Highlights of statewide elected official's speeches

Most of the statewide elected officials addressed the convention today. Here are the highlights of their speeches:
Comptroller Susan Combs: Combs emphasized her support for transparency in government. "It's always your money," she said. Combs also emphasized how she has worked to save taxpayers money at the comptroller's office. She also called on the Republican party to commit to its core prinicples.

Attorney General Greg Abbott: The attorney general focused on the first and second amendments to the United States Constitution. He talked about how his office defended the Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds. He also discussed the Second Amendment and his support for interpreting the Second Amendment as an individual right to keep and bear arms. The Texas Attorney General signed an amicus brief before the US Supreme Court supporting an individual right to keep and bear arms. His best applause line was when he told the convention that Barack Obama "has given us hope of an America without Hillary Clinton as president."

Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams: Williams emphasized the importance of a strong domestic oil and gas industry and the need for more domestic oil production. Williams emphasized the importance of nuclear power. He also warned that the "cap and trade" global warming bills pending in Congress would be extremely expensive and harmful to America's national security and economy. He blasted House Democratic Caucus Chairman Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) for killing the retail electricity bill (SB 482) in the 2007 legislative bill. The bill would have provided additional consumer protections and Williams put some of the blame on Dunnam for recent hikes in retail electric prices.