Starry eyed The New School grad had hopes a-hole wingnut Greg ABBOTT would act librul
This kid with a WHOLE B.A. in History (wow, but it’s from Greenwich Village) holds out a MAGICAL vision that rabid a-hole Greg ABBOTT was REACHED OUT TO to defy his wingnut genes and work for a PROGRESSIVE agenda! Sort of like: It takes a NIXON to recognize China – a wingnut doing what a Lib would be crucified for. Little old me, without the massive resources all these “smart” people have at their disposal, can gauge wingnut a-holery on sight. Our LIBRUL MEDIA in 2000 were telling everybody that Shrub was cute and shouldn’t be looked down on. I knew there could be NOTHING GOOD EVER, from him or any other wingnut. So why does this kid from The New School think ABBOTT would do anything different from his wingnut a-holery. His conclusion is that “IN HINDSIGHT” there was no new beginning with ABBOTT. What “little evidence” was there ever that there would be?!
Why would anybody imagine that there would be “a new era” under Greg ABBOTT, that he would be “more serious and thoughtful,” that he has “better angels” in his nature, that he would do “noble work in private” – who would THINK those things?
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http://www.texasobserver.org/our-year-in-greg-abbott/
[font size=5]Our Year in Greg Abbott[/font]
The more things change, the more the governor campaigns.
by Christopher Hooks Christopher Hooks is a freelance journalist in Austin, where he grew up. His work has appeared in Politico Magazine, Slate, and Texas Monthly, among others. He graduated from The New School in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in history.
.... We knew what Patrick stood for, more or less, but [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]Abbott was a little harder to pin down[/FONT]. He was a conservative attorney general, but he’d never served in the Legislature and it was [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]hard to predict[/FONT] what kind of stance he’d take on the day-to-day policy fights that would be soon be consuming his attention. Some people — both Republicans and Democrats — privately [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]hoped he’d be more serious and thoughtful[/FONT] than his predecessor, who spent his last five years in office getting ready to run for president. In contrast, it was rumored this would be [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]Abbott’s last elected office[/FONT].
Shortly before Abbott took up residence in the governor’s mansion, Brian Sweany, the [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]editor of Texas Monthly[/FONT], wrote an open letter to the newly elected guv, co-bylined by the magazine’s staff, in which they [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]exhorted Abbott to listen to the better angels of his nature[/FONT], in much the same way a pastor might. Abbott’s conservative credentials, wrote Sweany, gave him the freedom to advocate for more judicious government [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]investment in state services[/FONT] where they really were needed, if he would be bold enough to try it. ....
We should start by noting [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]where Abbott is[/FONT] this week: In [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]Israel[/FONT], about as far away from home as he could possibly be. He recently met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — but also with Naftali Bennett, the Minister of Education. The party Bennett leads, Jewish Home, belongs to the [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]Israeli far right[/FONT]. Bennett’s ministry recently banned a book about interracial marriage from Israeli schools, and one of his fellow party members has in the past endorsed genocidal language against Palestinian civilians. Though Abbott might not realize it, the mere act of meeting with Bennett is a [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]provocation[/FONT]. (By O.P.: Trip paid for by ADELSON, and next stop Davos, Switzerland.)
It’s the perfect place for Abbott to wrap up his first year in office, inasmuch as it has nothing to do with his actual job. Abbott has won real national attention for precisely [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]three things this year[/FONT]: his [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]Jade Helm letter[/FONT], his personal [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]war against Syrian refugees[/FONT], and his bonkers proposal to [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]rewrite the U.S. Constitution[/FONT], which we may properly call the Articles of Gregfederation. In each case, the primary effect of his actions has been to make us look kinda dumb. ....
Instead of applying himself diligently to the state’s problems, Abbott has focused on showy displays of solidarity with his base: I’ll protect you from the feds, I’ll save you from the Syrians, I’ll rescue the constitution from Obama. I’ll stop Iran when Barry won’t. Meanwhile, Texas, with more needs than ever, is stuck with the mediocre government it probably deserves.
The inauguration, in [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]hindsight[/FONT], seems now to be a marker of continuity, not change. It’s easy to understand where Perry was coming from in his final years — he was running a perpetual presidential campaign. We all knew he wanted higher office. Why is Abbott still campaigning? Maybe he just doesn’t know how not to, and doesn’t care to learn. Let’s hope he has a nice time in Switzerland.
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