DALLAS – George Bush’s home state has gotten a lot of attention over the right-wing’s extralegal power grabs here, but the Republican government has sharpened another special razor and handed it to the populace. Gov. Rick Perry is currently on tour to convince Texans to cut our own throats.
On Aug. 23, early voting began on 22 proposed constitutional amendments. One of them, hidden in the middle of the ballot as Proposition 12, would allow the legislature to drain away people’s right to win damages in court from corporations and others who have wronged them. The content is disguised as well as hidden: “The constitutional amendment concerning civil lawsuits against doctors and health care providers, and other actions, authorizing the legislature to determine limitations on non-economic damages.”
Some of the state’s doctors have been hoodwinked into supporting the proposal because it seems, at first glance, to be concerned with saving them money, but not even its most ardent supporter, the governor, claims that insurance prices for doctors will be lowered. The key phrase is hidden in the middle: “and other actions.” In other words, the legislature would be empowered to set damage limits on any kind of lawsuit.
The right-wing supporters of Prop. 12 did not just hide their sharp razors in the middle of a proposal that is hidden in the middle of the ballot. They also deliberately set the voting day to draw the least possible voter turnout: Saturday, Sept. 13. The traditional Election Day, Nov. 4, will have far too many voters to suit the right-wing’s plans, because the state’s largest city, Houston, has a mayoral race that day. Further, union members who get time off for voting on weekdays and are likely to vote against the proposal, will have less incentive to vote on Saturday. Several popular college football games will also keep Texans home that day.
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