March 4, 2024      12:41 PM

HK: It is long past time to call BS on Greg Abbott--NOW ABOVE THE PAYWALL

Attempting a hostile takeover of the Texas House: Most politically significant going forward is Abbott’s betrayal of rural Texas which remains the lynchpin of the enduring Texas Republican majority. His border success has camouflaged the effort to silence rural representation in this campaign assault by replacing legitimate members of the community with second tier ideologues

Note from the publisher and author of this column: For more than 40 years, Quorum Report has prided itself in dispassionate political analysis. But this primary cycle is unprecedented in numerous ways. The Governor is on a destructive rampage doing violence to the very process that has produced the Texas miracle. Along the way, he abandoned his moral center. There are no political virgins among our readers, but these are extraordinary times requiring an extraordinary response – Harvey Kronberg.

The name Greg Abbott has now become synonymous with betrayal. Betrayal of former friends and colleagues, betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal to his faith, and betrayal to the poor folks that genuinely believe him and have believed in him.

Most politically significant going forward is his betrayal of rural Texas which remains the lynchpin of the enduring Texas Republican majority. His border success has camouflaged the effort to silence rural representation in this campaign assault by replacing legitimate members of the community with second tier ideologues.

In fact, in Abbott’s honor, we are coining a new term.

Forget the over-used and largely meaningless RINO label. The new label du jour is CHINO – Christian in Name Only, which has been the sub-rosa theme of this primary battle. Their vision of Christianity appears more aligned with the Taliban vision of Islam than it does any vision of mercy, justice, and compassion.

Strong words, to be sure. But the grandstander in chief is on a rampage of destruction not previously experienced in Texas politics. Even his current and former allies among QR readers are slack jawed at his mendacity and the fire hose of outright lies. No more mush words like dissembling – these are quite intentional lies. Even more poignant, the television ads have Abbott actually speaking the lies as opposed to some dark, scary voiceover.

But if one is playing for Vice-President or Homeland Security in a possible Trump Administration, lies may well be the currency of the day.

While he does all this, incumbents he has endorsed may be grateful they do not have to spend a million dollars defending their seats. But they see the same lies as do their targeted colleagues and know they are as disposable as are Abbott’s current targets – many of whom have carried his water over the years.

Only a fool would trust Abbott on anything anymore. In the Trumpian quest to dominate the Legislature, Abbott has demonstrated the lengths to which he will go and, in the process, sacrificed future credibility. Maybe intimidation is a governing theory – it currently is the organizing principle in the Texas Senate – but how durable is it going forward?

Some in the political community may see opportunity in this “re-ordering” of politics but most simply mourn the disaster and are trying to figure out how to soldier on.

The new domestic Taliban commit character assassination and defamation while routinely wrapping themselves in biblical verses knowing the simmering violence below the surface they are inciting.

It is not just the betrayals, but the order of magnitude of the lies promoted by Abbott and financed by a handful of the billionaire jihadists that will relegate him to infamy no matter the outcome of this primary. Laundering $6 million of TikTok money into overturning a Speaker is apparently the new model.

Abbott ducked the last Republican Party of Texas Convention because he knew he would probably be booed onstage in Houston. This time, he has traded a standing ovation at the RPT Convention for a likely denial of Texas House floor credentials should Speaker Dade Phelan survive.

We have long documented what once seemed like simply juvenile gubernatorial behavior.

Abbott was a kid following any shiny “Tea Party” object that might get some notoriety and campaign contributions. The silliness manifested itself in dozens of ways. One favorite was his emergency item calling for a “Convention of the States” to rewrite the Constitution that was carried as a favor to the Governor by once friend, now “liar” Rep. Drew Darby. And then there was mobilizing the State Guard to monitor the federal Jade Helm military exercise responding to conspiracy theories that were a precursor of Q’Anon nonsense.

And of course, there was his veto of the Legislative Budget, amounting to little more than a tantrum that further diminished him and eroded his standing among GOP members.

Even if Abbott and Dan Patrick (read Tim Dunn) pick the next Speaker, that freshman presiding officer would be foolish to think that they could believe any assurances from the Governor. Phelan started out that way but hopefully by now he has learned Abbott cannot be trusted.

What did Phelan get in return for giving Abbott a floor vote on school vouchers and for keeping teacher pay raises off Abbott’s desk? Abbott now tours the state criticizing the way Phelan runs the House, including the tradition of appointment of members of the minority party as committee chairs.

The role for a new Speaker of Abbott’s choosing would be to simply take instruction to silence the last vestige of political independence and thoughtfulness in state government: The Texas House of Representatives.

If Phelan survives, it’s possible that the only legislation to pass could be the budget and even that might necessitate a special session. The Governor will likely lose or see diminished the variety of programs and incentive toys he gets to dispense. Oversight of his office could be ratcheted up and his budget likely cut.

If Phelan loses, Abbott still faces a surly House made more unhappy by a supplicant Speaker who might replace Phelan.

It is premature to really get into Speaker politics but that is clearly the end game for Abbott and Patrick.

The next session is already wrecked in a process that theoretically lasts only 140 days every two years and where long-held relationships once mattered. Abbott’s endorsed candidates are a mostly motley crew of sad ideologues who like Senate Republicans will be docile when given commands – even those damaging to their districts.

Having watched Abbott and the billionaires in and out of state break every rule of civil engagement and self-government, it is difficult to remain dispassionate on the sidelines. Whether you agree with the incumbent House members’ politics, the brutality of the Abbott engineered assassination of solid Republicans is reminiscent of Stalinist purges. These state reps’ great sin was thinking that they were there to represent the folks in the district and not some self-serving vanity pablum for a seriously twisted Governor.

The assault on lawmakers like Gary Van Deaver, Ernest Bailes, John Kuempel, Darby, Steve Allison and the rest is heartbreaking. These are all truly authentic individuals with roots in their communities. But the populist DC GOP disfunction has invaded Texas and the Texas Capitol may soon be a political wasteland emulating US House Speaker Mike Johnson’s pathetic twisting in the wind, held hostage by a handful of extremists and refusing to acknowledge the half of the population that has Democratic representation.

One miscalculation for incumbents was not that the attacks were unanticipated but rather how many new folks have moved to Texas – and their districts in particular – along with the tidal wave of political cash behind the attacks. It has always been difficult to beat incumbents that take care of business back home because their voters know them. Now, many incumbents have had to introduce themselves to new Texans, in many cases tens of thousands with no previous connection to Texas or the district.

So, the millions of dollars’ worth of criminally false TV ads and mailers being run against them is reaching fresh, naïve newbies.

And sadly, the Republican primary voter has been immunized against simple truth-telling by nearly a decade of a pathological fantasies reshaping a once noble Party into fawning Putinistas.

One of the challenged incumbents characterized the battle perfectly. He said he gets screamed at during Republican Party gatherings and standing ovations from Chamber of Commerce type events.

Which of those two is more important to the future of Texas?

Never mind, I nearly forgot. This is only about Greg Abbott.

It is long past time to call BS, not that it will deter this aberrant Governor.

By Harvey Kronberg

Copyright March 04, 2024, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved