Campaign Contribution Coffers and War Chests

Several news outlets report that incumbent and re-election minded Governor Abbott has a huge campaign "war chest".

Campaign finance reports for Texas officeholders are in, Gov. Greg Abbott has a huge war chest for his primary battle against former state Sen. Don Huffines and former Texas GOP party chairman Allen West. In the attorney general's race, Land Commissioner George P. Bush outraised incumbent Ken Paxton. (DMN)

Admittedly, that's long been standard lingo in campaign & election reporting, and comparative strength assessments.  But it's yet another example of the thoughtless use of the vocabulary of war in domestic politics.

The Trib. on Bush vs. Paxton Fundraising Prowess 

We should start to demilitarize the political rhetoric and choose more benign metaphors.

Constructive Dialogue vs. Battle Cries and War Talk 

Our domestic political opponents are  not our mortal enemies. At least, they shouldn't be. Words spoken in domestic discourse and democratic competition for power and the associated ability to shape public policy should not be weapons. Campaign donations neither.

Games of sports --- including team sports and horse races -- provide a more suitable analogy, especially in a two-party system and with election rules that allows only one winner.

Games do too, not to mention that not all of them are zero-sum. 

If analogies are needed at all, that is.

REFERENCES 

July Finance Reports Show First Glimpse of Statewide GOP Primary Challenges. REFORM AUSTIN by STAFF 2021-07-16 (highlighting new semi-annual campaign finance reports for first half of 2021 released this week by elected officials and candidates for statewide office. Elected officials were barred from fundraising except for the last 10 days of June.) 

George P. Bush outraises Attorney General Ken Paxton in primary challenge debut, though Paxton has bigger war chest. Bush started his Paxton challenge with a fundraising lead of $2.3 million to $1.8 million, but Paxton easily maintains the most cash on hand in a primary that also includes Eva Guzman, the former state Supreme Court justice. TEXAS TRIBUNE 2021-07-16 by PATRICK SVITEK. 

Politicians on Wheels

 

Garnet Coleman stayed behind

TRIUMPH OVER TRAGEDY TOO

Since Coleman is in a wheelchair and recovering from the amputation of the lower right leg, shouldn't he be excused from attendance, and enjoy immunity from arrest for state house special-session absenteeism? On the other hand, Governor Abbott has been rolling to and from work and speaking engagements around the state for decades (since 1984), so perhaps this gubernantorial precedent for the proposition that a wheelchair is no barrier to mobility would provide a rationale for rounding up disabled lawmakers of the opposition party. 

“As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done,” Abbott said of absent Democratic House members who left the state for Washington.  

PS: The Tribune is still talking about the Democrats "fleeing" the state. Flight alright, from to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) to Dulles International Airport (AID), but fleeing?

REFERENCES 

Jolie McCullough, Surgery kept one longtime Democratic lawmaker from fleeing Texas. He fears missing a moment in history more than arrest. Houston state Rep. Garnet Coleman has been at the forefront of voting and social justice battles for decades and helped lead the 2003 flight of Democratic legislators to Oklahoma. Not being with his colleagues who went to Washington, D.C., has been agonizing, he says. TEXAS TRIBUNE 2021-07-19 by BY JOLIE MCCULLOUGH.  

Texas Dems Leave Austin in Effort to Stall GOP-Led Elections Bill. As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott says. NBC DFW 2021-07-12 (updated 2021-07-13) (story contains responses by Texas Republicans).