Dallas Morning News Endorses Asshole

What's good for business is good for ... you know the rest.

In a paywalled editorial that may have been faxed in from an alternate universe, the Dallas Morning News on Sunday recommended that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott be reelected to a third term. That probably shouldn't be much of a surprise, given that the right-leaning paper has always endorsed Republican candidates, with the sole exception coming in 2016, when the Morning News determined that "Donald Trump is not a true Republican." That year, the paper endorsed Hillary Clinton; in 2020; the Morning News didn't endorse anyone for president.

Greg Abbott, though? They're good with him, explaining that Texas is "strong and prosperous" thanks to voters' wise "preference for limited government, low taxes and light regulation." And since Abbott continues to pursue pro-bidness policies, he deserves another term. The endorsement notes that lots of businesses are still moving to Texas and the state has a budget surplus, and that "none of this is in spite of Abbott," but rather the result of his adherence to "core conservative principles that promote economic growth and protect personal liberty" — like, as long as you're not pregnant or capable of becoming so, trans, an American history teacher, a high school student who wants to read freely, or a local government official who thinks it might be a good idea to reduce the spread of a deadly infection. Oh yes, and as long as you aren't too insistent on voting.

The editorial does note that this "is not an unreserved recommendation," pointing out that the Texas Republican Party has "become a deeply troubled organization where conspiracy theories, election denial and blind partisanship have taken root," and that state Republicans aren't interested in governing "broadly" but prefer "holding onto a narrow majority as a path to power." It's nice the editorial board noticed, at least. Weirdly, though, the piece claims Abbott himself has "not wholly embraced the aggressively partisan rhetoric" endemic in his party.

But rather than condemn Abbott's embrace of governance by grievance, the editors merely tut tut at him because he's grown "strident" and "insular," less willing to take the wise counsel of "business leaders," who could presumably advise him on how to be rightwing without hurting the bottom line. Look at this nonsense:

If he continues down the road he’s on and follows the worst elements of his party, it will be dangerous for the state. Business leaders across the country are looking at how Abbott and Texas Republicans have led on abortion and guns, and some are taking pause.

We are deeply concerned by the governor's increasing hairiness, snarling, and tendency to snap his lupine jaws at others. Should he become an actual werewolf, it could distress investors.

The editorial recommends that Abbott moderate his position on abortion, to find some sort of "common ground" between the state's near-total ban and "what was the law of the land under Roe vs. Wade. " And maybe he could consider just a few gun control measures, such as "instituting red flag laws and universal background checks, limiting ammunition purchases and magazine sizes and setting an age limit at 21 on firearm purchases."

Have the editors listened to a single thing Greg Abbott has said? This is the guy who said Texas won't need an abortion exception for victims of rape because he'd simply end rape in the state.

The editorial makes no mention of Abbott's war on public education, his lies about school libraries containing "pornography," or his policy ofinvestigating parents of trans kids for "child abuse" for allowing kids to get gender-affirming care. Apparently not a concern at all, since it's not mentioned even once. The cruelty is just fine.

Oh, and Abbott's constant undermining of public health during the pandemic? He's been great for business, especially if you're an enterprising deadly virus.

As for Abbott's publicity-seeking attacks on migrants, the Morning Newsexplains that Abbott really did have to send the National Guard and state police to the border at a cost of billions of dollars, because of a "genuine failure by the federal government to enforce border security." Even Abbott's busing of migrants to Northern cities, while a "stunt," was "not the cruel treatment that it was portrayed as and it did raise awareness about a true crisis." Surprisingly, the endorsement didn't add that busing migrants to Kamala Harris's house really did own the libs. It's also strangely silent on Abbott's bizarre, redundant "safety inspections" of trucks carrying goods from Mexico, perhaps because Abbott ended it before it could cost Texas businesses even more than the $4.2   billion it did. 

PREVIOUSLY:    

 Texas Gov Gets Very Own Blockade By Pissed Off Mexican Truckers, Good Job Well Done 

 Does Texas Really Want To Reelect Gov. Greg Abbott After He Set $4.2 Billion On Fire In Failed Border Stunt? 

As for Beto O'Rourke, Abbott's Democratic opponent, the editors say he's an "effective campaigner who is willing to go into solidly red parts of this state," but that golly, there's just too much uncertainty about how he'd lead, and what if he's too wedded to "progressive ideology"? For whatever a newspaper's endorsement means these days, the Houston Chronicle (also paywalled) is recommending Beto. 

We'll also note that, back in the olden days of 2014, the Dallas Morning News offered, as one reason for endorsing Abbott's first run, the excuse that if Wendy Davis were to win, then far-right Republicans in the Texas Lege would accomplish nothing but constant obstructionism. That might have been bad for business, so we can at least credit the paper with consistency, being willing to support a terrible person because he made the trains run on time.

[ Dallas Morning News / Texas Observer /Photo:  Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons license 2.0 ]

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