The Lone Star Project has been tracking Greg Abbott for years (see our complete Abbott Files), but as 2013 comes to a close we want to share five moments from the past year that sum up and define the real Greg Abbott.
1. An attack on Texas jobs, and then a flip-flop
In August, Greg Abbott bizarrely teamed up with the Obama Administration to try and block the merger of American Airlines and US Airways, threatening thousands of Texas jobs. He even wrote an op-ed defending his anti-job position. However, after taking flak from all sides, Abbott caved to the pressure and flip-flopped. It was a dramatic demonstration of bad judgment at the outset and weakness in the end. Wendy Davis supported the merger from the start, stuck to her guns and came out the smarter, stronger leader.
2. Not the man for Texas women
In October, Greg Abbott made the audacious statement that “There is nobody in the State of Texas who has done more to fight to help women than I have in the past decade.” Uh, not really. Greg Abbott’s record of hostility toward women in the workplace and their safety at home is long and disgraceful. If there is a list of public officials helpful to women, Greg Abbott should be at or near the bottom.
3. A revealing tweet
Greg Abbott boasts that he writes all his own tweets. Good thing, because his casual tweets give Texans some insight into his caustic and mean-spirited point of view. After a supporter posted a tweet referring to Wendy Davis as an “idiot” and “Retard Barbie,” rather than redirect him to a more civil exchange or simply ignore the comment, Greg Abbott eagerly thanked the poster and retweeted the small-minded insults.
4. Abetting Identity Theft
In November, Greg Abbott unveiled his so-called plan to protect Texans’ privacy and secure personal information. He even gave tips on protecting your identity. He failed to mention, though, that Abbott himself has been one of the greatest risks to Texans having their identity stolen. He exposed over 6 million Texans’ Social Security numbers to potential release for use in identity theft. A few years ago, he even sent two of his prosecutors to the home of an elderly Fort Worth woman where they spied into bathroom window while she was showering – without any warrant or knowledge of any wrong doing.
5. Redistricting slap-down
The title says it all. Greg Abbott wasted millions of Texas taxpayers’ dollars defending an intentionally discriminatory redistricting State Senate map for the sole purpose of destroying Black and Hispanic voting strength in Wendy Davis’ Senate District 10. Wendy Davis fought back on behalf of her constituents and made Greg back down. Abbott was forced to restore District 10 and, in September, a federal court in San Antonio court issued its final judgment: Wendy Davis won, Greg Abbott lost.
