Abbott has repeatedly defended his ban on local mask mandates by using the same phrase: “We’re past the time of government mandates, we’re into the time of personal responsibility.”
After Texas Governor Greg Abbott tested positive for COVID this week, the Houston Chronicle wrote a shockingly direct editorial, asking all Texans: "How can Abbott protect Texas from COVID when he can't protect himself?” Abbott continually argued against mask mandates, saying that it was time for personal responsibility.
The editorial take-down wasted no time on that issue:
Personal responsibility, apparently, is for the little people. The powerful have Regeneron cocktails at the ready. The powerful have good health insurance and doctors who make house calls. The powerful can quarantine in the comforts of a taxpayer-funded mansion in downtown Austin.
That’s one takeaway from the announcement Tuesday that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has COVID-19 — the very day after he tweeted about his appearance at “another standing room only event in Collin County” attended by an estimated 600 people. How can we trust the governor to protect Texas from this raging pandemic when he won’t even protect himself — or, for that matter, his supporters?
What happened to the worn-out phrase he regurgitates every time he defends his callous ban on local mask requirements: “We’re past the time of government mandates, we’re into the time of personal responsibility.”
If a man elected to lead nearly 30 million Texans can’t be trusted to act responsibly, how can he effectively persuade others?
We’re not just talking about the upper-income folks who attend Republican gubernatorial fundraisers. We’re talking about the millions of children returning to school who can’t be vaccinated. We’re talking about the rural Texans who must travel an hour to a hospital, only to find there are no beds available. We’re talking about the multitudes of Texans who have no health insurance and no relationship with a trusted doctor who can inform them about vaccines.
Texans are watching you, governor. What are you showing them? Not a champion of personal freedom. Only a mascot of incompetence. An elected chief executive who is now contagious and home-bound because he refused to follow his own advice to the little people.
A governor who not only refuses to lead an effective campaign urging Texans to protect themselves and their communities, but actively threatens to punish and sue local leaders who try to impose safety requirements such as mask-wearing.
The editorial continued its criticism of the Governor for getting special treatment as he disregards everyone else in his state. Let's hope Texans are listening.
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