Texas Gov. Abbott takes political thumps on multiple fronts at Dallas far right rally
The National Security Agency is corrupt. A Dallas health clinic performs gender reassignment surgery as early as when a patient reaches 15 years old. Abortions involve decapitating a fetus.
In speeches and on placards at a rally Saturday in the shadow of the City Hall plaza Christmas tree, there were plenty of signals of support for President Donald Trump from activists, pastors and current and aspirant politicians.
But beyond the outgoing president and criticism of a November election that the crowd appeared to believe was fraudulent, the event offered a political buffet of topics that covered everything from a crime spasm in the city to Jesus.
Speaking at the rally that stretched more than two hours, Owen Shroyer, the host of “The War Room,” an InfoWars.com broadcast, won a chuckle from the crowd when he used humor to reference Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s paraplegia.
“I’ve heard a rumor he doesn’t stand for the national anthem,” Shroyer said of Abbott, a Republican who was booed separately.
The root of the criticism of Abbott appeared to be connected to COVID-19 commerce restrictions. In the case of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, another Texas Republican with whom the crowd did not seem thrilled, the derision stemmed from the senator’s public recognition that Joe Biden had won the election.
“I have every confidence that come January the 20th, we’re going to inaugurate a new president,” Cornyn said on Nov. 16. “And I think it will probably be Joe Biden.”
Shroyer asked a volunteer from the crowd to hold charts from a stage that Shroyer said showed a crush of votes for Biden that were added at once to tallies in Michigan and Wisconsin. Shroyer said evidence of fraud can be found in more than 10,000 sworn affidavits signed by eyewitnesses to the malfeasance.
State Senate District 30 candidate Shelley Luther noted that Abbott had endorsed her opponent, State Rep. Drew Springer, in the Dec. 19 special election.
Luther lightheartedly asked where she should send a thank-you card.
“He’s not even smart enough to know that him endorsing my opponent is better for me,” she said.
Luther suggested that her wing of the party intends to find candidates to challenge incumbents they consider to be RINOs, an acronym for Republican in name only.
“We’re looking for people to primary these fools in 2022,” Luther said. “We have a governor that we need to primary out.”
Luther owns a Dallas salon and in May defied orders to shut down her business during a novel coronavirus outbreak.
A few hundred people attended the rally. It was a somewhat smaller crowd than had gathered three weeks ago for a similar set of speeches at the same location. Unlike the Nov. 14 event, the Saturday rally did not precede a street march.
Some parts of the rally focused on encouraging people to resist measures, such as business limits in some sectors, that public health authorities have taken to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. A speaker who said that she is a nurse suggested that there was a valid assessment that people receiving a COVID-19 vaccine risked sterilization and infertility.
“We know that what our government is doing is unconstitutional,” said Christin Bentley, another speaker. Bentley is an East Texas Freedom Coalition leader.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 9:46 PM.
