Texas on pandemic ‘return’

Austin, Texas – Republican Governor Greg Abbott said Texas is returning from a pandemic that killed more than 36,000 people here – the third largest in the U.S. – and took America’s largest red state on Monday night into a tangle of voting battles. , policing and immigration that are likely to deepen political divisions in the coming months.

In his final speech on the state of the state before being elected for a third term in 2022, Abbott called for a ban on cutting police budgets and ordered the majority of the Republican Party at the Texas Capitol to prioritize “electoral integrity” without make no mention that there was no evidence of widespread fraud during the 2020 elections.

He also demanded more protection against weapons at a time when the NRA is trying to reincorporate in Texas, and more anti-abortion laws in a state that already has some of the country’s most restrictive measures.

Ads

Democrats used their rebuttal to narrow the way Abbott handled the pandemic and paint a darker picture than his optimistic assessments, saying that an uneven response continues to allow cases to spread and leaves cities powerless to manage outbreaks.

“Our return is already materializing,” said Abbott. “Texans are getting back to work. Students are returning to school. Families are re-establishing routines. With each passing day of more vaccinations and increased immunity, normalcy is returning to Texas. “

Abbott, who did not rule out a presidential candidacy in 2024, delivered his prime time television state speech in Texas for the first time – instead of in front of legislators at the state capitol, where COVID-19 concerns continue to restrict meetings.

But that gave Abbott an even larger-than-normal audience to defend his response to the pandemic – which was attacked by members of his own party – at a time when Texas, like most of the United States, is finally seeing hospitalizations and cases falling after reaching record highs in recent weeks.

Ads

He praised hospital staff for their resilience and declared that expanding broadband access was a priority after a pandemic that forced millions to work and go to school at home. There was no mention of direct relief for Texans jobs, but a demand for legislation that would protect companies from lawsuits related to the pandemic.

He also asked Texas to increase security at the border just a few weeks after Biden’s presidency, which follows Texas to win a court order that interrupted the new government’s plans to issue a 100-day moratorium on deportations.

Democrats, who are still dusting off a demoralizing election cycle in which their massive Texas expectations have exploded up and down at the polls, have not even waited for Abbott’s speech to explode as they are dealing with a pandemic. Along the border, the city of Laredo is still battling one of the country’s worst outbreaks.

Ads

“While the governor tries to cover up the lives lost and the seriousness of the crisis we face, Texans everywhere know that things are not going well and are getting worse,” said Texas Democratic Party President Gilberto Hinojosa. “We must demand more from leaders or we will never reach a point where each of us has a fair chance to progress.”

The state of the state is typically when governors set their legislative priorities for the coming year. In Texas, lawmakers meet for just five months every two years, giving lawmakers only until the end of May to try to deliver Abbott’s priorities to his desk.

This legislative session in Texas is the first since the mass shootings that shook the state before the pandemic, the deadliest of which was a sniper who allegedly confessed to targeting Mexicans when he opened fire on a Walmart, killing 23 people. Abbott formed a task force against domestic terrorism and extremism after the attack, but did not mention the shooting during his speech on Monday night.

Ads

Abbott also did not expose or endorse any specific policing reforms after George Floyd’s death last year generated global recognition of police brutality and racial prejudice. Abbott, who attended Floyd’s funeral in Houston, did not mention race when he said lawmakers “must provide law enforcement authorities with the tools and training they need to ensure the security that their communities deserve.

You can watch a repeat of Abbott’s speech and the Democratic response below: