Cheap shots: Goobernatorial

One third of the Texas Navy. Photo by David Martin Davies via Wikimedia Commons

Wonderful piece by Seth Robbins and Paul J. Weber at TPM detailing Texas governor Greg Abbott's plans to supplement his $3.5-million gunboat navy (for real, six boats!) with his own state border patrol, with a price tag of $800 million (in a budget that cuts a little over a billion dollars for programs like full-day preschool, family planning, and Medicaid). Apparently the situation is pretty urgent: illegal immigration in Texas is down 44% over last year, so if he doesn't hurry it just might stop itself before he gets a chance to stop it.

This detail portrays the fear-stricken residents:

On a recent afternoon in Rio Grande City, the Texas Cafe was full for lunch, with conversation a mixture of Spanish and English. Jaime Alvarez, a longtime resident now running for county commissioner, said residents have complained to him about the constant traffic stops along Highway 83. "It's just too much," he said. "The politicians up north sometimes overreact."

By "up north", of course, he meant Austin. The governor sees the dangers so clearly because he's 200 miles away.

More hilarious Abbottry at TPM and Alicublog.

Looked into Cameron's soul. Didn't hear what he said.

Image by Keep Wisconsin Blue.

In the last three years Governor Scott Walker has visited China, Japan, UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Canada. Not sure if he realizes how totally he's disqualified himself from the foreign policy standpoint by telling lies about his interactions with PM David Cameron and others—it's not so bad that he claimed he and Cameron had a "personal connection", but  he suggested Cameron complained to him in a heart-to-heart about the inadequacy of Obama's "global leadership"—

“I heard that from David Cameron back in February earlier when we were over at 10 Downing,” Walker told a group of Republican donors Friday at an event sponsored by 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, according to Time. “I heard it from other leaders around the world. They’re looking around realizing this lead-from-behind mentality just doesn’t work. It’s just not working”

—forcing Cameron to come out and deny it, and that's really down there around Trump level. Only semi-serious, because given the current state of the Republican Party, it is possible that he could still get the nomination, even likely.

Bring one of these on all your visits to foreign parts. Via Zazzle.

 In Québec City he accepted a drink of water, reports Jennifer Rubin at Wapo:

He now sprinkles details of his world travels into his stump speeches. While in Canada, Walker suggested that he had qualms about drinking the water in other countries he had visited.

“There are plenty of places around the world I go to that I would not dare do that,” he said. “I would not be drinking water unless they brought it to me in a bottle and I could make sure the top had not been turned. . . . because I wouldn’t know if I would get sick or not. “

Which places, Scott, of the "places around the world you go to"? Did you get some of that Montezuma's revenge on Downing Street? Or in Japan, or Spain? All your sophisticated international friends you have a personal connection with want to know. Not to mention all the people a President Walker might visit one day.

Image via MoiTuby.

But Trump can totally see New Jersey from his balcony

Comment on the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, at former governor Palin's website:

John Fawcett There is no way he will be taken seriously if he has Oprah for a running mate.... (is that true???) But on the financial side of things he might not be a bad choice.. It's his lack of foreign policy experience that worries me