Abbott acting like a presidential candidate

The race for U.S. president has begun and what a field we have so far — Republicans Kanye West and Donald Trump — just to name the announced candidates at this moment but we all know there are going to be a boatload more.

Ron DeSantis of Florida is a certain entrant and, despite his denials, our own Greg Abbott is showing unmistakable signs that he, too, will join in the fun.

Just days after his re-election victory over Beto O’Rourke, Abbott delivered some fresh red meat to the GOP by declaring that situation at the Texas border amounted to an “invasion.” This is an attempt by Abbott to prove that he will be the “toughest” hombre in this town when dealing with people who are immigrating to the United States.

This, despite the fact that almost all of those people are going through the process in the manner the law proscribes. Never have so many been so vilified for following the law. But in Republican-land nothing quite sells like fear and near-naked racism, at least not here behind the Pine Curtain.

Then, as if to bolster his bona fides further, Abbott decided to send two more buses of migrants to Philadelphia. Nice.

It may always be sunny in Philadelphia but it isn’t always warm, so some migrants hit the City of Brotherly Love wearing shorts when the temps were hovering around 40 degrees. That’s not dangerously cold but the guess here is that the only temperature Abbott was worried about was that of Republican donors.

None of this is good for Texas, of course, and the next session of the Texas Legislature is likely to resemble the darkest days of the Spanish Inquisition. It will not be pretty.

As you watch the machinations of the Texas government over the next year consider whether actions might be taken clearly to support Abbott’s chances to win the Republican nomination to the presidency.

They shouldn’t be that hard to spot. Anything that seems utterly unreasonable (crazy) or just plain mean is likely aimed to attract the hard right. A candidate has to win the Republican nomination before they get to the general election.

A thousand things — at least — can happen between now and the next election time that might dissuade Abbott from the run, including the popularity of Donald Trump, or a negotiation not to be run and be chosen as someone else’s running mate.

While getting ever-so-slightly more blue over the past decade, it seems a safe bet that Abbott could deliver Texas for the GOP. He could easily a vice presidential candidate.

All of this process might be fascinating, even fun, for someone on the outside. For those of us who live here, it is more likely to be excruciating.

Buckle up, kiddos.

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On the plus side, we have about six more weeks in the political career of U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert. He has done almost nothing in the House of Representatives, so we should be able to escape the end of his term without any further damage.

The question is what kind of representation can we expect from newly elected Nathaniel Moran?

If his campaign website is any indication, it will be more of the same but maybe — just maybe — he will step back from the edge of the cliff a tiny bit. That’s more of a hope than an expectation. Moran has not shown himself to be quite so extreme in his speech as Gohmert has been.

It should be noted, though, that Moran had the full-throated endorsement of Trump and State Sen. Bryan Hughes. Moran has not yet endorsed Trump, though. The former president will probably expect that quid pro quo.

Considering the current representation, perhaps we ought to be happy if he doesn’t award honorary American flags to convicted criminals.

One thing is clear from Gohmert’s tenure, if Moran wants to accomplish anything as a representative, he will have to be far less abrasive than his predecessor. Gohmert’s extremism made him radioactive, even to most other Republicans.

Moran isn’t going to suddenly moderate his views and given that he won 78 percent of the vote it would be politically foolish to do so. About the best we can hope for is that he will be somewhat responsive to all his constituents and be willing to consider that what he says imprints all of East Texas— Gohmert has not been willing to do either.

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Beyond the Gohmert-Moran change, our elected government is going to stay pretty much the same for the next two years, just as it has for about the last decade and the decade before that and….

Expect complaints, especially from registered voters who didn’t bother to vote because, “it won’t matter, anyway.”

Talk about extra sensory perception! So, why do those people bother to fill out a registration card? It’s no great accomplishment to be registered if you are just going to sit on your butt come election day.

Or perhaps it is a multiple-step process. This year I’ll consider registering, next year I’ll try to register but be too late, the next year I’ll register but not vote.

I’m hoping they’ll all join in come 2024. Maybe a few will decide to register and actually vote in the very same year. It’s a lot to ask, I know.

That doesn’t mean that Democrats will be able to win any races behind the Pine Curtain but it cannot hurt for a few more people to vote.