Greg Abbott goes off the rails on live national television
On Fox News Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott attacked companies opposing Texas voter suppression laws, saying, “They need to stay out of politics, especially when they have no clue what they’re talking about.”
Abbott falsely claimed certain company leaders, such as American Airlines, admitted they had no idea what a proposed Texas voter suppression law said before taking positions against it. Research reveals this lie apparently originated from that great arbiter of truth, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Patrick lashed out at opponents of Texas voter suppression while crazily ranting at a 35-minute news conference in which he berated a reporter for asking “a stupid question,” excoriated American Airlines, and repeatedly lied about his own efforts to restrict voting in Texas. Patrick called American Airlines, the news media and Democrats “a nest of liars” who were “race baiting” for political gain.
Much of Patrick’s wrath was focused on American Airlines, claiming its government relations rep admitted he had not read Senate Bill 7 when he called to let Patrick know they were going to oppose it publicly, but not to “take it personally.’ Patrick huffed, “I take it personally…. When you suggest we’re trying to suppress the vote, you are in essence, between the lines, calling us racist.”
American Airlines was one of the first companies to speak out in strong opposition to the bill, and reported they had indeed reviewed it to the Dallas Morning News, where 50 black corporate leaders recently took out a full-page ad calling for the blocking of “voter suppression laws.” There have been reports that Republicans have anywhere from 40 to 100 Texas “voting integrity” laws pending or in the works. We don’t have to read them all to know what their goals and aims are.
