Using God and guns drives the NRA and Texas Republican politics: At an NRA convention in Houston TX immediately following the slaughter of 19 Texas children in Uvalde, Texas, Wayne LaPierre, the NRA Executive Vice President, said, “God help us if we don’t harden our schools”
That entails the GOP rehearsed messaging after this latest blood bath in the land of more guns than people. Hardening also applies to the political malpractice of Republicans throughout this land of sedition and secession.
Texas GOP-driven culture leaves no room for protecting the people. It’s geared to protecting political careers, starting with Greg Abbott and encompassing the GOP members of the Texas legislature. The GOP program centers on re-election not the safety of Texas citizens, whether adults or children, and that seems to drive all levels of governments, state and local.
Controlled media messaging is accordingly always geared to the GOP political agenda, rather than citizen safety concerns. Texas GOP policies regarding putting assault weapons in the hands of 18 years old citizens is no exception. Accordingly, the response to the murder of 19 children and two adult teachers at a grade school in Uvalde, TX was not enough guns in the hands of good guys, while not mentioning putting military-style assault rifles in the hands of non-vetted 18-year-olds.
To assure that GOP sentiments prevail in an increasingly multi-cultural state, gun-culture plaints of “hardening” schools – to assure gun sales will soar – also applies to hardening voting through legislation (making voting “harder” for non-whites). GOP control of government and the official state message won’t stand for widespread non-white, progressive voting.
Intense gerrymandering will take care of continued GOP control of government as well, coupled with thug intimidation at voting sites. Throw in a “mis-voting” legislator-intervention clause as well.
Control of Texas government by Republicans has not just brought legislation to assure continued control, but also executive decision-making that risks the perils of severe weather, resulting in power failures. Controlled messaging to the public can also be harmful.
Three severe winter storms swept across the United States in February of 2021. A prolonged, foolhardy failure to “harden” infrastructure in Texas left the state vulnerable. It caused the worst energy infrastructure failure in Texas state history, leading to shortages of water, food, and heat. More than 4.5 million homes and businesses were left without power, some for weeks. The death toll ranged as high as 700 people, while government misinformation made the crisis worse.
With his anti-green-power-stance, Republican governor Greg Abbott initially blamed the outages on frozen wind turbines and solar panels. However, data showed that failure to winterize power sources, primarily natural gas, caused the grid failure. Secession-minded under GOP control, Texas GOP politicians separated the power grid from national grids, making it difficult to import electricity.
Greg Abbot propaganda abounds.
Having presidential ambitions and playing to the Republican base, Greg Abbott extends his school “hardening” policy (more guns in hands of “good guys’) to border “hardening,” a great deal of it with needless spending of Texas taxpayer money and causing goods shortages in the process.
For example, Early this year, Texas National Guard troops called Abbott’s rushed border operation a disaster, involving deplorable conditions and an unclear mission after being sent there late last year. A Texas guard member said after “three weeks of sitting on my ass with zero task or purpose,” I was sent home. Up to 10,000 members of the Texas Military Department were sent there for obvious political purposes.
Greg Abbott, with another political display last month, was forced to reverse a Mexican truck inspection plan, because of deepening economic losses involved needed goods such as food supplies. The border was blocked with traffic jams of inspected trucks. No contraband, including illegal drugs, was found in the inspections.
From the Texas statehouse to the somewhat rural reaches of Uvalde, concern for yourself and your ambitions from Abbott on down, seems to permeate Texas governance. When love and concern for innocent children — not even prompted by frantic parent cries — does not drive you to immediately pursue the shooter, a practice since the Columbine School shooting? Does Abbott also propose a hardening of the heart?
One also assumes that Greg Abbott has calculated that he will lose few votes in the upcoming election for governor over his many self-serving, political exploits, many at the cost of lives of children and adults, millions of dollars needlessly expended, and great hardships for Texans. All of this over the course of his term as governor.
What do you lose, if not your humanity?
