On Tuesday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law created by right-wing think tank fascists making voting considerably harder in the second most populated state of the Union. It is the sad end to a chapter in voting rights history that has been fought over since the beginning of the year, when Republicans realized their gerrymandering was not enough to keep people of color from practicing democracy.

During the press question and answer that took place after the signing, Abbott was asked about the draconian abortion laws his state is putting into practice. Specifically, a reporter asked about victims of sexual assault who may not want to carry a pregnancy that was traumatically forced upon them. The issue of sexual assault has been a long understood problem of the true morality of right-wing forced birther logic. Abbott, who has yet to have a meaningful answer to anything in the history of anything, decided he had the perfect word salad answer. No more rape! 

The only thing in that bogus bit of incoherence that was true was the assertion that “rape is a crime.” Really going out on the ledge, Abbott. Considering Abbott and the rest of the forced-birther movement has the kind of track record of serial sexual assault that only a rapist could believe in; and the people taking away women’s reproductive rights believe in a handful of scrolls-turned-into-bound-books that themselves report rapes from thousands of years ago, it’s quite a bit of hubris on the governor’s part to believe he can do what his God could not. But whatever! He isn’t even trying to make sense anymore. 

According to the End the Backlog website, that keeps tabs on untested rape kits in every state, Texas still has well over 2,000 rape kits that have not yet been tested. Abbott himself has vetoed bills that would protect children from child sex trafficking (which includes a lot of sexual assault). While most of what transpires in the clip below is just an arrogant and ill-equipped politician trying to not answer a real question, the frightening part of this all is that Abbott—along with the rest of his Grand Old Party—may simply decide that the best way to get rid of all of these uncomfortable truths is just to eliminate “rape” altogether—as in the concept of it being a thing that even happens.

The very real answer here is that right-wing evangelists, forced birthers, Abbott just don’t believe in rape. The trauma and results of rape are immaterial to the conservative movement. Like everything that so-called conservative Christians believe, if you go through the motions and do the least amount possible, pray and confess when needed, you can hack your way into heaven. What happens to the victims of rape or what happens to the unwanted child that is forced to birth doesn’t matter. You checked off one of your get-into-heaven-for-free game cards.

The collective cult-clapping behind him is the great giveaway that the governor isn’t offering up anything of substance.

YouTube Video