When you want to know what a politician stands for look who they accept money from. Money inevitably follows politics. Time and again, legislation with financial ties gets prioritized above the Texas constituency.
While political contributions are a necessary evil when it comes to getting elected, campaign donations can also lend insight into a candidate’s priorities and principles. State Representative Angie Chen Button’s (R-Richardson) latest campaign finance filing shows that she accepts campaign contributions from dubious characters.
According to her latest Texas Ethics Commission Campaign Financial Report, Button received $5,000 from Harlan Crow. Crow is a well-known Dallas area real estate developer, the son of Trammell Crow and the chairman of the board of Crow Holdings, a private family business established to manage the Trammell Crow family capital. He is also an avid collector of art and historical memorabilia. Crow allowed the Dallas Morning News into his Dallas home to view his vast collections, which include documents signed by Ponce de Leon, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, George Washington, Robert E. Lee and all the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
His collection also contains items from communist world leaders, such as Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito and Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu. His home also “features two paintings by Adolf Hitler, a signed copy of Hitler’s autobiography, Mein Kampf, and a cabinet full of place settings and linens used by the Nazi leader.”
Crow has a history of donating and fundraising for Republican candidates. He and his family have donated close to $8 million to candidates. His fundraisers have caused a stir for both U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) in 2012 and for 2016 Republican presidential candidate, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). Rubio was the beneficiary of the campaign fundraiser, which was held amongst the Nazi memorabilia, on the eve of “Yom Kippur – the Jewish Day of Atonement and the most holy day on the Jewish calendar.” The fundraiser was referred to as, “Marco Rubio’s Hitler Problem.”
Then Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz responded to the announcement of the fundraiser for her fellow Florida lawmaker by saying, “It is astounding that the presence of these items that represent horror for millions of Jews the world over would not stop Mr. Rubio or anyone on his team in their tracks when planning this event.” She also accused Rubio of “adding insult to injury” by holding the fundraiser on the eve of Yom Kippur.
By accepting donations from Crow, Angie Chen Button has aligned herself at best, with a culturally insensitive donor, and at worst, a Nazi sympathizer. Do these fringe issues align with Texans’ values?
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