We learned just a week ago that a surprising proportion of Texans said they’d vote for Matthew McConaughey, star of Dazed and Confused, True Detective, and Surfer, Dude, for governor. Never mind that McConaughey hasn’t stated any clear political positions; Texans have been through so much recently that many would rather vote for an unknown quantity (and all-around pleasant guy) than deal with Gov. Greg Abbott again.
McConaughey, for one, held his feet on announcing whether or not he’d run, but he finally did it two weeks before the deadline. In a video posted to his Twitter account, McConaughey says he’s as astonished as everyone that he’s being considered for the role, but it’s not going to happen.
“As a simple kid born in the little town of Uvalde, Texas,” the Fool’s Gold star proclaimed. “It never occurred to me that I would one day be considered for political leadership. It is a humbling and inspiring path to ponder. It is also a path that I’m choosing not to take at this moment.”
So, it appears that Abbott will face Beto O’Rourke in this campaign, but McConaughey will not abandon Texas completely. He’ll still do the following:
“I am going to continue to work and invest the bounty I have by supporting entrepreneurs, businesses and foundations that I believe are leaders, establishments that I believe are creating pathways for people to succeed in life, organizations that have a mission to serve and build trust while also generating prosperity. That’s the American dream.”
And he added some more ambiguous words to make sure we’re okay, okay, okay with his decision. “Politicians? “McConaughey inquired. “Yes, the good ones can assist us in getting to where we need to go.” But, to be clear, they won’t be able to help us unless we choose to help ourselves.”
Is it possible to blame the man for refusing to enter the “bag of rats”? There’s no way. There’s a lot of trash to clean up in Texas, and credit to him for messing with everyone by leaving the door ajar. Also, now McConaughey has more time to (like his foundation’s name says) Just Keep Livin’, and even better, more time to go back and do it all over again:
