Abbott’s Powerful Message to Racist Domestic Terrorists: Texas Won’t Stand for You Here

There is — or should be — a basic expectation that our leaders provide clear guidance on moral issues that we all can agree are critical to a civil society.To that end, we found it gratifying and essential for Gov. Greg Abbott to unambiguously denounce white nationalism and the violence born from it in this state. The first step to rooting “out the extremist ideologies that fuel hatred and violence” is to acknowledge that it’s a major problem in the first place, he said.But even as we appreciate the statement, we know mere words won’t change things. It will take aggressive plans and action to tamp down the kind of hate that spawned the unconscionable massacre in El Paso.We’re encouraged that Abbott will form a Domestic Violence Task Force aimed at finding real solutions. He’s taken immediate action by ordering the state Department of Public Safety to work with federal and local officials to identify potential terrorist hate groups and racists. More DPS agents will be assigned to conduct criminal probes of racist gangs affiliated with neo-Nazis and white nationalists.These are concrete moves in the right direction.  Continue reading...