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Rep. John Smith (Conservative - TX)

Born: 1983 (age: 37)
Ideology: Conservative Populism

Family:
Wife (Janet Smith) and three kids (Jane, James, and Joshua Smith)

Offices held:
Member of Dallas City Council (2009-2013)
Texas State Representative (2014-2018)
U.S. Representative (2018-present)

John started into politics very early, as he began as a volunteer for a local Republican office during the 2006 mid-term campaign, during his high school years. He made connections during his time there, and in fact he became friends with a local member of the Dallas City Council. Over the next few years, he gradually moved up until he became Chief of Staff for the member in 2008. However, the member soon wanted to retire from politics as he was up in age. He saw in John great potential, and selected him to be his successor. John soon even surprised his closest friends in his ability to debate bills and get them passed, and he became a bit of a well-known figure quite quickly. In fact, his rise was so quick that there were many local newspaper headlines declaring, "John Who?" He was even considered a front runner for the position for Mayor, and local officials even drafted him to do so, however he declined. John wanted to somewhere new: Austin.

In the city council, all of the members were non-partisan. However, in his campaign for state representative, he had to choose a party. He found most of his views aligned with Republicans, so he ran under a Republican banner. Most analysts concluded that the district John would run in in Central Dallas would not be competitive and that it was safe Democratic. However, John's grassroots campaign style and appeal to moderates while staying to his conservative views helped him, and he narrowly won (50.4% to the Democrat's 48.6%, with write-ins) a district with a PVI of D+9. This confounded even his campaign strategists, and his pickup in the Texas House gave the Republicans exactly 2/3 of the seats. Similar to his time in the Dallas City Council, he became well-known in the state as a member from his many debates on positions he held dear, and yet he would also get many bills passed. He was re-elected in 2016 by a larger margin than 2014, with 59% of the vote.

However, a turning point in his career came in 2017. A bill was being proposed that would render all efforts to build a new high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston illegal. The Republican caucus told its members to vote for the bill, however, John felt that the bill was unnecessary and that the only reason the bill was proposed was for highway and airline special interests. The whip threatened to expel him if he voted against the bill, and yet, John felt resolve in his decision to vote against the whip. He was soon expelled from the Republican caucus, but instead of sitting as an independent, he founded the new Conservative Party. Ten other members from the Republican Party joined the fledgling movement, later known as the Conservative Eleven, and the bill failed 76-74, along with other Republican members voting against the bill. He became nationally known for this, and became the voice for those who felt disenfranchised from the two main parties. He was thought to have been pondering a run for the U.S. Senate seat from Texas, however, he instead ran for the U.S. House in a district almost exactly the same to his State House district under the label his new Conservative Party.

He was elected on a slim margin over a popular Republican incumbent (39.1% - 37.3% - 23.6%), and became the first third-party Representative in the House since the 1970s. Of particular note was the fact that while 2018 was the year that Democrats made significant gains, he still won as a conservative in a district that was arguably moderate (the former Republican representative was elected back in a time when the district was more conservative, and the constituents never felt the need to vote him out until 2018). The Democrats, in fact, made 23 pickups, and the Republicans lost 24 seats. He held the balance of power in the unlikeliest of scenarios. Instead of caucusing with either party, he decided to vote on a case-by-case basis and not support a speaker in the House. There was still a Republican speaker elected, but it was with the support of a conservative Democrat. John has since became a national figure in politics.

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Statement from Representative John Smith

January 14, 2023

Today, we saw the slim passage of a bill that will cause large economic repercussions by a President who believes that her power will go unchecked. The Glass-Steagall Act, as it is named, will make it much harder for banks to operate as there will be many new restrictions between banks and securities firms. This will make it harder for the economy to recover from the recession, and could help to slow down the growth of our GDP. President Warren believes that this act will help the people, however, she does not realize that this will only hurt our economy, not help it. She believes that she can implement this far-reaching policy with such a small mandate from the House. I implore the Senate to read their version of the bill very carefully, and to vote their conscience. As for the House, I saw the defection of several members of the Democratic caucus to vote against the bill. However, a small number of Republicans defected their caucus and voted for the bill. In this, I believe there lies a major flaw with the Republican caucus. Their party is divided to the point that they cannot keep their own members voting with the caucus. This is where the Conservative Party can help. I urge all representatives advocating the true conservative cause to join this party, and to fight for their values. With a united front, we can help to defeat the unchecked power of the progressive movement. In addition, I also urge those not currently in the House who also want to advocate for the right to join this movement and run in every House seat. Only with a united voice can we provide constructive opposition, and in the future, a government that will work for the people.

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Jan. 16, 2023

Rep. Smith held a rally to drum up support for the Conservative Party in Dallas. Many supporters pleaded with Smith to run for Senate or the presidency, however, he said "I'll have to wait and see. Right now I need to help advocate for our cause in the place that I can help the most: the House."

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Jan. 16, 2023

Representative John Smith (C-Texas) announced today that he will be introducing an infrastructure bill in the House. He said that while "bills in this manner have been proposed before," this bill will be a balance between the Democrats' and Republicans' proposals. Smith said that the Democrats were too liberal on spending for their proposals, but the Republicans were too conservative on any projects they proposed. He called his new bill "the best of both worlds". While proposing worthwhile projects (such as the implementation of a cross-country higher-speed rail network with the ability to convert to high-speed rail in the future), he also noted that the projects would be fiscally responsible. He reminisced, saying that "this bill will go back to the Conservative Party's roots, we were founded on many principles; one of them was the improvement of our infrastructure. Along with the Conservative Eleven this party was founded when there was a proposal that threatened a high-speed rail project, and I should note that that project, between Dallas and Houston, is now weeks from completion, partially due to the Conservatives' efforts to save the project."

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What is the current composition of the House?

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Jan. 24, 2023

Congressman Smith announced today that he will wait to make a statement on his future political intentions until after President Warren's State of the Union address. He said that he plans to watch the address carefully, and that while he hopes that the President will have a successful address, he will not waver in his commitment to criticize the President on her statements, and he will provide a formal response.

Smith also said that he will begin to hold rallies across the country to gain support for the Conservative Party and their new platform as to "give Americans a knowledge that they have another choice besides the two-party system." He plans to begin his tour in a few weeks, starting in Dallas.

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Jan. 25, 2023

Today, Representative Smith announced his support for Senator Cole's bill to limit the surveillance powers of the National Security Agency. He said that "Our conservative values are for liberty and freedom. I cannot stand by and say nothing while our government is snooping through millions of innocent people's private emails and calls. This widespread espionage must be stopped. As Benjamin Franklin once said, Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

In other news, Rep. Smith also said he will be delivering a response to President Warren's State of the Union speech shortly, along with a big announcement.

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Response to President Warren's State of the Union

January 25, 2023

Tonight, President Warren delivered her State of the Union speech to Congress. And I have to say, after watching her speech, I agree with the President in one aspect: there is much to be done for a better society. However, I depart with the President with the rest of the policies she outlined tonight. And after the last three years, President Warren, I have to say that the state of our Union is not strong. In fact, over the course of your term we have seen much economic and societal turmoil.

Her recent affront to the American economy came in her prized Glass-Stegall Act. She said in her address that she plans to call the act the "signature achievement of her presidency", however, this act will only make the job of the banks to help recover from the recession much harder. In addition, her divisive policies have seen races, classes, and creeds of people alienated. There has been even more hatred between races and peoples during her term.

During her address, she said that she wanted to raise the minimum wage to 15 dollars, to help the poorer classes. However, cities that have already instituted a minimum wage to that standard have been shown to have a higher rate of unemployment. Why, you might ask? Businesses can't afford to pay lower-class workers this amount of money. Instead, these same businesses, like big-box stores, replace these jobs with robots or computers. The thought is that these workers are expendable. In Walmarts in cities such as these, lower-paid cashiers are being pushed out in favor of self-checkouts. In some stores, there are no longer any cashiers, but just a manager for 10 automated checkouts. President Warren's new policy will not help the people she wants to aid; in fact, it will hurt them.

In times such as these, we must maintain a strong military. We must be ready to respond with force if the enemy comes knocking on our door. However, President Warren plans to do exactly the opposite of that. She plans to leave our country exposed to attack. She outlined in her address that she wants to reduce military spending and decrease the nuclear arsenal by 25 percent by 2033. I must say that I support a reduction of nuclear weapons, but only when we can guarantee that all other nations will do the same. And there is no reasonable way to go about this. Reducing our arsenal while other countries add to their stockpiles only leaves our nation open to attack from all sides, and millions of innocent people will die if one, only one of the many nuclear-armed nations decides to strike. And we already know one who will: North Korea. Kim-Jong un will bow to no nation, especially one that he knows he can strike on with no consequence. Mutually-assured destruction is the most important assurance of our safety in these trying times.

Our current President has done too much to hurt our nation, and she plans to do more. Our nation, frankly, is in a dire state. Our society is crumbling. Our people are hurting. And our economy is failing. We must do something about this. For these reasons, I must announce today that I am publicly forming an exploratory committee for President. We cannot stand by and watch America tear at the seams. We must chart a path to a better, stronger, and brighter America!

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Jan. 26, 2023
Smith: "This doesn't make sense at all"

(CNN) - Today, Representative John Smith responded to criticisms about his response to President Warren's State of the Union from Senator Andy Greenfield.

"It seems as if the Senator only skimmed through my response and failed to read the entire address in favor of finding a few soundbites," Representative Smith said. "While he said that I was the one who failed to present the facts in their full manner, it seems that he disregarded them all in his response to mine."

Representative Smith said that while he always appreciates constructive criticism to his arguments, Senator Greenfield's dealing with Smith's remarks was "baseless".

"I suppose I'll have to provide a response to his," Representative Smith said. "Let me break this down. First, Senator Greenfield said that my remarks were 'far-right hogwash'. I'll have to remind the Senator of my proven center-right voting record. While I respect my friends from the far-right, I refuse to associate my policy stances with them. For example, I voted for a bill which expanded funding for transportation and infrastructure improvements across the nation, a bill which the entire Freedom Caucus, the standard bearer of the far-right, opposed."

He went on to say that Greenfield, who said that Smith's proposals "will benefit only the wealthy at the expense of the middle and working classes", had no facts backing his statement.

"In fact, my proposals will help the lower classes," Representative Smith said. "I have said multiple times that President Warren's proposal to raise the minimum wage will only help the large conglomerates. A higher minimum wage, in the long term, will give big corporations the opportunity to fire workers in place of robots and computers, to keep profit margins high. And this is bad for American workers. My proposal to leave the decision of a minimum wage to the local businesses will help the lower classes to find more jobs. Recent studies have shown that a higher minimum wage correlates to a direct job loss to those that are economically disadvantaged."

Smith responded to Greenfield's statement that the Representative had been "carrying the water of big banks, the military industrial complex and large corporations".

"This doesn't make sense at all," Representative Smith said. "I don't support 'big banks'. In fact, I voted against a merger between J.P. Morgan Chase and Citibank. This would have been bad for the economy, for all the money to be in the hands of one bank. If the new bank had went down, our economy would have been ripped to shreds. The Senator seems to be basing this argument on the fact that I am opposed to the Glass-Stegall Act. However, the Act puts its provisions against not only the few large banks, which can see only a small drawback from this Act, but also the many small neighborhood banks, which would be devastated from the Act's effects. Providing a way for the small banks to invest in securities will only help the American economy. Next, Senator Greenfield said that I am 'carrying the water...of the military industrial complex'. However, it is only common sense, not an invested interest in military corporations, which I am not involved in, that compels me to want military security for our nation. It would be foolish to leave our nation exposed as much as President Warren wants to leave it in times as these, with a maniacal leader, Kim-Jong un, at the head of a nation with nukes aimed directly at our West Coast."

A nationwide internal poll from Representative Smith's office, backed by Ipsos, showed that support for Smith's response to the State of the Union was at 59%, from a sample size of 5,148 people. Smith also had a job approval rating of 61% from the same poll.

"No, Senator, I am not the one who has been telling the 'half-truths and outright lies' here. You are."

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Jan. 27, 2023
Smith at town hall: "It's time for me to address what Senator Greenfield said"

(CBS) - At a town hall among other members of Texas' congressional delegation in Austin, Texas yesterday, Representative John Smith (C-TX), from Texas' 32nd congressional district, responded to recent criticisms from Senator Andy Greenfield (D-ME). Members of the audience, after asking Smith on policy questions related to trade and infrastructure, turned to recent comments made by the Senator on MSNBC.

"I have to admit, I admire the Senator for his persistence," Representative Smith said, after being asked by a member of the audience to comment on the Senator's remarks. "However, I think it's time for me to address what Senator Greenfield said. During his remarks, he referred to my opposition of President Warren's nuclear disarmament plan. However, my statement was partly aimed at her proposal with nuclear weapons, but it mostly was to address her reduction in spending for the military. This would pose a much larger threat to our security than any other factor that she could come up with. Back during President Trump's term, he restored federal funding for the military that was removed by President Obama. This helped secure our nation, and it arguably helped turn the tide in our war with ISIS. I may not have agreed with all of his actions, but this was a major benefit to come from his term. However, on her first day in office, President Warren immediately undid all of the work Trump did to affirm our commitment to our security. And this happened at the worst time possible. Now, with growing threats in Asia and the Middle East, the President has decided to forgo helping out our allies in these regions and has even threatened our security at home. We must have a strong military, and there is no question about it. For us to be a 'leader in the world', we must show it by proving our commitments with our allies. Senator Greenfield wants to do the opposite - and return us to the isolationist policies of the early 20th century. This will only hurt us, and the world, not help us."

Responding to another question posed by the audience on his opposition to Glass-Steagall, Smith paused, then turned straight to the camera.

"Look, I'll say this," said Smith. "None of the options presented before us are optimal. Keeping Glass-Steagall off the books or putting it back on are not the best we can do. However, at the moment, that is the choice we are forced to make. Senator Cole said last week that the best idea would be to end the Fed and implement a truly free banking system. I believe that this would be a great idea. However, that isn't an option on the table. And whether the repeal of Glass-Steagall caused the recession is still a matter up for debate. I can't comment with authority on that, as most economists are still split on that matter. However, I can say that I oppose the reintroduction of Glass-Stegall because I believe that it would hurt the nation's economy. And really, when it comes down to it, big banks will not benefit either way. They have enough money to line their pockets and then some. Buying securities won't help them. However, it will help the small banks. And that's where it counts. And yes, small banks were perfectly fine from 1932 to 1999, but what about after? What about after 2008? Do these banks not matter? Small banks still recovering from the recession need to invest in securities to keep themselves afloat. I can talk for a while, so I'll wrap this up. My position is one of reluctance: I would love to see another option. However, that just doesn't exist at the moment. And that's why I oppose the reintroduction of Glass-Steagall."

Finally, Smith responded to one more question, this time on minimum wage.

"I would personally love to live in a world where raising the minimum wage to 15 dollars would make the paycheck of the average American go up," Representative Smith said. "I'd love that. However, that isn't the world we live in. And unfortunately, big corporations will take advantage of that. When the minimum wage is raised nationally, big corporations, such as Walmart, will start to phase out their lower-paying jobs in favor of machines. And that's already happening nationwide in expectance of this. Just go to your local Walmart. You'll see what I mean. I'll have to agree with the Senator when he said that 'we can't keep on this path'. We can't. But I believe that raising the minimum wage just isn't the best option. And this has been backed up by studies, which showed that the introduction of a higher minimum wage in cities such as Seattle and San Francisco have correlated to a direct reduction of jobs, especially in the lower classes, where a minimum wage is supposed to help."

In comments with the press after the town hall, Smith told reporters that he would "love to sit down for a chat with the Senator. The only way we can get bills passed and real work done for the American people is through cooperation, not division. Some might say that this debate is frivolous - but I must disagree. At least we're talking about the issues that matter. That is the purpose of democracy."

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Press Release: Representative John Smith starts nationwide tour

January 29, 2023

Representative John Smith began a nationwide tour for the Conservative Party today in Dallas. He spoke about the importance of having a credible conservative alternative to the Democratic and the Republican parties, and how through a new Conservative Party the ideals of the nationwide conservative movement can be furthered. He also said that "the Republican Party's platform does not provide for a home for true conservatives, they are either too far left or too far right on the issues. The Conservative Party provides a place for these ideals." Smith emphasized the importance of people not currently in politics to run for seats at every level for the Conservatives, by saying that "everyone and anyone who shares our ideals can run under our banner, for any and every seat. We want anyone, from politicians to doctors to artists. If you can run, we want you to run. That's how a revolution gets started!" Smith also held rallies in San Antonio and Austin, and during the week, he will visit Santa Fe, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Wichita, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, and St. Louis. He will visit the Rust Belt during next week, and he will visit the East Coast the week after next.

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Sorry for taking so long to make my campaign announcement. I was tied up with work and school, but I think I can announce tonight.