Opinion | How Far Are Texans From Open Rebellion Against Greg Abbott?

Authored by nytimes.com and submitted by Maxcactus
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Even so, the refusal of Democratic House members to roll over and play dead was performative in the best sense. Their protest made international news, which means that some people here might also realize that Republicans are bound and determined to take certain rights away.

There is also residual anger over the big freeze of February 2021, a reminder of which comes in the form of a monthly gas bill. Recent investigations — by The Texas Observer and The Texas Tribune — show just how many of the energy companies profited from soaring gas prices while ordinary Texans were shivering in their boots. The reports also raise the question of whether a gusher of campaign contributions (so far Mr. Abbott’s campaign alone received around $4.6 million) was a form of gratitude for what was seen as favorable treatment by the governor and some lawmakers.

And then, yes, there is the pandemic.

At about 46 percent, Texas — the nation’s second-largest state by population — has a relatively low vaccination rate. Some hospital I.C.U.s are overflowing with new Covid cases just as public schools are opening. Huzzahs to the elected officials in the state’s most populous cities and counties for fighting back in defiance of the governor.

These fights reflect the one that has been going on since Mr. Abbott took office: the war between the conservatives in the statehouse, supported by rural voters and some wealthy Republican donors, and the more liberal leaders in the cities and metro areas that reflect the will of much of their more diverse voters.

The new census figures show that the growth in Texas since 2010 is in the cities — fully 87 percent of new residents have opted for life in our biggest metropolitan areas, while rural communities remain stagnant, according to Steven Pedigo, the director of the Urban Lab at the University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, in a CNN report. Our four biggest cities now account for 68 percent of the state’s population, up from 64 percent in 2010.

It is possible to hope — because it always springs eternal — that what we are seeing is not just a series of isolated battles but the beginning of a sustained backlash, at least among energized Democrats, against the Republican bullies. That includes but is not limited to Mr. Abbott, who seems to have focused on his own political fortunes while telling a majority of Texans that they can just go hang.

Mimi Swartz (@mimiswartz) is an executive editor at Texas Monthly.

ioncloud9 on August 23rd, 2021 at 11:50 UTC »

Never because he has an R

Okbuddygeorgist on August 23rd, 2021 at 10:46 UTC »

Hopefully 2022, but it might take until 2026 or 2030 for the demographic shifts to go far enough to allow the Democrats to actually win. Maybe even longer if the Latino flight from the Democratic party intensifies (though there's reason to think it may actually reverse to at least some extent)

SanctimoniousPrick2 on August 23rd, 2021 at 10:34 UTC »

When enough Republicans die from self-inflicted COVID so that all the gerrymandering and voter suppression in the world won't help them steal elections. Texas wants to be blue.