People who read my columns or know me personally know that my background is in science and economics. I like data the way some people like chocolate. Those same people know that I was a life-long Republican who left the party when they nominated Trump. They know I am pro-life, though I believe that Roe v. Wade should be upheld because I am not arrogant enough to think that my moral standards must be universally correct. They also know that I voted for Greg Abbott twice.
What they may not know is that I am now Abbott’s biggest problem. That is heady talk for a 75-year-old woman with no power base, so let me explain.
Abbott’s lead over challenger Beto O’Rourke has narrowed to 6 points. That is less than the margin that led to George Bush’s victory over Ann Richards in 1994. But that is just one of the numbers that I am looking at. Here are a few others.
We are currently spending $3 billion (No, I am still not comfortable with a state budget having numbers that start with a “B”) to send the Texas National Guard to the border even though they have no legal authority to arrest or detain immigrants. This all-hat-and-no-cattle plan is being paid for by, among other things, cutting the earned tuition credits of the same National Guard participants who are having their lives and incomes disrupted by a meaningless gesture. In economics we call this inefficiency.
During the ERCOT failure the power companies made some $11 billion (there’s that “B” again) in profits. None of this windfall profit was returned to their customers who were freezing without power and had no money to go to Cancun. This summer we still have ERCOT power failures due to heat because the power companies were given no mandate to fix the problem. Talk is cheap, but action is MIA.
What about the women? After all, we vote in higher numbers than do men. Women in Texas are 24% more likely to be murdered by a gun than women in other states. Our maternal mortality rate is worse than Tajikistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Good grief!
The same people who tout this state as a rich haven for business should be ashamed of finding us below three countries whose cultures generally treat their women like livestock. Our arrest rates for murder have dropped by 25% in the last eight years and our arrest rate for rape has dropped by almost 50%. As a woman, and as a former member of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature and someone vitally concerned with issues connected to women both young and old, I am deeply disturbed by these numbers.
These are numbers, data, facts that can be verified from several different sources. They are not opinions, feelings or emotional tirades. But my reaction to them does affect me at a visceral level.
Greg Abbott has done the one thing no politician should. He has made me embarrassed and ashamed of my votes for him. But I both admit to and learn from my mistakes. I will not vote for him again.
Thank goodness Beto O’Rourke is a worthwhile challenger, someone who has positive alternatives for all the problems I have cited.
The minions of the far right will attack my motives. They will deny the facts. They will accuse me of not being Republican enough. They are wrong, but I can’t change their mind. But neither can they, with their threats and name-calling, change me. And I am not alone.
Yup, this old lady may be Abbott’s biggest problem.
Look at the numbers, vote for change and keep the faith.
Louise Butler is a retired educator and published author who lives in Edinburg. She writes for The Monitor’s Board of Contributors.
