Attorney General Greg Abbott, Candidate for Governor, Shares His Vision with Brownsville Supporters

Attorney General Greg Abbott at ITEC Center, Suite F

If Rick Perry opened the door to the Texas governorship by "seriously considering" a 2016 presidential run, Attorney General Greg Abbott is running through that opened door.  His message is a conservative Republican one; limiting government, job creation and not imposing unnecessary regulations on business.

Abbott's visit to Brownsville comes on the heels of last week's TIME magazine cover page "The United States of Texas," and the feature article "Why Texas Is Our Future."  The article's take on why so many Americans are moving to Texas was to pursue "a radically cheaper way to live and do business."

The article acknowledged some of what Abbott said in his speech at the BEDC board room Monday, that Texas is number one in both exports and in job growth in the U.S., but it also showed the other side:  "The state's (Texas) social services are thin.  Welfare benefits are skimpy.  Roughly a quarter of residents have no health insurance.  Many of its schools

are less than stellar.  Property crime rates are high.  Rates of murder and other violent crimes are hardly stellar either.  A recent report from the FBI found that the home state of Chuck Norris led the nation as the place the most people got punched or kicked to death in 2012."

Abbott's press liaison, a young man named Cox with all three of his suit buttons fastened tightly, refused me a copy of Abbott's speech that he passed out to the News 23 and Channel 4 photographer/reporters, promising me one "after the speech."  Afterward, he said he had "run out."  Anyway, Nena has the video of the speech, divided into four parts that can be accessed below this article.

I got the gist:  Abbott unveiled a "Working Texas Plan," featuring an amendment to limit the Rainy Day Fund to its strict original purpose, to not transfer "dedicated" funds to balance the budget, to make certain funds earmarked for transportation are actually used for roads, etc.

The question I had for Abbott, if he'd been available, had to do with Amendment 6 on the current ballot, the initiative to create a $2 billion dollar reserve to deal with future water needs in the state. My concern was that local politicians might insert themselves into the financials of a huge desalination or other water project only to reap profits from the local water crisis.

Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos

County Judge Carlos Cascos, always available for such queries, answered:

"$2 billion is really not that much money when you consider there might be hundreds of these projects(Texas has 254 counties).  I suppose the projects will be ranked on merit.  We will have to do our due diligence.  Actually, locally, I still like the Weir concept.  I may not put myself out there as the leading proponent, but, behind the scenes, there might be a need to get all the parties to look at this."

Even though the primaries are months away, there has been some acrimony between the respective camps of Wendy Davis, a Democratic Party candidate and Abbott.  One of the ladies at today's Abbott event, when asked about Davis, said:  "Oh, people hate her." Someone in the Davis camp put out an article highlighting inflammatory quotes against Davis on Greg Abbott's campaign page.

In his speech, Abbott mentioned initiating "29 lawsuits against Barack Obama."  In 2005, as Texas Attorney General, Abbott sued the Sony Corporation for illegal spyware in compact musical discs. He became a paraplegic in 1984 when an oak tree fell on him while running after a storm.  He recovered $10 million from a homeowner's insurance according to reports.