The sad thing is that you and the comment you are responding to are pretty much both right. I kinda can't believe I'm saying something positive about Greg Abbo

The sad thing is that you and the comment you are responding to are pretty much both right. I kinda can't believe I'm saying something positive about Greg Abbott, but in early and mid-2020, his Covid policies were quite sensible. He locked down for a short while but understood that long term lockdowns weren't a viable solution and opened back up pretty quickly. He then instituted a statewate mask mandate, but he said that the rules would at least be based on some scientifically rational thinking - that the mandates would be in response to infection levels and the capacity at hospitals. This, to me anyway, seemed a lot more rational than some coastal liberal bastions that were closing beaches, etc. But Abbott got absolutely pilloried by the far right GOP for his mandates, so then he tacked hard to the right and passed laws prohibiting any kind of restrictions by local authorities. It was a clear and undeniable capitulation to the far right, and I think that experience probably kinda spooked him. Since then he has only doubled down on policies favorable to the MAGA crowd, etc.