THU brief 5.5.22
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Today’s Stories
GREG ABBOTT is writing some uncharacteristically conservative checks.
Yesterday, the incumbent Governor and odds on favorite to remain in his seat said he would look at ending subsidized education for illegal immigrants.
This is not the type of moderation expected of Abbott after winning the GOP primary. What remains to be seen is will this suggestion materialize and in what form.
Observers with more than a Fox-News-headline-reading passing interest in Texas politics will be familiar with the established pattern of Abbott teasing a red meat action to have it killed in the Texas House.
Queue the Jeopardy music.
BEXAR COUNTY’s DA is setting himself for a removal struggle.
Yesterday, Joe Gonzales, the Soros-backed DA in San Antonio, said if SCOTUS overturns Roe, he won’t uphold the law and prosecute abortionists. Soros-funded DAs in several other locales have made similar pledges.
The biggest problem Texas’ original abortion statute faced was that it wasn’t enforced by DAs in the counties where most illegal abortions took place (e.g., Travis). Thus, the prohibition was little more than words on paper.
Indeed, a considerable part of the brilliance of the Texas Heartbeat Act was taking the enforcement provisions out of the hands of local DAs. In addition to making a legal challenge difficult, it solves the “DA’s won’t enforce” issue.
Disbarment is another potential sanction. Even if you’re unsuccessful, the aggravation and expense should cause significant trepidation in all but the most committed ideologues.
DEMOCRATS in D.C. are pledging to pass abortion legislation despite it being DOA in the Senate.
This is just the latest waste of time by one of the most hapless majority parties of all time. It would merely be competitive with others if the inaction and wasted energy weren’t in direct contrast with the need for action on multiple fronts, including the economy, the border, and diplomacy.
With the help of the media, the left is expanding the leaked Roe ruling to other issues, suggesting the issue of abortion is not enough to move the needle in pressuring the conservative members of SCOTUS or motivating the leftwing base.
On the flip side, likely, the GOP won’t see any meaningful increase in performance after the ruling if it comes down the way it was leaked. Whiplash will result if there is a significant departure from the leak.
One caveat applies to this. If the left has takes like this, it might lose support among sane non-ghoulish Americans.
(Related: Abortion might not be the wedge issue it used to be.)
RICK PERRY is stumping for Rep. Glenn Rogers with some less than impressive material.
On the one hand, the former Governor believes Rogers is the right man for the job because he’s an advocate for constituents who can cut deals with adversaries.
At the same time, he suggests Roger’s opponent, Mike Olcott, will be unable to strike the same balance because he backed candidates for higher office who lost.
Perry, who has been in the game for eons, knows that there’s more than one way to skin a cat in Austin. Suggesting Rogers is more capable than Olcott (or less because of donations) of being an effective negotiator is a non-credible position to hold and is probably why it doesn’t come off as a convincing line of argumentation.
Still, his pal Glenn is in a tough spot.
Like Trump, Perry’s support of candidates in Texas primaries can boil down to considerations many might find random to borderline absurd. Hypothetically, if you lived near the former Governor, went to the same college, donned a maroon Speedo, or happened to carry his bag, it might earn a nod.
Hit the Links
Texas political orgs that took PPP
J.D. Vance vs. the D.C. Backstabbers
While New York Dems seek to gerrymander, Asian communities go unheard.
Romney says Trump sure to win GOP's 2024 presidential nomination.
Alleged paedo arrested at the border
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