By Michael V. Hannigan
State Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) did not draw a Republican challenger in last year’s primary and won the 2014 General Election with more than 90 percent of the vote, but now that the State Legislature has convened he apparently has some opposition.
While I was working Wednesday, I noticed a Facebook advertisement announcing a website about “The Robert Nichols Record” and “The Truth Revealed.” I clicked the link and was led to this site.
The website takes issue over three of Nichols’ votes from 2013 and calls the three-term senator “one of the more liberal Republicans in Texas.”
No person or group takes credit for the website and there is no way to contact anyone. You can, however, sign up for “alerts.”
When I asked Sen. Nichols’ office for a response to the website, the senator released the following statement:
“This is the first we have heard about this website and this issue. As there is no name and/or no disclaimer on it stating who is behind it, we are unable to make a comment on it. If the person or organization that created it would like to identify themselves, we would be happy to sit down and discuss the issues and concerns they have. My record of representing East Texas and its values have not changed.”
Now I have been an Independent from the day I cast my first vote, but I know there is a battle in the Texas Republican party to see who can be the most conservative. And I think if Republicans want to battle over that distinction, then more power to them. Vigorous debate is good for government.
But I don’t think it should be done anonymously, so I hope the person or group responsible for the website steps forward.
I don’t think it takes too much speculation to figure out that this is set up either by someone that wants to run against Nichols or someone that supports a person that wants to run against Nichols. Only other realistic possibility is a back door attack by battleground Texas but that is a pretty safe R district. I am totally fine with anonymous political speech. There was a reason Thomas Paine published “common sense” anonymously.