The last few months have seen a high number of outrageous legislative and executive actions taken in Texas, Florida, and other states by the radical right wing neo-fascists in control. Most recently our governor, Greg Abbott, has publicly stated that he will pardon convicted murderer Daniel Perry as soon as the paperwork hits his desk. Perry is the man who in 2020 drove his car into a group of peaceful protesters and proceeded to gun down Garrett Foster. Black Lives Matter protesters were on the streets of Austin for days legally and peacefully protesting when Perry ran a red light and drove into the crowd then pulled a gun and shot Foster. The 12 member jury unanimously convicted Perry after learning that he had made numerous social media posts discussing ideas on how to create a situation in which he could shoot a protester and then claim self-defense. The judge hasn’t even sentenced Perry, nor has an appeal been filed yet. Legal experts including a former criminal court judge and a law professor say Abbott’s actions are unprecedented. Abbott is a former Texas Supreme Court justice and knows that his actions are legally wrong.
Abbott didn’t attend Perry’s trial so he hasn’t seen the testimony yet he has already instructed the Board of Pardons and Paroles to investigate the case as he intends to issue a pardon. Since the governor appoints the members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles his instructions and public statements make it clear what is expected of them. This is a travesty of justice. Worse it is dangerous as it encourages other white men to attack protestors or anyone else they disagree with on the assumption that they’ll be protected by the government. This sort of behavior by a high government official is what you expect in places like El Salvador and Uganda where the rule of law is given short shrift by those in power.
Between Gov. Abbott’s outrageous statements and the pronouncements of far right talking heads like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson it’s as if the right can’t see how their own rhetoric and actions are reminiscent of Italy in the 1920’s when fascist dictator Mussolini became Prime Minister on a nationalist platform. There are also elements of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in the calls for violence against other peaceful members of our society. It’s a frightening time to live in this country. The governor is playing politics by pandering to gun cult and white nationalist voters as he prepares to run for president in 2024 and endangering the public to do it.
Our governor isn’t the only Texas elected official pandering to white nationalists, there’s also state representative Bryan Slaton out of Greenville who filed HB 2889 which if passed would provide property tax discounts of 10% for each child living with their married parents. So a family with 10 children would pay no property taxes. That might seem innocuous at first but consider that the bill disallows that discount if either parent has ever been divorced. Slaton is pandering to Christian conservatives who push against the availability of divorce. Those are the same voters most likely to be White Christian nationalists who also don’t recognize our constitution’s express separation of church and state.
Republicans like Abbott and Slaton keep raising the stakes so they can stand out from the crowd of right wing extremists.
Published in the Seguin Gazette - April 12, 2023
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