Back in 2010, Rick Green, a former right-wing Texas state legislator turned David Barton's sidekick at WallBuilders, made a run for a seat on the Texas Supreme Court, only to lose in a run-off for the GOP nomination amid worries about his controversial history. Since then, Green has continued to serve as co-host of the daily "WallBuilders Live" radio program alongside Barton, while producing his own Bartonesque presentations on American history
Today, Green announced in an email that he will once again be seeking a seat on the Texas Supreme Court, not because he wants to but because so many people have practically begged him to run:
For months I've been approached by conservative leaders across Texas and asked to consider running for Texas Supreme Court.
Honestly, I wasn't very excited about it at first. I have a fantastic job and my family is loving the opportunity we have to live out the liberty that we are given. My family has been blessed with opportunities to travel across the country and teach Americans about the Constitution and our founding fathers. It doesn't get much better than that.
But as the calls continued, my children started reminding me of the principle I have taught them: that every generation is in desperate need of leaders willing to sacrifice convenience for the sake of liberty.
Today we have a Supreme Court, both nationally and at times in Texas, which has ignored the rule of law, has trampled on marriage and has refused to stand for the very freedom upon which our nation was founded.
The deliberate violation of separation of powers is a threat to the liberty we all cherish. It’s time to put a constitutional watchdog on the Supreme Court.
I am answering the call today with my family by my side, excited about the challenge and opportunity ahead. I NEED your support.
In a video announcing his candidacy, Green says that he does not even want to run for this office but simply must because "several months ago, our Texas Supreme Court handed down a decision that ignored our Texas constitutional definition of marriage." As such, Green says he feels obligated to run in order to replace one of the justices who supported that position:
For the record, the Texas Supreme Court never struck down the state's anti-gay marriage amendment, but did decline to prevent a lesbian couple who have gotten married in Massachusetts from getting divorced in Texas and that seems to the case that so outraged Green that he had no choice but to launch a bid for a seat on the court.