Dear Friend:

Molly Ivins may no longer be around to take on the scoundrels, charlatans, and predators of a great state in the grip of secessionist-minded Philistines, but, thank heaven (located halfway between El Paso and Waskom), we do have Texans for Public Justice.

Just a dozen years ago a tiny band of desperadoes denounced Texas as ‘the Wild West of money in politics.’ Texans for Public Justice declared that somebody needs to raise hell about it. Loudly and full-time. Ever since, this small, sharp bur has burrowed deeper into the backsides of Texas politicians.

The handiwork of this little Austin non-profit has been featured by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, CBS and even Fox! My PBS shows have interviewed TPJ on conflicts of interest at the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Supreme Court.

Texans for Public Justice pulls the curtain back on how special interests crowd out the public interest. Its not a pretty scene, but TPJ doesn’t flinch.

Some politicos sit in the saddle differently when they know they’re being watched. Others don’t. TPJ ran some of them clear out of town. Crooked politicians may despise TPJ, but they can’t ignore that:

• TPJ exposed TOM DELAY’s illegal corporate-funded elections and helped retire ‘the Hammer’ as House Majority Leader.
• TPJ prompted GEORGE W. BUSH to disclose his secret ‘Pioneer’ campaign bundlers. It then exposed this Who’s Who of special-interest power brokers, from imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff…to private-prison executive George Zoley.

TPJ is part watchdog, part bulldog, with a bark that bites. Just consider this:

• Then-state Rep. Rick Green fell after TPJ exposed that he illegally lobbied state regulators for manufacturers of dangerous herbal stimulants.
• Then-state Rep. Gabi Canales lost her job after TPJ sued her over abusing her office to stall civil cases on behalf of a pharmaceutical giant. 
• A TPJ complaint accusing Abramoff crony Ralph Reed of breaking Texas lobby laws even helped doom Reed’s aspirations to be lieutenant governor of Georgia.

TPJ delivers well-targeted kicks in the political butt (apologies to my fellow Baptists). And the kicks just keep coming. Recently TPJ forced Lt. Governor David Dewhust to comply with the law  requiring him to disclose his personal investments. And when Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller said she was too poor to pay her legal bills for a pending misconduct trial, a TPJ complaint prompted Keller to reveal more than $2 million in assets that she had hidden from public view.

With investigative journalism in peril and corruption on the rise, I encourage you to feed this fearless, feisty pitbull. Please give to Texans for Public Justice today

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