There’s a rule in the Texas Election Code that says a general purpose political committee (GPAC) must file a designation of treasurer with the Texas Ethics Commission and take donations from ten people and then wait 60 days before they are allowed to spend more than $500 on a candidate.  (Section 253.037(a) for you writ twits)

I suspect that the reason for the law is to keep some secretly funded previously unknown group from funding an attack against a candidate and not releasing any of their donors until after the election.  You know, that whole transparency and public’s right to know stuff that Republicans hate.

A whole bunch.

So much so, that a group calling themselves the Catholic Leadership Coalition of Texas has filed an unsuccessful injunction and then  an emergency appeal to overturn this law, explaining that they want to spend a bundle on the Texas Republican senate seat race.

Early voting started yesterday and the election day is July 31st.  The Catholic Leadership Council is claiming it’s a violation of their free speech not to be able to blindside one of the two candidates – David Dewhurst (a rightwing nut case) or Ted Cruz (a roll in the grass, rock chunkin’, hallelujah shouting rightwing nutcase).

“We have been very careful to follow all the campaign rules and do things right. I was shocked when I found out that even after we registered a political committee with the state, we still wouldn’t be able to publicize our endorsements before the runoff election,” said Phil Sevilla, the president of the TLC. “We feel very strongly about getting our message out in time, and now we may have to wait to do that.”

Well, geeez Phil, this ain’t a new law and I am certain that if you think about it for a couple of … I dunno, seconds? … you’ll come to understand that this rule might be the only decent thing on the books  in the Texas Election Code.

And then there’s Judge Sam Spark’s wise order denying the injunction against the State of Texas by the Catholic leadership Council.

In this case, just as the second element follows the first, the fourth element follows the third. The chaos created by an upheaval in Texas election law immediately before major elections would directly and substantially disserve the public’s interest in fair, efficient, and orderly elections.  Further, it bears noting that this crisis was manufactured in large part by TLC and its choice to wait approximately eight months before creating a political committee. Neither Texas’s government nor its voters should have to bear the costs associated with TLC’s indolence.

And while I thank Judge Sparks for reminding the Catholic Leadership Council that with Leadership comes responsibility, I have to admit that I am very curious about what they wanted to say at the very last minute that was so darned important.  I bet it was dirty. Oh, come on, you know it was, too.

Thanks to Kyle for the heads-up.