Texans are larger than life, and unfortunately, that includes when they screw up, too. 2023 was a banner year for missteps and overkill. This list of those who embarrassed our state is by no means comprehensive, but it’s a good reminder that sometimes, the world scowls at us for a reason.
Alex Jones
Didn’t know he was a Texan? Born in Dallas, the InfoWars alt-right conspiracy theorist hosts his show from Austin. He’s always been nutty, but peddling the bizarre conspiracy that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax turned him into a true villain. At the end of 2022, Jones was ordered to pay $1.5 billion in legal judgments against the families of the victims.
Amid his long-running personal bankruptcy case, in November, the families offered to settle for far less — at least $85 million over 10 years. To make matters worse, Elon Musk, the owner of X, let Jones come back to the platform and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Jones. What will it take for this guy to finally lose any public credibility?
Elon Musk
Speaking of Musk, we liked X when it was Twitter. It’s a great place for news as it broke, a little joshing around, and remaining connected to people who like the same topics. All that seemed to change when Musk moved SpaceX to Texas and then bought the online platform, changing not just its apropos name but a bunch of other things, too.
Now, the platform’s algorithm is goofy, there’s far less engagement, verified folks got dropped and could only get their coveted blue checks back if they paid for a nominal subscription. But worst of all, there was also Musk’s dalliance with antisemitic rhetoric, including the gross, racist “replacement theory.” When he’s revolutionizing industry, Musk is inspiring. Lately, though, he just makes us cringe.
Jimbo Fisher
The man hired to take Texas A&M football to the next level had it mired in mediocrity, so bad that boosters wanted him gone. That’s no crime, but his contract ran through 2031 at an average of $9 million per year, so Fisher’s getting a $78 million payout. Wild, even by Texas football standards.
As ESPN reporter Peter Burns posted, that means Fisher is raking in about $1,083 per hour for the foreseeable future. As we opined in an editorial, the whole debacle is a disgrace. We’re piling on Fisher here, but he’s the face of a sport out of control. A&M deserves a heap of scorn too.
Alex Bregman
The Astros star gloated when Houston won the American League West on the final day of the season over the Rangers, pompously saying, “People were wondering what it was gonna be like if the Astros didn’t win the division. I guess we’ll never know.”
But we sure know what it’s like when the Rangers beat the Astros in the playoffs and then go on to win the World Series, don’t we?
Tarrant Appraisal District officials
Texas property taxes are a thorn in the side of property owners, but Tarrant County officials somehow managed to make it worse this year. In a meeting to discuss the agency’s new website this fall, the head of the information systems department, Cal Wood, was heard assenting to “creating a false narrative that distances the truth from the media.” He argued that “the further you create the truth from what’s being reported, the better you are.”
It’s not like we fall asleep at night hoping our politicians or bureaucrats are better than us, but is it too much to ask that they have some integrity? Wood was quickly dispatched, but it was the capper of an era of questionable management at the district. Let’s hope 2024 is a clean slate for an agency that people need to be able to trust with a crucial mission: fair, accurate appraisals.
Dan Patrick and Dade Phelan
You might like one over the other, or neither, depending on your politics, but when it comes to dealing with each other over the state’s business, both the lieutenant governor and House speaker are chaotic, controversial and catty. Between the Ken Paxton impeachment trial and the many legislative sessions, they bickered over nearly everything. It delayed progress on property taxes, prevented pay raises for teachers and sank Gov. Greg Abbott’s school choice initiative. There’s a fine Texas tradition of House-Senate rivalry, even vitriol, but these two have taken it too far.
Ken Paxton
The attorney general could lead a list like this every year, but in 2023, he outdid even himself. He reached a settlement of more than $3.3 million with whistleblowers who accused him of abusing office, then later had his lawyers claim they were just bitter ex-employees. His desire for taxpayers to fund it eventually led to the House impeachment inquiry against him.
And his trial gave Texas its biggest black eye, revealing that politics trump his obvious unfitness for office. Republican senators let him off the hook, but Paxton was revealed as a paranoid tyrant willing to twist a vital part of Texas government to help a friend and donor. And when it was all over, Paxton went right back to playing politics with his office, suing the State Department on behalf of conservative media outlets and investigating a liberal group on behalf of Musk.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
