He’s also been using state money to buy bus tickets to send migrants to Washington DC. It’s not having the effect he’d hoped (gift article):
WASHINGTON — Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas devised a plan this month to rattle the Biden administration by busing migrants from the southwest border to the nation’s capital during a period of record crossings.
So far, though, the plan has not resulted in the chaos that Mr. Abbott predicted.
“I would like to say thank you to the governor of Texas,” Chadrack Mboyo-Bola, 26, said on Thursday morning, after he and 13 other migrants stepped off one of the chartered buses that had provided a 33-hour ride paid for by the State of Texas. Blocks from the U.S. Capitol, they were greeted by volunteers who would help them reach their desired destinations around the country to await their day in immigration court.
“In a way, it’s actually perfect,” said Bilal Askaryar, a spokesman for Welcome With Dignity, a collective of about 100 local and national groups that help migrants. “Unintentionally, Governor Abbott sent them to one of the best places in the nation to welcome people.”
Abbot’s problem there is that he sees immigrants as trash. He doesn’t see them as people, he sees garbage. He thought he was making a political protest by virtually dumping trash in someone’s yard.
But he sent them to where they’re seen as human beings, and welcomed as people.
Conservatives also have a tendency to think that liberals are secretly as awful as they are. E.g., the only reason liberals could possibly care about immigrants is because they see them as an easy way to buy dem votes, or virtue signal, or something. And when face to face with a bus load of immigrants they’ll wilt at the reality they’ve brought upon themselves.
It’s absolutely beyond them to think that anyone would welcome immigrants because it’s actually the right thing to do.
You are right. But the reason it matters now is that Greg believes* that HIS VOTERS see immigrants as less-than-human trash. It’s ALL about re-election and not much about principles, even ugly principles.
To be honest, I was sad about this when I heard about it initially, but now I’m proud of how he used my tax dollars. If you can use them to get these people away from fucktards like him, please do.
The problem is Abbot and other rightwingnuts see that welcome and condemn the left for welcoming the migrants. Andd their rightwingnut voters lap it up.
Abbott is the ultimate “lead from behind” politician. He never takes a position until he’s sure where conservative base voters are on it, and if he does start to get crosswise of them (as happened during the pandemic when he had to institute some basic public health protocols) he’ll do a 180 as soon as he can and ruthlessly throw anyone else who went along with him under the bus.
No principles, even ugly principles, is right on the money. Contrast with Dan Patrick, who’s probably the most principled man in Texas state government. It’s just that those principles are abhorrent.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Besides the back at ya aspect it makes good business sense. Why deal with a state that holds your goods hostage for internal political points?
In a similar vein, US soybean exports to China have yet to recover from T****'s “brilliant” trade war.
Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday he is moving another $500 million to fund Operation Lone Star, his border security initiative at the Texas-Mexico border. The move comes three weeks after state military officials said the multibillion-dollar operation was in need of an infusion of cash to keep it afloat through the end of the fiscal year.
Abbott said the money would be taken from the budgets of other Texas agencies, including nearly $210 million from the state’s Health and Human Services Commission over two years and about $160 million from the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Department of State Health Services and Juvenile Justice Department will each see tens of millions of dollars taken from their budgets to fund the border mission, Abbott said.
My bold.
'Cause those agencies don’t actually need money to run.
In a letter to the agencies, Abbott said that “this transfer will not affect any agency or program function.” The governor’s office did not answer whether the agencies would be reimbursed later or would see budget cuts, and instead referred questions back to Abbott’s original announcement.
My dad called me yesterday to inform me that Abbott’s Very Awesome Bestest Ever Power Grid is expecting to roll brownouts on Mother’s Day since the temp going to be in the 90s.
In Texas.
90s.
I left that place and my family and friends11 years ago and still have survivor’s guilt.
Not Abbott’s fault. If Biden had allowed the Keystone pipeline to built using the time machine so it would be completed already, the Canadian oil being shipped to foreign countries through it would have prevented the brownouts. Or maybe it’s the illegals or gays or transfolks or kids being exposed to CRT that are to blame - it’s hard to keep straight.
Hardly a year has passed and Texas is having problems keeping the lights on in the month of May. No freeze to blame this time. I can’t imaging what August is going to be like around here.
They had over a year to deal with that clusterfuck that is ERCOT and nothing to show for it.
