Quick Take: As ‘wall governor,’ Abbott chooses years of headaches on chance that gambit may help him in 2022

AUSTIN — The Greg Abbott border wall gambit is a high-risk, low-reward venture.

It’s politically hazardous. With Wednesday’s announcement that Texas will mix private donations and tax dollars to build the wall or fence — or “physical barriers on voluntarily donated private and public lands,” as a letter signed by top lawmakers put it — Abbott guaranteed that his political career is now mostly about a public works project.

Not education. Not easing traffic congestion. Not adding other needed infrastructure, such as a reliably functioning power grid.

Abbott is now “the wall governor.”

For years, he is likely to be dogged by questions about land procurement, design and progress of construction, not to mention the effort’s underlying finances and whether it works at stopping unauthorized entries by determined, if not desperate, people from foreign countries.

“We expect full transparency and accountability so the public will know all the money coming in and how that money is being used,” the Republican governor stressed at a Capitol news conference.

For starters, Abbott and other GOP leaders raided the state prison system’s budget for $250 million. It’s a small slice of a nearly $7 billion, two-year prisons budget that the state’s rebounding finances probably can cover. However, wall building costs could spiral — and the public’s willingness to help could flag. This will take years to sort out.

Look for reporters to start tracking the private donations of cash and filing open-records requests. Look for owners of borderlands, though they may signal initial willingness to demand no compensation, to consider posterity. Look for environmental groups to sue. Look for local pushback over routes and aesthetics.

Abbott’s move is low reward because he’s unlikely to reap a huge political dividend. Consider his 2022 effort to win a third four-year term: Who’s going to give Abbott credit for launching a state border wall initiative who isn’t already likely to vote for him?

Asked on Wednesday if Texans who are worried about this week’s request that they conserve electricity, as well as other issues, would view his border wall announcement as political theater, Abbott grew testy.

“We believe in the rule of law, and law and order, in this state, and by God, we’re going to step up and deliver that rule of law and law and order,” he said, raising his voice.

Although a flock of GOP lawmakers behind him applauded, it’s unlikely that Abbott’s subsequent, rambling answer about the seeming threat of summer power outages reassured many residents. He compared this week’s energy conservation pleadings by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to water conservation notices “sent out every summer.”

Huh?

Dallas businessman Don Huffines, who made finishing a border wall his top issue when he announced early last month that he’d run against Abbott in next year’s primary, is capitalizing on the incumbent’s me-too moves. Last week, Huffines took credit for Abbott’s “significant shift in tone” on border matters.

Abbott has shrugged off questions about possible presidential aspirations. If he wins reelection next year and seeks the White House, though, the border wall will be — for better or worse — his calling card.