A few weeks ago, it looked like Andrew Cuomo was on course to break a curse in New York and pass a third term. But now, in a Covid scandal, his political future seems less certain.
George Seay, who served as financial chairman of Perry’s presidential bid in 2012, said he opposed the “finger pointing” over the storm response and believed Abbott was being unfairly attacked, but that the current governor had some responsibility for must accept the situation.
“Leaders need to say, ‘This is not only unacceptable, it’s not just a breach of duty for the people of Texas and their public safety and general welfare, but we need to make sure of that, too,” Seay said. “The governor is not a power generation expert, but he should raise his hand and say, ‘I am responsible for this. ‘It’s not fair to him, to be clear, but that’s the job. ”
Seay said Cruz’s decision to move to Mexico – only to announce his return when the word leaks and he criticizes – will not hurt him nearly as much as his role in the opposition to the Electoral College in Congress at 6 p.m. January not. pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol.
Is he focused on issues that are the best in Texas? Not really. “He focused on presenting himself as president in 2024 and political disputes,” Seay said. “The guilt and circular shooting groups we see are not helpful.”
Democrats, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to contrast Republican leadership in Texas with President Joe Biden’s government, which quickly offered full federal aid and earlier outlined plans to upgrade infrastructure, combat climate change and use renewable energy. brei.
“Whether it is Abbott’s failed response or Cruz’s departure from our state, we must not put people in charge who do not believe in the government. They fail us every time, ”said former federal housing minister Julián Castro, a Democrat considering a bid against Abbott or Cruz.
Cruz’s short-lived Cancun trip made him the biggest target of all. His habit of attacking politicians to take time off during a disaster, his mockery of California for his abuse and his letter to Biden last week to keep the border between America and Mexico as closed as possible because of Covid, all came back to haunt him.
Democrats tried to increase the contrast between Cruz and his 2018 Senate opponent, former Representative Beto O’Rourke, by pointing out that the senator went to Cancun and tweeted about the death of the radio talk show host. Rush Limbaugh while his former rival stayed in El Paso and tried to gather his followers on social media to help fellow Texans.
“It’s extremely important in government and politics to be seen doing things,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas Republican strategist. “It’s important to be seen as a leader.”
Steinhauser said Abbott had established himself as a leader in previous crises, but took longer after the storm because he had to find his feet. At first he probably did not think that the power outages would last as long. ”
Chris Perkins, a Republican data analyst and opinion pollster in the state, said there is a lot of anger and frustration.
“There is no playbook because the state has never seen a winter like this in its history,” Perkins said. ‘The cities say they have to boil the water, but no water comes out of the tap. Use gas to boil the water, but wells freeze, thus saving gas. The state leaders try to give the public the latest information, but it is difficult because there is no historical manual on what to do. ”