May 1, 2015 4:12 PM

Smith: Once More Unto the Breach

From the Left: Quorum Report's liberal columnist Glenn W. Smith suggests that pandering to extremists has gone beyond pandering. Texas is held hostage by the most extreme amongst us

Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to put the Texas Military on alert because federal troops will hold exercises in 17 counties is comical, but it is also sad, troubling evidence that our state is now held hostage by the most extreme, deluded and paranoid among us.

The story has received a good bit of embarrassing national media attention. The U.S. Army this summer will hold training exercises dubbed Operation Jade Helm. Locals in Bastrop and elsewhere – assisted by extremist websites – freaked out. This was clearly a case of black, Kenyan Commie usurper Barack Obama launching the first phase of a military takeover of Texas, they claimed.

Okay, there are always the crazy and the paranoid among us. But why in the world would a governor pander to them? What’s next, I told one national reporter who called about the incident. Will Abbott call out the troops to protect us from Big Foot or an invasion of Big Feet?

Well, one reason for Abbott’s pandering is obvious. For years the Republican Party has manipulated these folks, stoking all kinds of fears to win elections. Creating fears that Obama is launching a military takeover of Texas is not that much more ridiculous than alleging a war on Christianity or freedom of religion. More on that in a moment.

The complete column from Glenn W. Smith is available in the R&D Department.

By Glenn W. Smith