Free Republic

The Texas Secretary of State's Office released its preliminary findings of an audit of Harris County’s November 2022 election. It did so after the legislature passed a bill filed by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, to address multiple election-related failures in Harris County and ensure the largest county in Texas properly manages elections. After the Texas legislature passed the bill during the regular legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law. The county then sued but the Texas Supreme Court allowed the law to go into effect Sept. 1. “Harris County clearly had multiple failures conducting the election...

It’s about time the governor added a major award to his list of victories.Greg Abbott May Be Texas Monthly’s ‘Bum Steer Of The Year,’ But Only Because He Keeps WinningIt’s about time the governor added a major award to his list of victories.By Rich Cromwell By Rich CromwellDecember 17, 2021As it’s the Christmas season, it’s only fitting that someone win a major award. This year, one such award went to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, in the form of Texas Monthly’s “Bum Steer of the Year,” an “annual roundup of Texas’s most ridiculous and idiotic endeavors, featuring political personalities, flashy figures,...

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott thinks border states must take action in the face of federal inaction. But is it too little, too late?DEL RIO, Texas — What happens in border states when the federal government refuses to enforce immigration laws amid a record surge of illegal immigration? Are those states, and the elected officials charged with maintaining law and order in them, supposed to stand back and accept the ensuing chaos in their communities? Or do they have a right, even a duty, to take action and fill the void left by the federal government?In Texas, where the border crisis...

Pro-maskers need to see that, for the other side, this supposed symbol of 'charity' and 'solidarity' has become the exact opposite.Last week, Gov. Abbott announced Texas would completely reopen, lifting mask mandates and all limits on building capacity, the first large state in America to do so.As one would expect, while some Texans celebrated the decision, throwing their masks and cowboy hats in the air, others lamented this “reckless” decision, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom put it. Not to be outdone by Newsom, Unifier-in-Chief Joe Biden called the decision “Neanderthal thinking.”After a year of COVID-19 mandates, many and leftists alike...

As the spread of COVID-19 begins to slow nationwide, some governors are proving to be more serious than others about what comes next. As the coronavirus spread slows, governors are responding in different, sometimes wildly divergent ways. Many of them, recognizing their states are not likely to see an outbreak on the scale of New York or New Jersey, have in recent days announced plans to loosen lockdown orders and get their residents back to work. Others have taken the opposite tack, extending lockdown orders and keeping businesses shuttered even as jobless claims mount.The first set of governors, generally speaking,...

As some states begin loosening coronavirus lockdowns, all eyes are on Texas to see if a phased reopening can be done safely. In what could be the beginning of America’s resurgence from the coronavirus pandemic, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday he will let the state’s stay-at-home order expire at the end of the month and allow some businesses to reopen Friday, with restrictions. It marks the boldest loosening of pandemic restrictions since states began issuing lockdown orders last month, and could mark a path ahead for reopening the rest of the country. Retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and malls...