ASSCLOWN ALERT: GREG NERO FIDDLES AROUND AS MEASLES FLARE-UP

By Sanford Nowlin

San Antonio Current

(Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.)

Ahead of his short-lived 2021 run against Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, veteran political strategist Matthew Dowd shared the word he considered most accurate to describe Gov. Greg Abbott.

“The perfect word … is ‘craven’ because I don’t think he has any fundamental principles other than responding to what his current political base is,” Dowd told Texas Monthly..

During a round of media appearances, Dowd tore into Abbott for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic – a strategy molded not by science but an obsequious bid to placate the Republican Party’s anti-vaccine fringe.

The governor, as many recall, prematurely dropped the state’s mask mandate without consulting medical advisors on his own pandemic “task force,” then issued executive orders banning municipalities from enacting their own mask and vaccine requirements. His actions worsened Texas’ death toll during the pandemic, experts charge.

Now, as Texas grapples with what's emerging as its most serious public health crisis since COVID, Abbott is once again showing his true colors – the mottled brownish hues of chickenshit.

As of press time, roughly 160 people have been infected in the Lone Star State’s worst measles outbreak in 30 years. Two children have died, and more people are hospitalized. Most of those infected are unvaccinated, according to state data.

Of the 159 cases, 80 are unvaccinated and 74 have an unknown vaccination status. Five patients had received at least one dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Now is the time for Abbott to use his sizable megaphone to urge people to take the MMR vaccine, especially since it’s 97 percent effective against measles and proven safe by decades of data.

Instead, the craven occupant of the Texas Governor’s Mansion has been all but silent.

Far from calling press conferences or appearing on TV news programs, Abbott’s only once acknowledged the outbreak, and via social media. He assured us in a Feb. 28 tweet – that’s about four weeks into the outbreak for those keeping score at home – that his office is in contact with health officials and “will deploy all necessary resources” to keep Texans safe.

The Current 's attempt to reach out to the governor for additional comment only resulted in a spokesperson sharing a link back to the earlier tweet.

Interestingly, Abbott’s tweet appeared hours after the Texas Tribune posted a story critical of the state’s Republican leadership for staying silent during the outbreak. Also of note, while the governor said he’d instructed state officials to dispatch “immunization teams” to affected areas, his tweet included no call for unvaccinated Texans to get jabbed and slow the spread.

Meanwhile, the outbreak has spread to nine counties as of press time, including Travis, where Austin soon will host the massive SXSW festival. What’s more, San Antonio health officials warn that an infected visitor could have exposed “thousands” of people here to the potentially deadly ailment.

Back in 2021, Dowd said Abbott’s time in office demonstrated his utter lack of leadership.

“Well, he’s been revealed,” Dowd told Texas Monthly . “I mean, it’s between him and [Florida governor Ron] DeSantis for who could be the worst governor in America. They’re in a stiff competition.”