Craven politics are a long, bipartisan tradition in Texas, and no one has lost an election boosting business and the economy. But our shamelessness is coming back to haunt us.

Around the Capitol, Gov. Greg Abbott is known for holding his finger to the wind and waiting for others to act first. His desire to avoid controversy has made him one of the most timid governors in Texas history.

Abbott’s waffling is perhaps most vivid when it comes to local control. When governments want to ban plastic bags, limit tree-clearing or establish employment standards, he declares only he and the Texas Legislature have the wisdom for such things.

When it comes to shutting down businesses with decisive action to deal with a public health emergency, well, that’s not his job.

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“What may be right for places like the large urban areas may not be right at this particular point in time for the more than 200 counties that have zero cases of COVID-19,” Abbott said, declining to declare a statewide stay-at-home order.

Doublespeak! How many people have been tested in those counties? How many people will leave shelter-in-place counties and go to others? Like every expert, he knows the virus is spreading and will soon reveal itself in every county.

Abbott fears that voters and politicians who have not seen COVID-19 up close might get angry. He’d rather wait until cases emerge and let someone else deal with it.

Supporters will see a perverse consistency. The governor is unabashedly pro-business, and he will do anything to keep the Texas economy going. But now he’s threading a political needle.

Say what you will about Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, but he puts himself out there, even becoming a national embarrassment. Patrick’s Fox News martyrdom video in support of the economy riffed on William Barrett Travis’ letter from the Alamo. I can imagine the rewrite:

“The enemy (recession) is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand (layoffs) in four or five days. If this call (to restart the economy) is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a (pro-business) soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country—(Economic) Victory or Death.”

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Doesn’t quite have the same ring, which is why Abbott sits idly by. His silence is a fait accompli.

County and city authorities must decide whether to allow a pandemic to overwhelm their hospitals and clinics or shut down the economy, triggering tens of thousands of layoffs and potentially bankrupting thousands of small and medium-sized businesses.

Passing the buck hurts Abbott’s biggest enemies. Texas’s most populous metropolitan areas are run by Democrats, many of whom will run for higher office in 2022.

County judges and mayors have no choice but to prioritize public health and emergency services. They must sacrifice commercial activity to save lives. Abbott can claim later he had nothing to do with those decisions and blame Democrats for the coming statewide recession.

Abbott also avoids criticism from those he fears most: his party’s rightwing. If Abbott declared a statewide shelter-in-place, folks like State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would be criticizing him instead of Democrats.

Bettencourt and his ilk want half-measures that would keep businesses open, but epidemiologists say that could sacrifice the elderly and medical professionals. To be fair, these folks are willing to shut everything down if bodies start piling up, but they want to smell the death first.

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Tellingly, these are the same people who suspect humans are not causing global warming, and therefore want to wait until it’s too late to do anything about it, lest the economy suffers. Protect the present, forget the future is their motto.

Since taking control of the state in 1998, the Texas GOP’s mantra has always been, “Texas is Wide Open for Business.” Sadly, they think this requires keeping wages low, failing to fund health care for the working poor, and prioritizing profits over public health.

The COVID-19 pandemic reveals the false choice. The Texas uninsured rate is 17.3 percent, compared to the 8.9 percent national average. Thousands of people without health coverage are going to flood our emergency rooms.

Texas has a 13.7 percent poverty rate, compared to the national average of 11.8 percent. Texans will suffer the recession more than most.

Business leaders, they do this in your name.

Abbott and the Republican Party are more than happy to pander to business, but they run away when the consequences of their policies become evident. In that way, they are genuinely traditional Texas politicians.

Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy.

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chris.tomlinson@chron.com