Greg Abbott discusses his campaign for governor with Chad Hasty on KFYO on Primary Election Day.
CHAD HASTY: General Abbott welcome back to the show, how are you?
ATTORNEY GENERAL GREG ABBOTT: Chad Hasty, I’m doing great. Great to be back with you again.
HASTY: Well I appreciate you coming on to the program and I know you want to talk to people about statewide issues and what’s going on throughout the state of Texas, encourage people to vote. But I’ve got to ask you about the controversy that’s, of course, happening here in Lubbock after your campaign stop, which I went to. I thought it was a great campaign stop that you had over at the Jimenez Bakery. We had a City Councilman who got on your case a little bit about coming into Lubbock and also said that you, your campaign and other Republicans basically had harsh rhetoric when it comes to Hispanics not only in Lubbock County, but throughout the state of Texas. What has been your reaction to this controversy?
GENERAL ABBOTT: Well first, I want to thank Connie Jimenez for inviting us in there. We had a great time and it’s a great bakery and I hope people will stop by there and buy some of their great products. Secondly, Chad, let’s just cut to the chase here and talk about what’s going on in the bigger picture because you mentioned this in the context of a local story. This is actually one of the big statewide stories for the remainder of this election and for the remainder of the decade. And here’s why… What’s really caused the dust up there locally again, has been mimicked around the state. And that is, for maybe the first time, Democrats in the state of Texas, feel extremely threatened about a growing demographic change in this state. The demographic change in this state is that Hispanics have awakened to the reality that the Democrat party really doesn’t represent them, their future, or their needs. And because of me, because of the type of campaign that I’m running, because the issues I am focused on, and because of my cultural connection with the Hispanic community, the Hispanics are realizing, “Wait! It’s okay to be a Republican.” Because Republicans really do stand for what the Hispanic community believes in. And what we’re fighting in Lubbock and across the state of Texas is Hispanics fleeing the Democrat party and joining with me. And let me give you some mathematical proof of what I’m talking about. The approval rating that I have from Hispanics has now doubled since the time that I announced my candidacy for Governor. I am now approaching 50% approval by Hispanics in the state of Texas. And so here’s what’s going on. And that is, Democrats realize that if they lost the Hispanic vote and Hispanic community, they will be relegated to obscurity for decades to come. And so I feel that there is absolute chaos in the Democrat community right now knowing that with my cultural connection to the Hispanic community, with my focus on issues that resonate with the Hispanic community, and with the reality in their hearts of the overwhelming majority of Hispanics, they agree that the central role that faith plays in their lives. They agree that family and working together with families and keeping families together are incredibly important. And they agree that they themselves through their hard work, unlike what Barack Obama said, they do build what they go out and work for every single day, and they deserve to keep more of the money that they earn as opposed to being dependent upon the type of government issuing dictates from Washington, D.C. And so this is a small part of a larger debate that will continue through the remainder of this election through the year and the remainder of the decade. Because we’re going to reshape Texas that unites people of all races, get people off of the dependency of the government and government programs., and connected with the individual liberty that was intended in this country in the first place.
HASTY: Well, I think that if those hold true and hold throughout this election, I think you’re probably going to see some national Republicans come in and try to mimic what you did.
GENERAL ABBOTT: Well, that’s actually part of our game plan. Texas is what we call the model for the rest of the country for doing business. We believe in low taxes, less government, small regulations and right-to-work laws. And, Chad, you know that that model is now being copied by other states across the country. Just like Texas wants to be the model for connecting the Republican Party and Hispanic community and achieve new records in doing just that. I think we do have the model for it and once we are successful at it, we will be exporting that model across the country. And just like Texas always changes the future direction of the country, here again, I think Texas will be the leader for the nation in electoral demographics.
HASTY: Visiting with General Greg Abbott, of course running in the Republican primary for Texas Governor. I think there’s not going to be any surprises in your race, but something you mentioned during your stop here in Lubbock at the Jimenez Bakery was complacency. And people sitting around going, “well Republicans always win, we don’t need to worry about it.” That’s why you’re encouraging people to get out there and vote.
GENERAL ABBOTT: Well, you’re exactly right. When I was in Lubbock last week, I was thinking that maybe about 80% of the people in Lubbock vote Republican. And so often when people walk around town and talk politics and things like that, it’s easy for them to think, “Well everyone else agrees like I do, I really don’t need to go out and vote.” And people in Lubbock may think that, but they need to be aware of what’s going on. What’s going on is that Barack Obama team members have come here to the state of Texas and they’re trying to do to Texas what they’ve done to the United States. And so Barack Obama’s high-paid operatives are going out registering voters, trying to turn voters out, trying to convince them to be more dependent upon government. And we simply cannot allow that to happen. So, you’re listeners need to understand that you need to get out and vote and make sure that Barack Obama’s big government liberalism is not going to hijack this state. And the way we do that is for every single person in Lubbock to go out and cast their vote.
HASTY: General Abbott…
GENERAL ABBOTT: And if nothing else, think about this. If there’s a single one of you listening to this right now… If you feel frustrated about Barack Obama, if you feel frustrated about federal government, if you feel like your lives are being interfered with and run too much, and too much of your money’s being taken, today is the day when you can go out and do something about it and make sure you vote for the right people and vote against the people who are against running your lives.
HASTY: Visiting with General Greg Abbott. After tonight, what’s the game plan going forward?
GENERAL ABBOTT: Game plan is to turn our steady pace into an all-out sprint for the next eight months to ensure we win this state. Because I truly understand what is at stake. What’s at stake is the future direction of this state. There’s two different visions for the state of Texas. There’s a vision of growing government even more. And when you grow government, you know it leads to spending more money. And when you spend more money, you know that your taxing more. And when you start growing more, spending more and taxing more, you see obstruction of the Texas model that has proven so successful. Contrary to that, I believe in individual liberty. Liberty for the individual guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. I believe in the liberty that is right for small businesses that want to grow and innovate. Liberty for teachers who want to be able to teach their students as opposed to being dictated by centralized government in Austin or Washington, D.C. and being forced to teach to so many tests. I believe in liberty for doctors, who really want to treat patients and do what they went to medical school for, as opposed to being forced to comply with all these regulations they cannot even comprehend. I believe in freedom for families. Families who want to live safely in their community where they can worship and live happy lives. And so this is going to be a divide between big government and smart government. And I think the forces of less government, smart government and greater liberty will win once again.
HASTY: Visiting with General Greg Abbott. We wish you best of luck tonight and encourage people to get out there and vote. We’ll visit with you during the sprint of the general election.
GENERAL ABBOTT: Thank you so much.