Showdown in the Hometown

Have you heard the joke about the past, present and future walking into a bar? It was tense. And, so it was Tuesday evening in the front yard of Greg Abbott's childhood home.

Nearly 20 orange-clad constituents showed up at Abbott’s press conference and barbecue picnic in Wichita Falls with legitimate tickets in hand, and no one was more surprised than the newly-minted candidate himself. By the time he got to the third orange-shirted person in line to shake his hand, it had dawned on him what the color signified: he was being called out on his home turf. It obviously never occurred to Abbott that Wichita Falls might be harboring progressive, or, dare we say, liberal folks seeking to express their support for women’s reproductive health. 

It was the stuff childhood nightmares are made of: the unruly mob had tracked him down. Monsters, Inc., Nightmare on Elm Street, Twilight Zone - take your pick. Scenes from all the above could have been flashing through his mind. As he searched his memory for practiced talking points when confronted with a fellow Texan with a different point of view, Abbott visibly grimaced then gritted his teeth and finished shaking hands with each person in line. He might have been in his humble homestead, but he was not in his happy place.

Neither were some of the GOP organizers, as several women with Abbott for Governor stickers affixed to their blouses stared agape at the interlopers, and backup for the lone police officer was called in. Within half an hour, several deputies from the sheriff’s department had arrived to stand in a line in the street, ensuring no possible rabble-rousing without dire consequences. As Abbott was being introduced, a stocky man in a cowboy hat pushed his way through a group of women wearing orange and stood with his back to the speaker, inches from the women and deliberately blocking their view. Clearly, he was the intimidator. 

But, if he was looking for a scuffle, he was sorely disappointed. We didn’t have to raise our voices or respond with an actual physical show of force. We only had to wear orange and show up. Because of Wendy Davis’ brilliant filibuster, because of our Democrat senators’ and representatives’  vocal stance, because of orange-adorned protesters filling the Texas Capitol and cities across the state, because of social media spreading the news of an uprising like wildfire, we only had to be a presence. We were there to remind Greg Abbott and all those intent on robbing women of constitutional rights that a large and growing opposition not only exists, we vote, and we won’t back down.