Texas Governor Greg Abbott at a press conference March 15 in Austin beginning to push for clemency for a man who shot a protester after Fox News’ Tucker Carlson turned him into a problem.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was asked in February about the notorious back-and-forth feud with his Florida counterpart, Republican Ron DeSantis.
Both DeSantis and, to a much lesser degree, Abbott are considered potential 2024 presidential candidates, so they appear to be more or less engaged in an unspoken competition to outdo each other in politics.
So far, the results have culminated in each governor sending undocumented immigrants to states with Democratic governors, restricting abortion, expanding gun rights, and limiting or outright banning mention of race, sexuality, and gender in schools. .
All of this has been done in order to satiate the petty impulses that fuel the modern conservative movement in hopes of racking up enough appearances on Fox’s primetime “News” block to garner enough support to launch the perfectly bigoted presidential campaign. Campaign.
However, Abbott still does not accept what is driving his decision to use governance to troll and harm people. telling him atheTexas Grandstand when asked about DeSantis, “The reality is that we really only focus on Texas and work for our constituents here in our state.”
That doesn’t explain the latest example of Abbott’s desperate and increasingly dangerous attempts to build a national following: calling the pardons man convicted of murdering Black Lives Matter protester in Austin in 2020.
daniel perry he was recently convicted of murder Garrett Foster from his car in downtown Austin in July 2020, two months after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
after perry turned In a crowd of marching BLM protesters, he drove his car into a group that included Foster. Foster, a white Air Force veteran, legally carried an AK-47, but it was Perry who shot Foster five times through his car window with a pistol. Witnesses said Foster never raised the rifle from him.
It only took Abbott a day to back a convicted murderer once Tucker Carlson got involved.
The recently fired presenter of ”tucker carlson tonight”, who had a daily audience of more than 3 million, was used to using his platform effectively to goad Republican politicians to do what he wanted.
So, on a recent broadcast of his show on Friday night, Carlson called out Abbott for not agreeing to appear on the show to address Perry’s murder conviction.
Carlson said Abbott’s office suggested Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and that’s when the second most powerful man in the Republican Party called him.
“So that’s Greg Abbott’s position: There’s no such thing as a right to self-defense in Texas,” Carlson reclaimed.
Less than 24 hours later, Abbott made his first public comments about Perry’s case on social media, promising him a pardon.
“I am working as quickly as Texas law allows regarding the sergeant’s pardon. Perry”, Abbott wrote.
Abbott also tweeted that Perry should have been protected by state “stand your ground” laws, blaming a “progressive” district attorney for prosecuting him.
Have you caught all the buzzwords?
The embattled Carlson, who recently lost his job (did I mention him yet?) was not mentioned by name, but is is not the first time that Abbott has announced some policy in response to one of Carlson’s on-air rants.
You no longer have to; It’s obvious who you’re answering to.
As longtime Abbott watchers have noted, during his eight years in office, the governor has largely rebuffed the countless requests for clemency that landed on his desk.
“This is unprecedented,” said state Rep. Ron Reynolds, chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, in a statement responding to Abbott’s pledge. “In a state where this governor often touts the ‘rule of law’ and cracks down on crime, here we see him openly declaring his intention to pardon a convicted murderer who took the life of a protester.”
A former state Supreme Court justice and three-term Texas attorney general, Abbott lets us know how justice bends to the will of those with power, even among the most insignificant public officials serving in government.
Since Abbott’s decision, it has been revealed that for years Perry sent online messages containing racist memes, racist language and threats of violence against black and Muslim people.
A state district judge opened court records last week, and in the 76 pages filed by Travis County prosecutors, the Army sergeant said he was a racist.
“Black Lives Matter is racist to white people…. It’s official that I’m a racist because I don’t agree with people acting like monkeys.” Perry wrote.
Weeks before Perry shot Foster, he wrote in a May 2020 Facebook message exchange with a friend that he “might have to kill some people” who were rioting outside his apartment complex.
The friend wrote to Perry: “Can you catch me a black daddy?”
“That’s what I hope,” Perry said in answer.
Abbott has yet to respond to reports of these messages, but I’m really afraid Abbott doesn’t care because the base he’s going to doesn’t care.
Tucker Carlson, like many on the right, has increasingly embraced men like Daniel Perry.
Carlson is the same person who gave a sympathetic interview to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who killed two protesters and injured a third in 2020 during civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“What a sweet boy. I think that sounds loud and clear.” Carlson saying to his viewers during a break in the interview. “Imagine putting that kid in jail.”
This is the party of “stand your ground” laws, the permission slip to kill enemies, real or imagined, and the party that has since set its sights on legalizing running over protesters.
Republican lawmakers in states like North Dakota, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and, of course, Texas proposed Bills that would make it legal for drivers to hit peaceful protesters.
The GOP is one of white grievances and vendettas with a conservative media ecosystem that only fuels that anger, and GOP leaders would rather capitulate to it than defy it.
Abbott even seems to revel in it. It was made clear when we went on Fox News to troll Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) as Texans froze during another state power grid failure, but her depravity and desperate need for attention only grows more dangerous as as you press. for this pardon
Abbott is a hateful, goofy man trying to take on a troll to make himself relevant in a Republican presidential primaries. It will never happen, but that doesn’t matter when people suffering in vain are suffering the same as they are in Florida and elsewhere under equally cruel Republican government.
To me, it’s another reminder of why the Democrats shouldn’t give up on Texas, and generally speaking, should start making a bigger fuss about how blatantly racist and violent the opposition party is, and what media outlets promote it. .
