Posts Tagged ‘Texas’

From DallasNews.com:

Greg Abbott was elected attorney general in 2002. But his political trek began decades earlier – in agony.

At age 26, Abbott was partially paralyzed in a freak accident and bedridden for a month. His dream to practice law withered. But he tilled new ambitions, reading about politics during his recovery and internalizing a credo from his mother: Never say I can’t.

“That is one of the more guiding principals that got me through,” said Abbott, now 52. “Just because this happened doesn’t mean I can’t do whatever it is I wanted to do. It picked me up off of the hospital bed and got me going.”
The accident – an oak tree fell and struck his back as he jogged by – kept him hospitalized and in rehabilitation for more than three months. The recovery was often excruciating. He has used a wheelchair ever since.

It also hardened his resolve and propelled him on a path toward politics. He passed the bar exam a year after the accident, excelled as a Houston lawyer and eventually was elected a judge. Abbott, a Republican, has won two terms as attorney general and is running again against retired Houston lawyer Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Democrat.

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Check out Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s pics of the rally.

From DentonRC.com:

Former New York Gov. George Pataki joined about a dozen Republican lawmakers and officials at the state Capitol to protest the federal health care bill.

Pataki, a Republican, is leading the Revere America petition drive to gather 1 million signatures in support of repealing the bill. Tuesday’s stop in Austin was part of a three-day, six-state tour.

The rally drew a small but enthusiastic crowd of about 100 people. Speakers included Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state Attorney General Greg Abbott, who has filed a lawsuit against the health care bill, calling it unconstitutional.

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From Statesman.com:

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and 12 attorneys general from other states have filed a lawsuit in a Florida federal court to block implementation of the health care legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law last week.

Abbott and others claim that a provision in the law requiring millions of people to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional. In an interview with the American-Statesman, Abbott talked about the legal basis for his claim and described the cost of his pursuit to taxpayers. Excerpts of that conversation are printed below.

To listen to the entire conversation, go to statesman.com/firstreading.

Statesman: Why is this an unconstitutional piece of legislation?

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From the Dallas Morning News:

Before Congress even passed the health care overhaul, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott had announced his determination to take it down.

“I am organizing a conference call tonight for AGs across the country,” he posted on Facebook several hours before Sunday’s House vote to finalize the bill. “We will discuss our litigation strategy.”

It is not the first time Abbott, a Republican, has sought out the political hot button on a federal issue. He recently chimed in on climate change, water rights and the auto industry bailout. But the lawsuit filed Tuesday with 12 other states, charging that the federal government lacks the power to compel citizens to buy health insurance, is the biggest yet – and his opponent is accusing him of chasing publicity at the expense of state issues.

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Via @markdavis:

From Dallas Morning News:

Abbott, in a written statement late Sunday, said the state would act “to protect all Texans’ constitutional rights, preserve the constitutional framework intended by our nation’s founders, and defend our state from further infringement by the federal government.”

Officials in at least 10 states have agreed to file a lawsuit. Some of the attorneys general, all of whom are Republicans, have said the bill violates state sovereignty by requiring that all Americans have some form of health insurance.

Several states have tried to take action: Virginia and Idaho have passed legislation aimed at blocking the bill’s insurance requirement in their states.

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