Okay for Me, but not for Thee

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken exception to an order by Gunnison County, Colorado that bans non-residents from the county. In a letter emailed to a county official, Paxton stated that the order deprives nonresidents of important rights.

It discriminates against nonresident homeowners by entirely prohibiting their ingress to the county and enjoyment of their real and personal property in the county. Resident homeowners, on the other hand, are under no such prohibition.

Paxton has raised no complaints about the myriad orders from local officials in Texas that prohibit Texans from the enjoyment of their property. But those restrictions don’t discriminate between residents and nonresidents. Apparently, so long as restrictions on our freedom apply to everyone, Paxton is okay with it. Apparently, Paxton believes that if some must suffer, all must suffer.

Of course, this is the same Ken Paxton who opposed attempts by the Obama Administration to use eminent domain to seize private property in north Texas, but supports efforts by the Trump Administration to seize private property in south Texas. In other words, Paxton doesn’t have a track record of moral consistency.

As we have noted, in the past Paxton has defended the rights of his political base while willingly sacrificing the rights of others. Thus, he defended the rights of conservatives in north Texas while sacrificing the rights of liberals in south Texas. Today, he is defending Texans, some of whom are a part of his political base, from orders from non-Texans, none of whom are a part of his base.

To be clear, this isn’t about the probity of the Gunnison County order. This is about Ken Paxton’s lack of principles. If Paxton were a man of principle, he would raise questions about the many restrictions being placed on Texans’s use of their property. He hasn’t because he isn’t.

Apparently, to Ken Paxton, it is okay for Texans to place controls and restrictions on Texans. But it’s not okay for Coloradans to do so. It’s okay for me, but not for thee.