existed in years. This has been a tactic at GOP town halls across the country the last few years. Thanks for exposing him, Joe. Be well.
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PermalinkListed By: Old Salt
Award winning journalism. Amazing graphics. Accolades from around the nation. Ask Joe, he'll tell you.
You may have tried to portray the "top democrat" in Tom Green County as a clown, but all you did was confirm you are one.
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PermalinkListed By: Bryan G
Did Mr. Curry accidentally kick Mr. Hyde's puppy back when America was great? And what hat was Mr. Hyde wearing when he drew this page straight from President Trump's coloring-book? As far as I can tell, this site is a propaganda arm of the republican party disguised as journalism with a whole lot of car crashes thrown in-between. Pot, meet kettle. Now that Mr. Hyde has cleared up this debacle, when a constituent asks a question at a town hall to their elected official, be sure to indicate your occupation, who you work for, IQ score, political persuasion, bank account status, which bathroom you use and religious affiliation so that San Angelo Live can properly assess your intent.
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PermalinkI'm a Republican... David Currie and I have had several friendly conversations about politics.... every time speaking on different issues with smiles on our faces...not being ugly at all. And he does wear many hats ....He's a builder/developer, he believes in his Baptist faith and protecting its founding principals, he speaks often at different churches/events, he passionate on different political issues, he's an author, he's a rancher, he's a husband, father and grandfather. This whole story is a cheap stab at a person who does care about this country and this community. We all have different views and opinions on issues that are happening right now but before any of that we are not just Democratic or Republican. On some level we should be Patriotic...American . And before that, we are humans....and we are not perfect by any means but we should try to treat each other with respect and conduct ourselves with at least some level of integrity. We ALL misspeak, get angry at times but this entire story is very distasteful for a professional news page. I just wish our local news could maintain a level of dignity and not be swayed by personal motives or gains.
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PermalinkListed By: Concho Mike
Really, should we be surprised? A typical Trump hating liberal who can't stand conservatives, or guns, or truth, or reducing taxes on what's left of the middle class, or apparently free thinkers who saw past his little deception. Points to Joe.
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PermalinkListed By: Gus Clemens
Fake news photos. You should be better than this, Joe Hyde.
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PermalinkListed By: Gone Again
1. I was at the meeting
2. Mr. Currie did not 'attack' Senator Perry. He raised his hand, was called upon & politely asked questions. Mr. Betty was the one that was rude.
3. Who cares if he is a Democrat or Republican? Senator Perry represents everyone in his District, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, whatever.
4. I don't recall the Town Hall meeting to be advertised as only for Republicans.
5. We need to all work together in a bipartisan way to get our problems solved.
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PermalinkListed By: Tim Worley
So David Currie says he doesn't identify himself as the head of the TGC democrat party when teaching Sunday school, but he identifies himself as a pastor when attending a town hall meeting with a republican state senator. Then he says Jeff Betty has no courage or integrity. That makes perfect sense, if you're a democrat.
Incidentally Joe. Democrats don't need photoshop to look like clowns.
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PermalinkPlease rename your political party name to Stuck under a rock for the last 10 years.
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