Texas Rising?

Pinch me!

Beto O'Rourke, the former Texas congressman who seemingly destroyed his political career by running for President and not even making it to Iowa, and who may have destroyed Martin O'Malley's political career for getting his endorsement, is the Democratic nominee for the governorship of Texas and is actually locked in a dead heat with Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in a recent poll.  Abbott leads O'Rourke 42 percent to 40 percent.

Abbott is in trouble because he's outlawed abortion by signing a law that is impossible to circumvent because it deputizes citizens to enforce it.  He also fiddled while the power in Texas went out in a winter storm, he's denied climate change as the state deals with fires and floods, he's fought COVID vaccine mandates at the local level, and he's restricted voting to the point where millions of mail-in ballots have been rejected. People are fed up - so much that they're practically willing to vote for a boy wonder with Kennedy hair who's already promised to take away their AR-15s! 

O'Rourke recently scored a coup by attacking Abbott's move to inspect trucks entering the state from Mexico for possible defective taillights and tires after they'd already been inspected by federal border patrol agents to slow down imported goods and hurt the state's - and the nation's - economy.  Abbott backed down quickly.  O'Rourke plans to go after Abbott on other issues that has made Texas the second worst state to live in, after Florida.  But with those restrictive voting laws in place and with Abbott mobilizing the far right to come out in droves to the polls, O'Rourke still has his work cut out for him,  I was ready to give up O'Rourke's political career for dead, but he may yet prove me wrong.  If I could give Beto advice, it would be this: Grab onto Abbott, and don't let go.

And please, Beto, no hopping on restaurant tables this time, okay?