But he does have levers to pull. He is the governor of a large state, and that comes with a lot of power and pull. He also has a voice, which holds a lot of power, just as Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has — and has used.

On the other hand, we can use this situation to see how the Seventeenth Amendment was such a bad idea. Now that senators are elected by the people of each state, the state itself has lost a lot of power and pull with the federal (now national) government. The Constitution was originally set up so that each state legislature chose its own senators, and this made the senators beholden to the state itself. Now, senators are beholden to their special-interest campaign-contributors, not the state and not the voters. This makes the Senate little better than the House of Representatives.

Every state of the union has lost its voice in Washington DC. This is why we had unfunded mandates on state budgets, a few decades ago. It took a lot of effort to correct this, because the senate was not on the side of the states (and no one else, either). Even today, no one is there to defend the Tenth Amendment and states’s rights.

Without the Seventeenth Amendment, Abbot would have even more levers to pull and more power to pull them.

They do not need to be “worked with;” they need to be called out and opposed using all legal and constitutional means. And, if this opposition can be served with a bit of humor and savior faire, well, so much the better. Standing up to bullies, etc. And articulating critical principles in language that the public and other elected officials can clearly understand.

Again, it is hard to fault the Governor too much. He has done a lot, and he deserves credit for the good things that he has done. I just wish — along the lines of the story about President Lincoln wanting to share whatever spirits that General Grant was partaking of with his other generals — that DeSantis would send a case of his special political “Gatoraid” to Governor Abbott.

*Where the National Guard would certainly serve a useful purpose.

He has only so many levers to pull here.

Six months. Can you imagine how long it would take if NASA were forced to move the launch site for the SLS? Five years? A decade?
Never?

Boys and girls (I don’t work for Disney so I can say this), it is becoming pretty obvious that Mr. Musk actually “wants” to create a successful and commercially viable manned space program, while The Powers That Be in Washington want no such thing. Neither, apparently, does Governor Abbott of Texas. Too bad for our country; too bad for Texas.

From insiders in several Federal agencies, and from experience, the direction they are given from Republican administrations is to assist businesses comply with regulations and meet agency goals. During Democratic administrations the direction is to be as tough as possible on business, slow walk and fine them where possible.

Maybe Mr. Musk should rethink his position on free speech. Vee have ways to convince people.