June 30, 2022      9:00 PM

HK: Wargaming politics and elections in Texas after the Supreme Court overturned Roe

It almost seems pre-ordained that Beto will squander the Roe opportunity by focusing on the danger to 1% of the population that is LGBTQ instead of the 53% of the Texas population legislated into second class citizen status

Despite being fully forewarned, the public reaction to the Supreme Court Dobbs decision landed like a lightning bolt on an already unusually volatile political environment. The competition for headlines is enormous amidst a war in Ukraine, inflation, gun violence, and women’s health issues.

The decision dramatically raises the stakes of the next session of the Legislature because the current statutory scheme in Texas effectively prohibits all abortions with no exceptions – a position that does not even come close to matching national and state polling of the general electorate on the issue. Nevertheless, Texas Republicans remain sanguine presuming it to be yet another storm to weather.

With President Joe Biden’s approval hovering around 40% in Texas, $5 gas, the border in daily headlines, and “attacks” on guns, Texas Republicans perhaps appropriately believe there is little to worry about in the current election lineup. With redistricting locked down, the wind is even more at their backs.

But that confidence may be misplaced.

By Harvey Kronberg

Copyright June 30, 2022, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved