August 21, 2017      5:44 PM

SB: Abbott strategy against Texas House Republicans is ready, fire, aim

Any possible attempt by Abbott to seek retribution against rank and file House members would be random and out of spite by a governor who has not learned to govern

After nearly a solid week of non-stop broadside attacks on Texas House Republicans by Gov. Greg Abbott, a common refrain we’ve heard at Buzz Central from lawmakers and the lobby goes something like this: “Is this just posturing or is he seriously going to pick targets in the primaries?”

Make no mistake, Abbott is already effectively targeting all Republican members who unanimously voted to elect Speaker Joe Straus in January and similarly all gave their presiding officer a standing ovation at the House GOP Caucus meeting last week at the behest of Rep. Matt Schaefer, Chairman of the Freedom Caucus, who thanked Straus for his years of service.

When Abbott was profiled by Texas Monthly in October of 2013, the cover story began by highlighting his skills with a 12-gauge shotgun. The metaphor is perhaps even more appropriate now, given his scattershot approach to politically threatening members of his own party.

By Scott Braddock

Copyright August 21, 2017, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved