Greg Abbott’s ‘crime’ ad seeks to capitalize on Black death

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s political views often seem to make far more sense in his own mind than they do once he utters them aloud. 

That’s the case with a campaign ad he released Tuesday, which features a Black mother whose son was allegedly killed by a man who was released from jail on bond. It’s an attempt, of course, to stoke fears about crime and associate them with Democrats.

There are several problems with Abbott’s using this tragic story to his benefit.  

First, the ad’s fundamental claim — that his Democratic challenger, Beto O’Rourke, thinks authorities should “just release criminals back on the streets” — is a lie.  

In reality, O’Rourke has called for an end to the cash bail system, which has been proven to exploit poor people — nonwhite people disproportionately. And O’Rourke has made it clear he thinks cash bail should be ended for nonviolent offenders. His campaign reiterated that in a statement to the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday. 

“He has been clear that if someone has a violent record and poses a danger to our communities, then there should be no amount of money that allows this person to be released from jail,” said Chris Evans, the communications director for O’Rourke’s campaign.

But the most obvious issue with the ad is that Abbott is the current governor of Texas, meaning this crime happened on his watch. In fact, as the Chronicle notes, crime has spiked in Texas in recent years — also on Abbott’s watch — coinciding with a spike in gun sales, which Abbott has rooted for in the past. So while the ad baselessly claims Stacy Langhum’s son, Diego, was killed as a direct result of bail policies, one could just as easily argue Abbott and fellow Republicans are responsible for Texas’ extremely lax gun laws, which make it easy for people to acquire guns legally and also fuel illegal gun sales. In fact, studies have undercut Abbott’s and Republicans’ oft-repeated claim that counties led by progressive prosecutors have higher rates of violent crime than the counties led by conservative ones. 

But Abbott doesn’t operate in reality.

We got a taste of this last year when he vowed to “eliminate” rape in Texas when he was asked about a state law banning abortions after six weeks, including in cases of rape and incest. (In the wake of Roe v. Wade’s demise, Texas now bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy, barring life-threatening medical emergencies.)

Reader, Abbott has failed mightily in his promise to end rape. 

We got another taste of this with Abbott’s beleaguered anti-immigrant border plan. Abbott developed the plan, known as Operation Lone Star, arrogantly — and perhaps, illegally — claiming he could handle immigration better than the Biden administration. 

Reader, he’s bungled the mission so badly even Republicans have condemned him for it. 

This ad is more of the same — a demonstration of the “Abbott habit”: Help Republicans gain control, watch things go bad, then point fingers and double down with nonsensical policies.