Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.
The longer Gov. Greg Abbott remains in office, the clearer it becomes that he's more capable of creating spectacles than he is of leading the state.
In the latest of those spectacles, the Republican governor has vetoed at least 77 bills from the recently completed legislative session. His aim? To signal his displeasure that members of the Texas House and Senate couldn't resolve their differences over how to address property tax relief — one of his priorities for the session.
As noted in this issue's Sucks/Rocks roundup, those vetoes shot down bipartisan legislation aimed at curbing dangerous dog attacks and improving voting access for people with disabilities. Worthy goals to be sure. Other casualties include proposals to boost transparency at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, improve campaign expenditure reporting and speed the resolution of complaints to the Public Utility Commission.
While property tax relief for Texans is long overdue, Abbott's veto tantrum isn't likely to drive a thoughtful, well-debated compromise.
Instead, it's just another spectacle meant to project a tough-guy image while deflecting from Abbott's failure to lead. It's on par with the governor's migrant busing program, his "steel wall" of police vehicles at the border and his dispatching of guard troops to protect the state from the routine U.S. military exercise dubbed Jade Helm.
To anyone paying attention, the gulf between the House and Senate on property taxes was clear weeks before the session was over. However, instead of using his bully pulpit to bring those sides together, Abbott appeared to ignore the rift.
Indeed, the governor was busy gallivanting around the state, trying to win support for his school voucher plan — something sane political observers declared dead on arrival since it did little to address the concerns of urban Democrats and rural Republicans, who have rejected similar plans in the past.
Once again, Texans are left with a front-row seat to the Abbott Assclown Show. This time, it's a pants-shitting tantrum in which the toddler occupying the governor's mansion rips up potentially worthwhile legislation because he didn't get his way. Someone change his training pants. They stink.
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