Good morning, 

It’s great to be back with you! Back in January our Board of Directors asked me to take a break this summer from daily operations and reflect on the last 14 years of our work – and make plans for our future.

Over the coming weeks, we will be announcing some exciting growth and expansions resulting from that focused time of reflection. 

But first, here is today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Monday, August 10, 2020
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• While I was enjoying a productive summer, Gov. Greg Abbott was not. He saw his popularity plummet faster than the state’s economy under the weight of his ham-handed approach to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. He had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad summer.

• Meanwhile, the once reliably Republican Texas has slipped to “toss-up” status according to numerous polls ahead of the November presidential election. So why is Gov. Abbott letting his political advisors Dave Carney and Karl Rove attack President Trump? So much for all those demands for pre-election GOP unity...
    
• Note: demands for GOP unity only come when conservatives criticize corrupt establishment Republicans.
     

• The New Hampshire-based Carney told the New York Times that Abbott used to talk to President Trump regularly, but had stopped because he believed the president got “bored” with the coronavirus.
     

• Or, maybe the president just got bored by calls from a governor who wanted hand-holding from Washington?
      

• Either way, the 2022 gubernatorial race officially kicked off this summer with Mr. Abbott picking up a couple challengers, including media personality Chad Prather. Several high-profile individuals are reportedly considering runs, as well.

• Speaking of elections, Gov. Abbott had a bad July. Two establishment House incumbents (J.D. Sheffield and Dan Flynn) were strongly endorsed by the governor... and lost in the July GOP primary runoff. And they lost big. 
      

• Mid-July saw Gov. Abbott’s favored candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican Party of Texas (incumbent James Dickey) go down in a humiliating defeat at the hands of grassroots favorite, Allen West.
   

• Lt. Col. West wasted no time, on assuming office, in offering frank criticisms of Gov. Abbott’s performance – and demanding a special session be called to address the myriad of issues surrounding the coronavirus response.
      

• As it turns out, the grassroots want their Republican officials fighting for principled reforms – not appeasing Democrats in the Austin sewer and national media.

• Nothing says summer like a pair of flip-flops, but they aren’t a good look for politicians entertaining dreams of running for president in 2024.
     
• The summer began with Gov. Abbott saying mask mandates represented an infringement on citizens’ rights. Two weeks later, Abbott issued a statewide mask mandate that might as well have been drafted by the governor of California – and with no expiration date in sight.
      

• This left local law enforcement officials trying to figure out if they were not supposed to enforce mask mandates, as Abbott had said... or if they were supposed to enforce mask mandates, as Abbott had also said.
      

• Just two weeks ago, Gov. Abbott said schools needed to reopen or risk losing funding. Three days later, he reversed course and said schools could stay closed with full funding all semester. 
      

• Meanwhile, taxpayers are stuck with ever-increasing property tax bills paying for... what, exactly? Empty buildings? Kids ghosting online classes? Teachers are pulling double duties, but at least over-paid administrators are still making the big bucks...

• Gov. Abbott also spent the summer being served with a series of serious lawsuits. These include small business owners he has thrust out of business, a former political supporter who believes legislation should be passed by legislators and not executive fiat, and legislators upset that he has overreached his authority. 
      

• “[The] Texas Constitution requires a separation of powers, and that separation leaves policy-making decisions with the Texas Legislature. These decisions are not changed by pandemics.” - Lawsuit filed by State Sen. Bob Hall, and State Reps. Kyle Biederman, Mike Lang, Steve Toth, and Bill Zedler
       

• Fun Fact: There could have been at least five special sessions of the Legislature since the coronavirus pandemic hit Texas. Instead, Mr. Abbott has legislated from the governor’s mansion through a series of vague and conflicting mandates and orders – shutting out lawmakers from their constitutional role in setting law.

• All of this has resulted in Gov. Abbott being officially censured by nearly a dozen county-level Republican executive committees – including Montgomery County, the largest GOP county in Texas.
      

• And many people have begun asking: Is Texas becoming California’s awkward kid brother? Considering the massive government subsidy Gov. Abbott is cheerleading for electric car maker Tesla, it’s a fair question.
      

• Greg Abbott once enjoyed enormous support from Texas voters and lawmakers alike, but his powergrab in response to the Chinese coronavirus seems to have gone to his head. Or, maybe, it has revealed where his heart has been all along?

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