For anyone who still believes climate change is fake news, they need look no further than the crisis in Texas and the fallout that has Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott in political dog doo doo.
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Last week’s freak storm left Texas residents blanketed beneath nearly a foot of snow and unprecedented cold temperature conditions. The aftermath caused the state power grid to fail, prompting the loss of power, water, gas, and heat. Roads were impassable and there wasn’t a hotel room available within 200 miles, forcing residents to hunker down inside their freezing homes without power or running water. In order to survive, those with fireplaces broke up chairs and other furniture pieces to use as firewood. Others ate canned goods or leftover snacks as sustenance since all other food was frozen and uncookable. One family even chose to live in their car, turning the engine on once per hour for heat.
To date, at least 58 people are reported dead due to carbon monoxide poisoning, car crashes, drownings, house fires, and hypothermia.
So, what happened?
Along with their longstanding desires to secede from America, the State of Texas has a “go-it-alone” power grid system which it maintains/operates itself and is totally disconnected from neighboring states. That alone made it vulnerable to error. However, the failures don’t end there.
Because Republican lawmakers in Texas don’t believe in climate change, their laws don’t require home insulation as does every other state. Additionally, with snow being such a rarity in Texas, municipalities are ill-prepared for weather disasters and have a limited (or non-existing) supply of snowplows and salt.
Still, how could the nation’s #1 energy-producing state fail to produce enough power to keep its people safe and warm?
According to environmental experts, the Texas power grid was unprepared for the surge in demand brought on by below-freezing temperatures. The extreme cold knocked out the states’ gas-fired power plants just as demand increased and wind turbines shut down due to the weather conditions. Further, the decision by Gov. Abbott and state Republicans NOT to require equipment upgrades that would have withstood extremely low temperatures combined with its secessionist-type attitude to operate independently from other grids within the country left the system vulnerable to the winter storm.
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GOV. GREG ABBOTT
Initially, Gov. Abbott attempted to blame his weather crisis failures on Democrats and their penchant for natural sources of energy, including solar power and wind turbines. However, when that tactic didn’t work, he shifted gears and the blame elsewhere.
“Every source of power the state of Texas has access to has been compromised,” Abbott said while blaming the unaptly named Electric Reliability Council of Texas for the disaster and demanding an investigation.
Interestingly, Abbott has refused to accept any responsibility that perhaps he and his administration failed the residents of Texas in preparing for a climate disaster of this magnitude. Also, as of last weekend, Abbott still had not spoken directly with Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston.
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MAYOR TIM BOYD
You may have never heard of Mayor Tim Boyd of Colorado City, TX before today. However, a single statement from the small town administrator has made him notoriously famous.
As residents of his town and neighboring municipalities screamed out in fear for help to come to their aid, Boyd took to social media with an unbelievably brash message.
“No one owes you or your family anything,” Boyd told his residents. “Nor is it the local government’s responsibility to support you during trying times like this! Sink or swim, it’s your choice! The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout.”
Boyd has since resigned due to the almost instant fallout.
🚨 Mayor of Colorado City, Texas RESIGNS after posting this controversial Facebook post. pic.twitter.com/EDGaiDkmDR
— ET Breaking News (@breaking_et) February 17, 2021
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SEN. TED CRUZ
While Texas residents huddled under all the layers of blankets and coats they could find and others were found dead in their beds, Ted Cruz was on the phone with his travel agent ordering them to get him the hell out of Texas.
Yes, as burst pipes caused buckets of water to rain down inside homes before turning into icicles, Ted Cruz was on a United Airlines flight to Cancun, Mexico to escape the climate madness. He also left his pet poodle “Snowflake” behind to fend for himself in the cold.
Anyone with even the most remote knowledge of social media is well aware that the internet never sleeps. That’s why it’s no wonder that travelers captured photos of ol’ Ted at the airport and boarding the plane to paradise. So, what did the fleeing senator do once he realized he was caught? He blamed the trip on his daughters, claiming he had only intended to escort his minor children down to Mexico and to return back to Texas immediately.
Too bad for Ted nobody was buying the story he was selling. Not only did his huge rolling suitcase expose the lie, but several “friends” of Mrs. Cruz also came forward with text messages they received from the couple inviting them to join the Cruz family south of the border for a week away from the Texas weather crisis.
Soon, the fabrication became too huge to manage, prompting Lying Ted to fess up that he had indeed intended to escape Texas for a week in the sun and fun of Mexico.
So, what’s wrong with Ted Cruz escaping a severe weather crisis and traveling to Mexico, you ask? The answer is a simple, one-word title: Senator.
As a US Senator, Ted Cruz has accepted the responsibility of being a leader — particularly in times of crisis. Just as a captain doesn’t abandon ship during an emergency, neither should a senator. Or, in other words, leaving Texans behind to vacation when he could have been using his legislative clout to get aid and services to his constituents is where he went wrong.
Interestingly, 2 prominent Democrats stepped up to the plate and filled in for Ted Cruz in his absence.
On Thursday, former US Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke led a volunteer phone-bank and made nearly 800,000 calls to older Texans to connect them to water, food, transportation, and shelter. He also raised $5 million in donations for those residents in need.
“We had 120 folks join us last night for this, essentially statewide welfare check-in, where we were calling senior citizens across the state to make sure they have electricity, make sure they have water, make sure they have food,” O’Rourke said Friday.
Additionally, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York (who has no connection to Texas whatsoever), raised $4 million for those affected by the climate crisis.
So as to not be outdone, a sheepish and pathetic-looking Ted Cruz (who had his Mexico vacation canceled) hired a camera crew to capture him handing out bottles of water to Texans at a drive-thru location.
Sorry, Ted. Too little, too late.
President Biden is expected to make a trip to the lone star later this week.
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DJ you did a great job with this detailed summary of the just what the Republican party IS these days…and frankly has been for quite some time. Not worth a dime to anyone anymore.
And I hope that most Americans can finally SEE that by now.