Commentary roundup: What newspapers around the state are saying

Dallas Morning News

June 22 editorial, "President Biden shouldn’t play politics with the federal gas tax."

President Joe Biden is leaning toward suspending the federal gasoline tax to ease consumer pain at the pump. He shouldn’t.

A gasoline tax holiday is the type of political gimmick that gains momentum when economic pain for consumers creates political pain for politicians in an election year. Congressional elections, and even the presidency, have turned on whom voters blame for rising gas prices. And Biden is far from oblivious of that history.

The perception of action isn’t the same as effective action. Energy markets are in turmoil for myriad reasons, including years of low prices that discouraged energy exploration, some ill-conceived federal policies, the impact of reduced demand during the pandemic, the curtailment of Russian oil from worldwide markets and Saudi Arabia essentially holding the line on production. Suspending the gas tax isn’t going to mute inflation any more than the administration’s earlier decision to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

— Dallas Morning News Editorial Board

Fort-Worth Star Telegram

June 20 editorial, "Texas GOP’s platform is usually nutty. This year, it’s offensive and conspiratorial, too."

The Texas Republican platform is always a favorite topic of the political media, and its effect is always overstated. Only the most fervently dedicated, those who make politics a hobby or job, become delegates and contribute to the platform — which officeholders frequently ignore.

Texas GOP delegates often take issue with those elected officials, too. For years, conventioneers were lukewarm at best about Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who always brushed it off and won more votes than any other Texan. Sen. John Cornyn, booed over the weekend for embracing modest gun-law changes, has won election statewide more than half a dozen times and never broken a sweat, even in a GOP primary.

Even Gov. Greg Abbott declined to appear at this year's convention, hosting a reception for delegates instead. And he just won the party's nomination over two far-right challengers with two-thirds of the vote.

So, it's the party base that's isolating itself from Republican voters. The risk for GOP officeholders is that the extremism finally catches up with them. In this year's campaigns, they'd much rather talk about inflation, energy and education. They can contrast Texas' continuing growth and success with Democratic policies driving higher prices.

But thanks to the party, they'll have to answer whether Biden is legitimate and whether LGBTQ Texans are immoral.

— Fort Worth-Star Telegram

The Kerrville Daily Times

June 20 editorial, "Be proactive with water restrictions."

For anyone who uses a pool regularly, maintains gardens and a lawn or uses water for any number of reasons around the house, drought restrictions can be inconvenient. Water is not an unlimited resource, and in agricultural areas, like Kerr County, water is especially needed for raising livestock and crops.

The Kerrville Daily Times has been reporting on the current drought in Kerr County, the declining river water level and additional environmental factors, like the Saharan dust clouds that keep sweeping through our town. While city and county officials haven't officially declared any restrictions, we can do our parts by self-imposing restrictions on our water usage at our homes and offices and being more conscious of the burn ban in effect throughout all precincts.

We can start by checking plumbing in homes and offices to make sure there aren't any drips or leaks and that toilets are running properly. Plumbing that drips five times per minute wastes up to 260 gallons per year. Change washers and consider upgrading to flow-regulated faucets.

— The Kerrville Daily Times Editorial Board

Houston Chronicle

June 22 editorial, "School vouchers would be bad for Texas, no matter what the Supreme Court just said."

Tuesday’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding school vouchers makes it unconstitutional for states to exclude religious schools from programs that use tax dollars to pay private tuition. That’s a matter of constitutional concern for anyone worried the line between church and state is being blurred, especially in public schools.

But regardless of those concerns, one thing the decision does not do is change the fact that vouchers are a bad idea for Texas.

That said, Tuesday’s 6-3 opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts involving a voucher program in Maine will certainly add momentum to efforts by Gov. Greg Abbott to persuade the Legislature to change that come January.

— Houston Chronicle Editorial Board

San Antonio Express-News

June 22 editorial, "Desperate need for transparency, accountability in Uvalde."

For the families of the 19 children and two adults killed and 17 wounded, the shifting story and lack of transparency only add to the pain. They deserve honesty and answers. But since May 24, officials have said that a teacher left the exterior door propped open, and officers didn’t have the right equipment, battled communication problems, were thwarted by a locked door and couldn’t find a key.

Now, we know most of those claims were false. This weekend, the Express-News reported that school surveillance footage showed no police checked the door to see if it was locked.

Transparency and accountability are desperately needed. McCraw’s testimony serves as a starting point. But one month after this horror, as misery deepens, we are doubtful either will truly arrive.

— San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin American-Statesman Commentary Roundup: June 26, 2022