Woe in Texas

To use an already-overused cliché, the failures we've seen in Texas this week are a feature, not a bug, of the style of government and the character of people that we have elected.

Before the storm, Texas failed in its response to the coronavirus. When local officials tried to establish or enforce capacity limits and mask wearing, state officials stepped in to object because, like windmills, masks must be liberal. Given months to plan for the vaccine rollout, both state and local governments failed to develop and communicate a workable plan. More than 41,000 Texans are dead.

Texans don't ask much of our government. But is it too much to ask that government not try to kill us?

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For too long, Texans have elected people more interested in dismantling government than actually running one. As we painfully learned this week, small government sounds good right up until the power goes out and the faucet runs dry.

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For too long, our politicians have been more interested in wedge issues to win party primaries increasingly dominated by extremists.

How much time did our Legislature spend debating transgender bathrooms? How many new ways can we find to restrict access to abortion and promote out-of-control gun culture? How many times can we sue the federal government for political sport? ("I go into the office, I sue the federal government and I go home," Greg Abbott boasted when he was attorney general, starting a tradition his successor has been proud to continue, even when it means trying to disenfranchise millions of voters.)

Our government has dismantled the social safety net and outsourced what's left.

Our regulatory agencies work to protect the businesses they regulate, not the people they serve.

Our state officials repeatedly undermine local governments. The last Legislature restricted local taxing authority, much of which is spent on public safety. Now the governor wants to forbid cities from controlling their own police budgets.

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Our government has dismantled the social safety net and outsourced what's left. Our regulatory agencies work to protect the businesses they regulate, not the people they serve. Our state officials repeatedly undermine local governments. The last Legislature restricted local taxing authority, much of which is spent on public safety. Now the governor wants to forbid cities from controlling their own police budgets.

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In Texas, the buck doesn't stop here — it just gets on a plane to Mexico.

  Statesman

In case you missed the reference: click here.

Rather than face up to the fact that they've been warned about Texas power grid vulnerabilities for a decade, numerous Texas officials sought to shift blame to other agencies or to frozen wind turbines, because renewable energy is somehow a liberal conceit.

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Texans deserve better. Let's remember these frozen, powerless, waterless nights on Election Day.

Please do.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.