A Texas Political Scandal With A Southwest Washington Twist
There are plenty of things in politics that piss me off, but this one deserves a special place on the list of political bullshit. Apparently, we're now at the point where political operatives think it's perfectly acceptable to exploit transgender children, impersonate legitimate advocacy organizations, deliberately mislead the public, and potentially put innocent people in danger just to advance a political agenda. What the hell is going on here?
An October 29 investigation by the Texas Observer revealed some rather interesting information from court disclosures involving a mass text messaging campaign targeting Texans with messages about transgender students. Among the clients identified by the company responsible for sending those messages were the Republican Women's Caucus Fund and an individual named John Braun.
For those who might not recognize that name, Washington State Senator John Braun is currently running against Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for Congress in Washington's 3rd Congressional District. Yes, that John Braun. The circumstances surrounding this story deserve considerably more attention, particularly from Washington voters.
Here's what happened. Texans began receiving unsolicited text messages offering information and resources for transgender students. The messages directed recipients to the website of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, a legitimate LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. There was just one rather significant problem: TENT had absolutely nothing to do with sending them. The organization publicly denied involvement and subsequently found itself dealing with backlash that included threats of violence.
Then the mailers came rolling in. Approximately three million pieces of mail were reportedly distributed under the name Texas Transgender Student Union, an organization registered in Wyoming. The materials presented themselves as resources for transgender students and repeatedly referenced TENT, despite having absolutely no affiliation with the organization.
Let's think about what that means. Someone apparently thought it was a perfectly acceptable political strategy to create the appearance of a transgender student advocacy organization, use the name and resources of an actual nonprofit, and distribute millions of pieces of politically charged material under that guise.
What kind of despicable political operation does that?
This wasn't some harmless political prank or a clever campaign tactic. It involved real people, real organizations, real families, and real consequences. The actual nonprofit whose identity was being used ended up dealing with threats and harassment from people who believed it was responsible.
Apparently, Transgender Children Are Just Political Ammunition.
Let's talk about the hypocrisy here, because it's getting ridiculous.
Republicans have spent years telling us how concerned they are about protecting children. They want parental rights, transparency, morality, and protection from supposedly inappropriate influences. They tell us they want to keep politics out of schools. They spend an extraordinary amount of time lecturing the rest of us about family values and protecting the most vulnerable among us. They want us to repeal I-001!
Yet, here we have a political operation involving communications directed at transgender students, masquerading as a student advocacy organization, and creating a situation where an actual nonprofit was blamed for something it never did.
Where the hell is the concern for those children?
These are real kids. They aren't campaign props, convenient political talking points, or fundraising opportunities for Republican political committees. Imagine being a transgender teenager and receiving communications like these. Imagine being a parent trying to figure out whether the information is legitimate. Imagine working for TENT and discovering that your organization's name and website are being used in a political operation you never authorized, followed by threats from people who believe you're responsible.
That's not protecting children. That's putting them and the people who support them in the middle of a political shitshow.
If you oppose transgender rights, own your position. Put your name on your political advertisements. Tell voters exactly what you believe and why. You don't get to pretend to be an organization offering resources to transgender students, use somebody else's identity to create confusion, and then leave innocent people to clean up the mess.
That's not political advocacy. It's deception, and it's potentially dangerous to the people being targeted as a result. I'll even go as far as calling it chickenshit.
Then We Get to John Braun.
According to the Texas Observer, the company responsible for sending the text messages identified the Republican Women's Caucus Fund and an individual named John Braun as its clients in court disclosures.
There's also an interesting political connection involving Paul Kilgore, who serves as treasurer for Braun's congressional campaign. Kilgore also serves as treasurer for the Republican Women's Caucus Fund and two political committees connected to the Texas political landscape.
When contacted by the Texas Observer, Braun's campaign manager, Max Lavey, reportedly offered this little gem of an explanation: "Must be a different John Braun. We have no idea what any of this is and have nothing to do with Texas politics."
Seriously? That's what we're going with?
A different John Braun? What a convenient coincidence.
While there is more than one John Braun in the United States, the name identified in the court disclosures is particularly interesting given the political and financial connections involving Washington's John Braun and the Republican Women's Caucus Fund. I'm not saying the court disclosures conclusively establish that Washington's John Braun was the individual involved. I am saying that the connections deserve considerably more than a dismissive explanation. Voters deserve answers.
To be fair, the court disclosures identify an individual named John Braun, but do not independently establish that the individual is Washington's Senator John Braun. The Republican Women's Caucus Fund has also denied involvement in the messaging and mailer activities. Those distinctions matter, and they don't make the questions disappear.
Given the overlapping political relationships, Washington voters deserve considerably more than a suggestion that this must be some other guy with the same name.
Braun has made opposition to transgender rights a significant part of his political messaging here in Washington. He's campaigning for Congress while championing ballot initiatives targeting transgender students. When his name appears in court disclosures involving a political messaging campaign about transgender students in another state, voters are entitled to ask questions. A lot of questions.
If it's not him, establish that. If there's an innocent explanation for these connections, explain it. Simply waving it away and expecting everyone to move along isn't going to cut it.
Then There's the Navy Captain Part.
Here's another thing that makes this entire situation particularly disturbing. John Braun served 31 years in the United States Navy and retired as a Captain in the Navy Reserve.
A Navy Captain.
That's not some insignificant footnote in someone's biography. That's a career involving leadership, responsibility, and the trust of the people serving under you. Military service carries expectations of integrity, accountability, and personal responsibility. Those aren't just impressive words to put in a campaign biography when you're trying to convince voters you're qualified to hold public office.
Which makes the circumstances surrounding this story especially troubling.
If the John Braun identified in the Texas court disclosures is indeed the same John Braun who served in the Navy and now wants to represent Southwest Washington in Congress, I have some serious questions about the judgment and political operation involved here.
You spend 31 years in the military, reach the rank of Captain, and then your name surfaces in court disclosures involving a political messaging operation targeting transgender students, with a legitimate nonprofit's identity and resources caught up in the controversy. That organization subsequently reports receiving threats of violence.
How does that square with the leadership and accountability you're asking voters to believe you represent?
Military service deserves respect. It should never be used as a permanent shield against legitimate questions about someone's conduct, political relationships, or judgment. Wearing the uniform doesn't give anyone a lifetime exemption from accountability.
In fact, someone who has spent decades in a leadership position should understand better than most why transparency and personal responsibility matter.
You don't get to put Captain in your biography when it's politically convenient and then expect the public to stop asking questions when something this serious surfaces.
Leadership isn't just a title. It's what you do when you're expected to answer for your actions.
There Are Lines You Don't Cross. Apparently, Somebody Forgot to Tell These People.
I am sick and tired of politicians and their political operatives treating human beings as disposable collateral in their never-ending quest for political power. Disagree with public policy all you want. Campaign against legislation. Make your arguments. Run your advertisements. That's politics, and everyone gets a seat at that particular circus.
What you don't get to do is exploit children, misrepresent legitimate organizations, deliberately create confusion, and potentially put innocent people in danger because you think it might help your preferred candidates win an election.
There is something especially repulsive about people who spend their days screaming about protecting children while treating those same children as convenient political ammunition just because they don't like what they stand for. You don't get to wrap your political agenda in the language of family values and morality while engaging in tactics that can cause real harm to the most vulnerable people in our society.
If the connections and circumstances reported by the Texas Observer are accurate, this is an appalling abuse of public trust. It deserves scrutiny, not a campaign spokesperson's attempt to brush it off with a smart-ass one-liner. It deserves a thorough investigation and accountability if wrongdoing is established.
John Braun wants a seat in Congress. He's asking the people of Southwest Washington to trust him with considerably more political power. That means voters have every right to examine his political relationships, his campaign operations, and the organizations connected to him. Accountability doesn't stop at the Washington state line.
I don't give a damn whether you're Republican, Democrat, Independent, or politically unaffiliated. There is no political position, no campaign strategy, and no election worth deliberately putting children and innocent nonprofit employees in the middle of your mess.
If your political agenda requires deception, manufactured outrage, and the exploitation of vulnerable children, perhaps the problem isn't the people you're campaigning against. Perhaps the problem is your complete lack of ethics.
You want to campaign against transgender rights? Have at it. Put your name on your message, own your position, and defend it publicly. What you don't get to do is hide behind somebody else's identity, drag an innocent organization into your political games, and potentially put its employees in danger.
That's not protecting children. That's not family values. That's not the kind of leadership people should be expected to accept without asking some very uncomfortable questions.
That's shady, like raccoons raiding a dumpster at midnight kind of shady bullshit.
Washington voters deserve better. Transgender children deserve better. The people working to support those children deserve better.
Most importantly, we deserve politicians who understand that having political ambitions doesn't give you a free pass to abandon basic decency.
John Braun, Washington voters are paying attention. The least you can do is provide some damn answers.
Read the original reporting:
The Texas Observer: Revealed: GOP Group Behind Mysterious Trans Student Messages
The Texas Tribune: Deposition Ties GOP Group to Texts About Transgender Youth
John Braun's official biography
An October 29 investigation by the Texas Observer revealed some rather interesting information from court disclosures involving a mass text messaging campaign targeting Texans with messages about transgender students. Among the clients identified by the company responsible for sending those messages were the Republican Women's Caucus Fund and an individual named John Braun.
For those who might not recognize that name, Washington State Senator John Braun is currently running against Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for Congress in Washington's 3rd Congressional District. Yes, that John Braun. The circumstances surrounding this story deserve considerably more attention, particularly from Washington voters.
Here's what happened. Texans began receiving unsolicited text messages offering information and resources for transgender students. The messages directed recipients to the website of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, a legitimate LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. There was just one rather significant problem: TENT had absolutely nothing to do with sending them. The organization publicly denied involvement and subsequently found itself dealing with backlash that included threats of violence.
Then the mailers came rolling in. Approximately three million pieces of mail were reportedly distributed under the name Texas Transgender Student Union, an organization registered in Wyoming. The materials presented themselves as resources for transgender students and repeatedly referenced TENT, despite having absolutely no affiliation with the organization.
Let's think about what that means. Someone apparently thought it was a perfectly acceptable political strategy to create the appearance of a transgender student advocacy organization, use the name and resources of an actual nonprofit, and distribute millions of pieces of politically charged material under that guise.
What kind of despicable political operation does that?
This wasn't some harmless political prank or a clever campaign tactic. It involved real people, real organizations, real families, and real consequences. The actual nonprofit whose identity was being used ended up dealing with threats and harassment from people who believed it was responsible.
Apparently, Transgender Children Are Just Political Ammunition.
Let's talk about the hypocrisy here, because it's getting ridiculous.
Republicans have spent years telling us how concerned they are about protecting children. They want parental rights, transparency, morality, and protection from supposedly inappropriate influences. They tell us they want to keep politics out of schools. They spend an extraordinary amount of time lecturing the rest of us about family values and protecting the most vulnerable among us. They want us to repeal I-001!
Yet, here we have a political operation involving communications directed at transgender students, masquerading as a student advocacy organization, and creating a situation where an actual nonprofit was blamed for something it never did.
Where the hell is the concern for those children?
These are real kids. They aren't campaign props, convenient political talking points, or fundraising opportunities for Republican political committees. Imagine being a transgender teenager and receiving communications like these. Imagine being a parent trying to figure out whether the information is legitimate. Imagine working for TENT and discovering that your organization's name and website are being used in a political operation you never authorized, followed by threats from people who believe you're responsible.
That's not protecting children. That's putting them and the people who support them in the middle of a political shitshow.
If you oppose transgender rights, own your position. Put your name on your political advertisements. Tell voters exactly what you believe and why. You don't get to pretend to be an organization offering resources to transgender students, use somebody else's identity to create confusion, and then leave innocent people to clean up the mess.
That's not political advocacy. It's deception, and it's potentially dangerous to the people being targeted as a result. I'll even go as far as calling it chickenshit.
Then We Get to John Braun.
According to the Texas Observer, the company responsible for sending the text messages identified the Republican Women's Caucus Fund and an individual named John Braun as its clients in court disclosures.
There's also an interesting political connection involving Paul Kilgore, who serves as treasurer for Braun's congressional campaign. Kilgore also serves as treasurer for the Republican Women's Caucus Fund and two political committees connected to the Texas political landscape.
When contacted by the Texas Observer, Braun's campaign manager, Max Lavey, reportedly offered this little gem of an explanation: "Must be a different John Braun. We have no idea what any of this is and have nothing to do with Texas politics."
Seriously? That's what we're going with?
A different John Braun? What a convenient coincidence.
While there is more than one John Braun in the United States, the name identified in the court disclosures is particularly interesting given the political and financial connections involving Washington's John Braun and the Republican Women's Caucus Fund. I'm not saying the court disclosures conclusively establish that Washington's John Braun was the individual involved. I am saying that the connections deserve considerably more than a dismissive explanation. Voters deserve answers.
To be fair, the court disclosures identify an individual named John Braun, but do not independently establish that the individual is Washington's Senator John Braun. The Republican Women's Caucus Fund has also denied involvement in the messaging and mailer activities. Those distinctions matter, and they don't make the questions disappear.
Given the overlapping political relationships, Washington voters deserve considerably more than a suggestion that this must be some other guy with the same name.
Braun has made opposition to transgender rights a significant part of his political messaging here in Washington. He's campaigning for Congress while championing ballot initiatives targeting transgender students. When his name appears in court disclosures involving a political messaging campaign about transgender students in another state, voters are entitled to ask questions. A lot of questions.
If it's not him, establish that. If there's an innocent explanation for these connections, explain it. Simply waving it away and expecting everyone to move along isn't going to cut it.
Then There's the Navy Captain Part.
Here's another thing that makes this entire situation particularly disturbing. John Braun served 31 years in the United States Navy and retired as a Captain in the Navy Reserve.
A Navy Captain.
That's not some insignificant footnote in someone's biography. That's a career involving leadership, responsibility, and the trust of the people serving under you. Military service carries expectations of integrity, accountability, and personal responsibility. Those aren't just impressive words to put in a campaign biography when you're trying to convince voters you're qualified to hold public office.
Which makes the circumstances surrounding this story especially troubling.
If the John Braun identified in the Texas court disclosures is indeed the same John Braun who served in the Navy and now wants to represent Southwest Washington in Congress, I have some serious questions about the judgment and political operation involved here.
You spend 31 years in the military, reach the rank of Captain, and then your name surfaces in court disclosures involving a political messaging operation targeting transgender students, with a legitimate nonprofit's identity and resources caught up in the controversy. That organization subsequently reports receiving threats of violence.
How does that square with the leadership and accountability you're asking voters to believe you represent?
Military service deserves respect. It should never be used as a permanent shield against legitimate questions about someone's conduct, political relationships, or judgment. Wearing the uniform doesn't give anyone a lifetime exemption from accountability.
In fact, someone who has spent decades in a leadership position should understand better than most why transparency and personal responsibility matter.
You don't get to put Captain in your biography when it's politically convenient and then expect the public to stop asking questions when something this serious surfaces.
Leadership isn't just a title. It's what you do when you're expected to answer for your actions.
There Are Lines You Don't Cross. Apparently, Somebody Forgot to Tell These People.
I am sick and tired of politicians and their political operatives treating human beings as disposable collateral in their never-ending quest for political power. Disagree with public policy all you want. Campaign against legislation. Make your arguments. Run your advertisements. That's politics, and everyone gets a seat at that particular circus.
What you don't get to do is exploit children, misrepresent legitimate organizations, deliberately create confusion, and potentially put innocent people in danger because you think it might help your preferred candidates win an election.
There is something especially repulsive about people who spend their days screaming about protecting children while treating those same children as convenient political ammunition just because they don't like what they stand for. You don't get to wrap your political agenda in the language of family values and morality while engaging in tactics that can cause real harm to the most vulnerable people in our society.
If the connections and circumstances reported by the Texas Observer are accurate, this is an appalling abuse of public trust. It deserves scrutiny, not a campaign spokesperson's attempt to brush it off with a smart-ass one-liner. It deserves a thorough investigation and accountability if wrongdoing is established.
John Braun wants a seat in Congress. He's asking the people of Southwest Washington to trust him with considerably more political power. That means voters have every right to examine his political relationships, his campaign operations, and the organizations connected to him. Accountability doesn't stop at the Washington state line.
I don't give a damn whether you're Republican, Democrat, Independent, or politically unaffiliated. There is no political position, no campaign strategy, and no election worth deliberately putting children and innocent nonprofit employees in the middle of your mess.
If your political agenda requires deception, manufactured outrage, and the exploitation of vulnerable children, perhaps the problem isn't the people you're campaigning against. Perhaps the problem is your complete lack of ethics.
You want to campaign against transgender rights? Have at it. Put your name on your message, own your position, and defend it publicly. What you don't get to do is hide behind somebody else's identity, drag an innocent organization into your political games, and potentially put its employees in danger.
That's not protecting children. That's not family values. That's not the kind of leadership people should be expected to accept without asking some very uncomfortable questions.
That's shady, like raccoons raiding a dumpster at midnight kind of shady bullshit.
Washington voters deserve better. Transgender children deserve better. The people working to support those children deserve better.
Most importantly, we deserve politicians who understand that having political ambitions doesn't give you a free pass to abandon basic decency.
John Braun, Washington voters are paying attention. The least you can do is provide some damn answers.
Read the original reporting:
The Texas Observer: Revealed: GOP Group Behind Mysterious Trans Student Messages
The Texas Tribune: Deposition Ties GOP Group to Texts About Transgender Youth
John Braun's official biography
Comments
Post a Comment