In the October 2012 issue of D Magazine, just before Jason Villalba was first elected to represent District 114 in the Texas House, we wrote:
At a fundraiser at a home in Highland Park in July, retiring U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison stood in front of about 75 people and repledged her support for Jason Villalba, a 41-year-old partner at Haynes and Boone running to represent District 114 (much of North Dallas and Northeast Dallas) in the Texas House.
“Not one other person in the state of Texas have I endorsed in the primary, even though I’ve been asked a lot,” Hutchison said. She explained why she made an exception for Villalba, and her reasoning was simple: “He’s the future.”
Those were the same words the Dallas Morning News editorial board used when recommending Villalba in the primary, and there are reasons to believe Hutchison and the Morning News are right about Villalba, at least as far as the Republican Party is concerned. He’s young and optimistic, more thoughtful and flexible in his views, willing to work with legislators from all sides.
Last night, during the first televised debate between Democratic Party candidates for president, Villalba tweeted this:
UPDATE: It appears that he has deleted the tweet. Don’t worry, I made a screenshot:
Today he’s trying both to stand by and walk back the comparison he drew between Sen. Bernie Sanders and Nazis by claiming that he didn’t mean what we think he meant, even though what we think he meant is true:
“It’s perfectly accurate,” he said. “I was in no way making a comparison to the current Democratic Party and Nazis. If they want to read it that way, then that’s their prerogative. That’s not what the intent is.”
AND
“Look, Bernie Sanders is a Democratic socialist,” said Villalba, who faces a challenger in the March GOP primary. “I know that the Nazi Party was usually referred to as National Socialists.”
So, let us ask again: Is Jason Villalba the future of the Texas GOP? Or a fitting spokesman for its present?
