The phrase “Don’t Mess with Texas” has to do with littering, making sure folks keep our state clean. But it’s come to mean more: conveying Texans’ sense of independence, and swagger.
But it stands to reason: If I don’t want you messing with ME, I probably shouldn’t go sticking my nose in your business.
When I heard Attorney General Ken Paxton was filing a lawsuit alleging impropriety and challenging the results of the election – I thought we missed something. Was there a problem in Arlington …Austin …El Paso? Nope.
He sued four other states, and asking the Supreme Court to basically throw out ALL the votes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
Paxton claimed it was unconstitutional for their state election officials to expand mail-in voting, and modifying the rules in a pandemic created a massive opportunity for fraud. He said absentee and mail-in voting lead to lots of unlawful votes being cast.
Thing is, Wisconsin has been allowing people to vote absentee with no excuse for 20 years.
Paxton casted doubt on votes still being counted after the polls closed. But in Pennsylvania, they can’t even open the envelopes until Election Day.
There are mechanisms in place to investigate claims of fraud. Be it the states themselves or one of the campaigns. It’s been happening for the past month.
There’s no reason for Texas to infringe on another state’s sovereignty.
Flip it around: How would you feel if some official you never heard of, from a state thousands of miles away, started taking issue with decisions made here in Texas?
If they said, “They’re so screwed up in the Lone Star State, NONE of their votes should even count!” You might be inclined to say something along the lines of, “Don’t Mess with Texas.”
Editor's note: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Texas-led lawsuit on Friday evening.