Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed more than 75 bills before this year’s deadline, mostly sponsored by conservative Texas state senators. Never before in the 178-year history of Texas has its governor vetoed so many bills passed by his own party. Texas Republicans would override most of these vetoes if they could, but the legislature was required by the state constitution to adjourn in May until 2025. Tens of thousands of hours of work that went into all these bills were washed away by Abbott’s retaliatory strike against conservatives.
One of the bills that Gov. Abbott vetoed was SB 335, authored by conservative state Sen. Dr. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown). It passed the state senate by a unanimous vote of 31-0, and passed the state house by an overwhelming 119 to 19. This bill sought to require the Texas Family and Protective Services Council, which makes recommendations to the notorious Department of Family and Protective Services, to post online videos of its meetings so that the public can see what they are doing at taxpayer expense. Yet Abbott vetoed this with a petulant message about an unrelated issue.
Lt. Gov. Patrick pointed out that Abbott vetoed some bills as retaliation against conservative Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who has been a leader in the effort to stop rampant election fraud in Houston. Patrick explained, “This is targeted vetoing of bills that have nothing to do with the issue at hand except Paul Bettencourt is the author of those bills.” Patrick’s statement is motivated by the fact that Abbott has hurt the Republican Party in Texas with his dictator-like vetoes of many good bills based merely on who sponsored them. Even some Democrats criticize Abbott’s conduct, as State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt observed about Abbott’s veto of her bipartisan bill, “This was NOT Vetoed on POLICY.”
The definition of a RINO, or “Republican In Name Only,” is someone who claims to be a Republican but only votes in line with Republican values when it is beneficial for them. Governor Greg Abbott is a case study in being a RINO, and the Texans who voted for him should treat him as such.
