Gregg Abbott Is Making It Fun to Watch Authoritarianism Die

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott makes a statement during a news conference, Monday, Nov. 4, 2013, in Dallas. Abbott announced his office is suing the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over what he says is “bullying” of Texas companies over the hiring of felons. The lawsuit is the 30th filed by Abbott’s office against the administration of President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

It may be increasingly infested with blue voters, but Texas is still an example of what a state should look like, and it’s only getting increasingly better while Governor Greg Abbott is in charge.

Advertisement

Over the past few months, Republican legislators have been working with Abbott to take the government’s hands off the people. Superfluous laws and authoritarian actions are dying highly public deaths, and Abbott is making it all too entertaining to watch.

Abbott has a habit of taking to social media to allow you to watch the signing of bills that pry the government’s kung-fu grip off of the people. This includes red light cameras

…looser liquor laws, including one that allows it to be delivered directly to your home like a pizza…

…a law protecting free speech on campus

…and even a law that allows children to open up a lemonade stand without running into the law.

Advertisement

The weird thing about these laws is that they’re laws that Abbott shouldn’t have even had to sign in the first place, but thanks to the progression of the Overton window, many find these things Abbott is having to protect perfectly fine to trample on.

Abbott shouldn’t have had to sign a law protecting free speech on college campuses. Red light cameras were unconstitutional from the get-go. Police have absolutely no business shutting down a kid’s lemonade stand. yet it happens. That’s the kind of country that we reside in now.

Some of the things Abbott is doing may seem small, but it’s the small things that really make you proud to be an American. It’s the fact that we can exist in a place where an enterprising child can take his or her steps into the world of capitalism. It’s a world where a person can speak freely without suffering some form of institutionalized punishment.

These little holds of misplaced authoritarianism nickle and dime us into figurative — and sometimes literal — chains.

But before you get into the idea that Abbott is only playing softball, the Texas Governor is taking steps to make sure that property owners are paying less in taxes, and putting the leash on municipal governments who want to really come down hard on the wallets of those who live there, which has been a long-standing problem in the state.

Advertisement

He’s also seeing to it that the Texas government has far more transparency by terminating lawmakers from having walking quorums.

I sincerely doubt he’s done. I sincerely hope this trend continues, not even just in Texas, but all over the country. We’ve entered into an era of walking on eggshells both in the social and legal scenes. Abbott and the Texas legislature are doing a lot to relieve the pressure, and we really need that to happen in order to bring us back to an America where we really are free to be free.

Recommended

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on RedState Videos