Texas GOP turns on Gov. Abbott now that he's finally trying to stop virus spike

Eight different local Republican Party chapters in Texas have censured Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for issuing a statewide order mandating face masks in public, as well as limiting other public gatherings, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Abbott finally issued a statewide mask order on July 2, following months of not only resistance to public health measures, but also a concerted effort to block localities across the state from making their own mask-wearing policies.

Abbott issued the mask order after cases of the coronavirus skyrocketed in the Lone Star State, threatening to overrun the state’s hospital systems — which may not have enough ventilators, intensive care beds, or even staff to treat the sickest patients infected with the coronavirus.

But local Texas Republican chapters are up in arms over Abbott’s late response to the virus.

The Montgomery County Republican Party in Texas unanimously voted 40-0 to censure Abbott for “creating law via executive order.”

“Governor Greg Abbott mandated masks, limited gatherings, closed businesses, and mandated how people should conduct their personal interactions against their will under threat of fines, in violating of RPT Principle 5 which supports, ‘Personal accountability and responsibility,'” the censure resolution reads.

Public health experts say wearing face masks is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

But mask-wearing has become a partisan issue, with Republicans — including Donald Trump — resisting wearing the face coverings. Trump only wore a mask in public for the first time on Saturday, during a visit to Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland.

That resistance has made Republicans less likely to wear a mask, multiple polls have found.

Texas logged nearly 11,000 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, and 136 new deaths — the biggest single-day uptick in the death toll in the state, according to data from the New York Times.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.