Texas Governor Removes All COVID-19 Restrictions–Deaths Stemming from Power Outages Weren’t Enough

When we think of Texas, we tend to call to mind tough-minded ranchers, pickup trucks with gun racks, cowboy boots,  death penalty advocates, high school football as a virtual religion, and perhaps a few oil tycoons–each one a societal element that tends to vote Republican.

Yet Trump came fairly close to losing Texas last November, because there is more to the Lone Star State than the stereotype above.  In fact, the state is home to many enormous colleges and universities: Texas State, Texas University, Rice, Texas Christian, Houston University, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, North Texas University, Baylor, Southern Texas University, and many dozens of others.  Most of these are university systems with campuses that dot the state, and crank out well-educated people who are unlikely to be Trump supporters.

Their governor, Greg Abbott, however, is a Republican’s Republican, and, as announced above, has removed all restrictions associated with COVID-19. Of course, this flies in the teeth of medical science, but hey, Texas gets what it wants and a great number of its residents will greet this decision with a big yee-haw!

Texas’s bulldog independence was in the news last week as well, when their stand-alone grid failed when unprecedented freezing conditions hit, and the resultant energy catastrophe killed at least 70, with deaths linked to carbon monoxide poisoning, car crashes, drownings, house fires and hypothermia, where 4.5 million people lost power, and $19.5 billion of damage was done.  

Abbott must be thinking: 70 dead?  These people ain’t seen nothin’ yet.