Seven Reasons That Gov. Abbott Should Retire

 

De-Funding the Police? Gov. Abbott, not Beto, Has Taken Funds from Law Enforcement

The recent Dallas Morning News-UT Tyler Texas poll just revealed that Gov. Abbott now has a 9-point lead over Beto O’Rourke -- likely a result of a heavy barrage of campaign advertising that the Abbott campaign has launched using their large treasure chest of campaign funds.[1] The political edge that Gov. Abbott is enjoying, however, stems from deceptive messages that continue to mislead Texas voters. 

For example, in an earlier post I discussed how one of his campaign messages that focused on the challenges that he faced in overcoming his physical disability may have won him praise but overlooked the fact that he was awarded up to $9 million from a personal injury lawsuit.  In his effort to become the Texas governor, Abbott supported legislation to limit personal injury awards in Texas to $250,000 – thus denying other Texans who suffered personal injuries access to medical equipment and other necessities that would help them adapt their lifestyles to their disabilities.[2] 

In more recent political advertisements, the Abbott campaign focuses attention on a past statement by Beto O’Rourke that appeared to explain his support for Black Lives Matter and their efforts to de-fund the police. Interestingly, several public policy decisions in Texas related to law enforcement and public safety suggest that it is Gov. Abbott who has been “de-funding” public safety for Texas residents. For example:

·         To support Operation Lone Star, a border security project that deployed thousands of state troopers and National Guard soldiers at the border, Gov. Abbott took approximately $160 million from the Texas Department of Public Safety, while tens of millions of dollars were also taken from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Juvenile Justice Department. Despite the absence of any evidence that Operation Lone Star achieved its objectives, Gov. Abbott decided that his pet project was more important than the public safety of Texas residents. [3]    

·         Of the 283 killings resulting from mass shootings since 1966, 58 percent of these killings (or 163) occurred since Gov. Abbott took office in 2015.  Many of the mass shootings involved AR-15 assault weapons.  The figure below illustrates that the number of killings in mass shootings have been accelerating since 2015, a likely consequence of gun friendly legislation more recently adopted under Gov. Abbott’s leadership. Killings for 2022 reflect only the first five months of the year and likely to exceed all previous years  assuming that no future changes are made in Texas law related to gun control. [4]

 

 

·         Despite protests from Texas law enforcement officials, Texas has adopted gun-friendly legislation – promoted by Gov. Abbott and Republican legislators – that has allowed residents to   purchase and carry weapons in public without required training.  The fact that mass shooters are often 18 years old has not prompted Gov. Abbott to add an age restriction that restricts access to assault-style weapons. Gov. Abbott has also made no secret of his endorsement of the NRA.

  

Texas voters should look past the deceptive advertising that is being promoted by the Abbott campaign and focus on his past record of de-funding law enforcement programs and endangering the public safety of Texas residents with gun-friendly legislation.

 

Reference Notes

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[1] Garrett, R. T. (September 2022).  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott widens lead on Beto O’Rourke in new poll. Dallas Morning News, accessed at:

     https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/texas-gov-greg-abbott-widens-lead-on-beto-o-e2-80-99rourke-in-new-poll/ar-AA120gWd

[2]   Rincon, E.T. (September 2022). Disability Messaging by Gov. Abbott Misleads Texas Voters, accessed at:

       https://thecultureofresearch.blogspot.com/2022/09/disability-messaging-by-gov-abbott.html

[3] Beeferman, J.  (April 2022).  Gov. Gregg Abbott redirects $500 million from other agencies to fund border security mission through end of fiscal year.  Texas Tribune.  Accessed at:  https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/29/greg-abbott-texas-border-mission-funding/

[4]   Rincon, E.T. (May 2022). Uvalde School Massacre: Another Mass Shooting Under Gov. Abbott’s Gun Friendly Leadership.  Culture of Research Blogpost, accessed at: https://thecultureofresearch.blogspot.com/2022/05/uvalde-school-massacre-another-mass.html 

Disability Messaging by Gov. Abbott Misleads Texas Voters

The most recent polling numbers regarding the Texas gubernatorial race is rightfully giving Gov. Abbott severe indigestion with Beto O’Rourke trailing by only 7 points.  In an effort to increase his standing among Texas voters, Gov. Abbott’s campaign recently launched political advertising that surprisingly focuses on the challenges that he has experienced and overcome with a physical disability that confined him to a wheel chair for the remainder of his life.  Although well executed, the ad was likely launched as a tactic to distract public attention away from the series of blunders that have occurred under the administration of Gov. Abbott.  Let’s first evaluate Abbott’s  current campaign using the disability messaging tactic, then refresh your memory about the various blunders that he would like Texas voters to forget.

Why the Disability Message is Ill-Conceived:  First, a bit of history about Gov. Abbott’s disability.  When Abbott was 26 years old, he was injured by a falling tree that fell on him while jogging. At that time, Texas did not have a cap on personal injury lawsuits and Abbott was able to win a settlement up to $9 million over his lifetime. In 2003, Texas capped pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice lawsuits at $250,000 – legislation that was strongly supported by Abbott, attorney general at that time, who was eagerly seeking political support for his gubernatorial campaign. Critics, however, have questioned how a man who received a multi-million dollar settlement after a falling tree left him paralyzed and wheelchair bound could support caps on medical malpractice awards.  Gov. Abbott justifies his position by pointing out that his settlement was not based on medical malpractice and there is still no cap on non-medical injuries. Some legal scholars, however, have a different point of view: [1]

“Charles M. Silver, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, said changes in personal injury law and a pro-defendant posture in the judicial branch would still make such a large financial award today substantially less likely.” 

Like Gov. Abbott, there are many Texans that have suffered personal injuries and forced to endure considerable pain and suffering throughout their lives. However, there is no sound reason to limit the settlement awards that these individuals deserve to help pay for medical bills and sustain their families. As another legal expert explained:

“The ‘innocent victim’ Greg Abbott continues to enjoy the benefits of an $11 million settlement while ‘politician’ Greg Abbott fights against the rights of other victims by denying them the same rights afforded him.”   [2]

Gun Violence:  Under Gov. Abbott’s administration, 19 mass shootings have occurred in Texas since 1966, including the recent massacre of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.  Allowing the sales of AR-15 assault rifles has unleashed the anger of so-called patriots and Rambos who seem to delight in mass killings of Texas residents. As shown by the following figure, the number of killings from mass shootings have been accelerating since 2015, a likely consequence of gun friendly legislation more recently adopted under Gov. Abbott’s leadership.  Killings for 2022 reflect only the first five months of the year and likely to exceed all previous years assuming that no future changes are made in Texas law related to gun control.  Rather than advocate for gun control legislation, Gov. Abbott has chosen to focus expanding access to mental health services and encouraging teachers to arm themselves – both options that are controversial and soundly rejected by law enforcement and safety experts.

 

Treatment of Immigrants:  Gov. Abbott and his cronies have yet to appreciate the economic contribution that immigrants have made to the Texas economy and continue to find ways to reduce their presence in Texas – despite the fact that many of them are seeking asylum from dangerous conditions in their home countries.  In 2016, the Texas State Comptroller’s Office conducted an analysis of the economic contributions of undocumented immigrants and concluded that the absence of the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to Texas’ Gross State Product of $17.7 billion.  [3]  In 2019, Texas had the second largest immigrant population in the country with more than 4.9 million immigrants calling Texas home.  The growth in the immigrant population has strengthened the Texas labor force and represented 21.9 percent of the state’s workforce in 2019.  [4]  The U.S. Patent and Trade Office also reported in 2020 that more than half of U.S. patents (53%) were issued to immigrants. [5]  And experts have dispelled the commonly held notion that crime rises with increasing numbers of immigrants.  As reported recently by the Cato Institute:  [6]

“In 2018, the illegal immigrant criminal conviction rate was 782 per 100,000 illegal immigrants, 535 per 100,000 legal immigrants, and 1,422 per 100,000 native‐​born Americans. The illegal immigrant criminal conviction rate was 45 percent below that of native‐​born Americans in Texas.”

 To demonstrate to the Biden administration that the federal government was failing to control “rampant” immigration at the Texas border, Gov. Abbott initiated a busing program to transport hundreds of immigrant border crossers to cities like New York and Arizona – a program that has cost Texas taxpayers an estimated $12 million and still continuing.  Two other failed efforts initiated by Gov. Abbott included the added inspection of trucks crossing the Texas border, which resulted in significant delays and millions in losses in spoiled food; and millions of taxpayer dollars that were re-allocated from the Dept. of Public Safety to pay for a border wall that never achieved its stated objectives. Given their economic contributions to the state and the high demand for workers, Gov. Abbott’s unfriendly immigrant policies do not make much sense.

Inaction in Regulating the Power Grid:  Despite the millions in damage to Texas homes and over 200 lives lost, energy experts state that Texas has not made significant upgrades to the Texas power grid and remains vulnerable to additional catastrophic events. Gov. Abbott has apparently not learned any lessons from the recent power grid failure and appears reluctant to lose favor with energy industry executives.

Restricting Women’s Reproductive Rights:  Perhaps the most significant public policy to stain Gov. Abbott’s administration relates to the restrictive abortion policies that severely restrict the reproductive rights of Texas women. The zealous efforts by conservatives to save the lives of the unborn flies in complete contradiction to their support of fewer restrictions on guns that leads to the termination of life. Indeed, is it possible to be pro-life and pro-death at the same time?  Republicans running for office in different primaries are learning the hard way that this will be a show stopper for many women voters.  

Thus, the disability message initiated by Gov. Abbott’s campaign is misleading and intended to convince Texas voters that he is somehow deserving of their support by overcoming his physical disability – a distraction that overlooks the multi-million dollar settlement that he obtained but has conveniently denied to other Texans who may suffer catastrophic injuries.  “It is not the challenges of life that are important, but rather how you handle those challenges” – a message that Abbott has repeated in his campaigns.  It is clear that Abbott indeed handled his life challenges: he sued and obtained a multi-million dollar settlement, then closed the door on other Texans by endorsing a limit on personal injury settlements.

Gov. Abbott has abandoned Texas residents in pursuit of misguided public policies.  It is time for Gov. Abbott to move on and allow another candidate the opportunity to improve the quality of life for Texas residents by supporting more reasonable tort reform for victims of personal injuries, gun control legislation that protects our children, women’s reproductive rights, welcoming immigrants to help maintain the Texas economy, and taking decisive action on improvements to the power grid.

References

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[1] Oginski, G.  Politician who fought to cap medical malpractice awards received huge personal injury settlement 30 years ago.  Accessed at:  https://www.oginski-law.com/library/politician-who-fought-to-cap-medical-malpractice-awards-received-huge-personal-injury-settlement.cfm#:~:text=The%20insurance%20companies%20for%20the,to%20the%20cap%20Abbott%20supported.

[2] Bello, M.M. (August 2013).  Greg Abbott: Tort reform hypocrite.  Lawsuit Funding News. Accessed at:  https://lawsuitfinancial.legalexaminer.com/uncategorized/greg-abbott-tort-reform-hypocrite/

[3] Keaton, C. (December 2016). Special Report by Texas Comptroller.  Undocumented immigrants in Texas: A financial analysis of the impact to the state budget and economy.

[4] American Immigration Council (July 2022).  The economic contributions of immigrants in Texas. Accessed at:    https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/economic-contributions-immigrants-texas

[5] U.S. Patent Statistics Chart Calendar Years 1963 – 2020. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Technology Monitoring Team.   Accessed at: https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/us_stat.htm

[6] Nowrasteh, A. (October 2020). New research on illegal immigration and crime. CATO Institute. Accessed at: https://www.cato.org/blog/new-research-illegal-immigration-crime-0#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20the%20illegal%20immigrant,%E2%80%8Bborn%20Americans%20in%20Texas.