In the wake of Ted Cruz’s victory in Wisconsin’s April 5th primary, the national commentariat is waking up to the fact that Cruz—who was already, as we know, the GOP’s only hope of stopping Trump from winning the party’s 2016 presidential nomination—is also capable of doing so.
That being the case, I’m optimistic that we can now move on to other topics here at BurkaBlog, at least until the Republican National Convention, in July.
Let’s start with the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott. I had some initial concerns about the announcement that he will write a book, because the news that the governor of Texas would write a book aimed at a national audience seemed to suggest that he is indulging in the nationalization of Texas politics that I addressed in the March issue of Texas Monthly. On further investigation, however, it would appear that the governor is attempting to Texify national politics, which is a much more salutary approach for all involved.
Elsewhere, however, the announcement has excited another wave of speculation that Abbott has his eye on higher office at some point–perhaps a run for the presidency, in 2020, should the Democrats win the White House once again this fall.
I remain skeptical of such speculation in light of the simple fact that Abbott already has, arguably, the best job in American politics. As governor of Texas he is the chief executive of the best state in the country, and arguably the most important one; in other words, he already has a sufficiently high office, without having even a fraction of the hassles that accompany the office of the presidency. Plus, one can assume that Abbott expects his protégé, Cruz, to do well in this year’s campaign; any presidential run he’s planning would be penciled in for 2024, and who knows if there will even still be a Republican Party then?
