As millions of Texans remained powerless in sub-zero temperatures, Gov. Greg Abbott took to the airwaves to spout lies about the power outage crisis gripping his state to Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Though Abbott had told local reporters that the power outages were the result of the supply of natural gas, he had a different culprit for Fox News: the Green New Deal. Blaming solar and wind energy for the outages, Abbott went on to warn the audience, “this shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America.
The Green New Deal is congressional legislation that would address climate change by transitioning away from the fossil fuel industry. It was introduced in 2019, but did not advance beyond a Senate committee.
In an article in the Texas Tribune, the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas attributed the outages to a broad systemic failure, which mostly relies upon natural gas. And according to Bloomberg, “wind turbine blades icing over has become a real problem, but the cold is wreaking havoc on the region’s entire energy complex, crippling fossil-fuel and renewable resources alike.”
Many prominent Texas Democrats immediately called out Abbott for his reckless appearance on Fox News. On Twitter, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who lost power, criticized the Governor for his Trumpian form of lying. “With MILLIONS of Texans left in the cold, Gov. Abbott (using tactics of his mentor Trump) seeks to avoid responsibility for his failures by falsely blaming attempts to address the climate crisis.”
Beto O’Rourke, a possible candidate for governor in 2022, also blasted Abbott’s appearance. He previously also noted that under the state’s leadership the COVID-19 crisis was deadlier than it needed to be under Republican leadership.
Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio, also offered a blistering takedown of Abbott. Castro pointed to several instances where the governor has blamed others for his failings in state leadership.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been a staunch target for many Texas Republicans, offered her take. She joins a chorus of lawmakers outside the state of Texas offering help.
With many still without power, another crisis is occurring with water shutdowns and boil advisory warnings.
Photo: Tom Fox-Pool/Getty Images
A longtime writer and journalist, Jessica was thrilled to join the Texas Signal where she could utilize her unique perspective on politics and culture. As the Features and Opinion Editor, she is responsible for coordinating editorials and segments from diverse authors. She is also the host of the podcast the Tex Mix, as well as the co-host for the weekly SignalCast. Jessica attended Harvard College, is a onetime fitness blogger, and has now transitioned to recreational runner (for which her joints are thankful).
