What It Would Mean if That Texas GOP Platform Became Law

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Party platforms are aspirational. They’re like that thought exercise you might have played where somebody asks you what the first thing you would do if you became President is. (My answer, by the way: Add a guaranteed right to sexual and reproductive freedom. Until recently it was “legalize marijuana.” Can I have both?)

A platform is “This is what we would do if we had a supermajority” and should be taken as such. But as a thought exercise, I’m going to take that Texas platform everyone is talking about and see what would actually become illegal if it passed. I’m going to set aside overturning the Federal election (which is seriously in there). And this isn’t all inclusive because this thing is forty pages. It even has things in it that I agree with, such as improving flooding mitigation on the coast.

Things That They Would Make Illegal

1. Contact tracing to track the spread of contagious disease.
2. Lockdowns and business closures to prevent the spread of contagious disease.
3. Carbon taxes.
4. Protecting endangered species.
5. Promoting renewable energy.
6. Boycotting Texas because you don’t agree with their politics.
7. Money to fund high…