What we should be asking candidates

It is a near certainty that sometime this year the U.S. Supreme Court is going to overturn two landmark decisions made by the court decades ago that guaranteed pregnant women the right to an abortion.

Texans don’t have to wait, though. The future without abortion rights is already here thanks to Senate Bill 8, which mandates no abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. That might be reasonable if women knew the moment they became pregnant.

As it is, however, it is often more than six weeks later before pregnancy can be medically confirmed.

Any possible ruling is a moot point in Texas because the court has so far upheld a Texas law that allows neighbor to sue another neighbor they believe has gotten an abortion after the six-week time limit.

The abortion bill came out of East Texas under the sponsorship of State Sen. Bryan Hughes of Mineola, who represents the Tyler area. Democrats didn’t have any chance to stop the bill and, truthfully, most thought that the bill would be quickly overturned by the Supreme Court.

Not so fast. The court has officially been stacked.

For a plaintiff’s troubles in reporting a violation, if the suit is successful, they will reap at least $10,000 and the payoff could go higher, depending on the judge’s ruling.

Given the realities, it seems that we are asking the wrong questions of candidates running for every statewide office and the legislature.

At least for the near term, asking a candidate whether they support or oppose abortion rights does not matter much, what we should be asking is how Texas intends on dealing with the increase of children forced to be born with severe mental or physical problems and those born who are not wanted by the parents.

This discussion will not include any hardships that might befall parents. Parents have ways of dealing with such matters, though it might cause true difficulty. Babies are helpless and at the mercy of society.

Considering the effects of not allowing abortions for any reason is not a fanciful discussion or even a political one. It is basic and pragmatic. If we don’t plan for what will happen a great many children are going to suffer, and not just those who are saved from abortion.

This would perhaps be less of a worry if Texas politicians had ever — Democratic or Republican — shown that they have the political will to take care of Texas families in times of stress.

With Republican gubernatorial candidates bragging how they want to cut budgets and eliminate taxes, someone ought to be asking them how they intend to deal with extra costs of children who are born with profound handicaps who will require institutional environments for as long as they live.

Ask the question, but they won’t give a straight answer. Worse, when it comes time to foot the bill for humane care, they are likely to turn a deaf ear to the real needs of the children.

As unexpected children are born into families, though, the entire family units are going have troubles. The Texas Legislature will have to be prepared to deal with this and it is going to take money.

If any of the Republican candidates are mentioning this reality — or even thinking about the possibility — it hasn’t been a part of their public remarks.

The Republicans have been blathering endlessly about how they have stopped abortion and “protected” the children.

Another example of how many Republicans are merely “pro-birth,” not pro-life.

Republicans are, of course, favored to win all the statewide races so we may see just how much they really care about the children when push comes to spending.

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Did Congressman Louie Gohmert really want to win the Texas Attorney General’s GOP primary?

It’s a valid question given the effort he has put in it so far. He is running last among the other major GOP candidates — incumbent Ken Paxton, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman — in fund-raising.

The latest figures from the Texas Ethics Commission show Gohmert has raised just over a million dollars, with more than half of that coming from just two contributors, both Texas legislators.

State Rep. Mayes Middleton of Wallisville gave Gohmert $300,000 personally and Rep. Matt Krause gave $250,000 from his campaign funds. Middleton chairs the conservative Texas Freedom Caucus.

The other candidates have all done significant media buys across the state while Gohmert has not been nearly as aggressive. He could be holding his cash for a big finish.        

This isn’t to say that Gohmert is no longer a serious contender. Among conservatives, his name recognition is high. He’s been the darling of conservative radio and television for years. He might not need the same media blitz as the others.

Paxton, particularly, has been aggressively campaigning to keep his job. In most other states, someone with his record wouldn’t have a chance. To say he is ethically challenged is an understatement.

Gohmert could have some troubles of his own. He has strenuously claimed that neither he nor his staff had any connection to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection but the congressional committee investigating hasn’t reported yet.

Even if not involved, Gohmert did what he could to further all the early conspiracy theories — none of which had any basis in fact — to try to help Donald Trump hang on to the presidency.

To add insult, Gohmert didn’t even get Trump’s endorsement for the office. That went to Paxton, who was able to grovel even more to Trump. Paxton is crowing about the endorsement across the airwaves.

All-in-all, listening to Paxton is a little bit sickening but at this point it would be surprising if Gohmert was able to make a runoff for this race.

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THIS WEEK WILL be the first installment of slave stories in my new Substack effort: Identifying Slaves.

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