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A year ago, in this very space, we referred to 2020 as “perhaps the craziest, stupidest, Bum Steeriest year in Texas Monthly’s history.” The unspoken assumption—or perhaps it was a desperate wish—was that 2021 would prove to be at least marginally saner than that misbegotten election year. And how did that go? Well, six days into the calendar, hordes of malefactors (including dozens of Texans) descended on Washington, D.C. Six weeks after that, Texas was plunged into a deep freeze and blackout that turned us into a national laughingstock and left hundreds dead. Throw in some extreme legislation, a pandemic that keeps driving us further apart instead of rallying us together, and the usual retinue of felons, freaks, and philanderers, and you’ve got a year that can proudly turn to 2020 and say, “Hold my beer.”
Bum Steer of the Year
Greg Abbott
Six years after he became governor, we still don’t know what Greg Abbott wants to accomplish—except, as this year made clear, to hold on to office, no matter how many Texans get hurt. Read More
Runners-Up
Ted Cruz
The junior senator from the great state of Cancún had a very, very, very bad year. Maybe he’ll blame it on his daughters. Read More
Wanted! For Embarrassing Texas
An A-to-Z list of 25 Lone Star State residents who disgraced themselves last January 6. Read More
(Dis)honorable Mentions / The Rest of the Herd
He was rearrested with all deliberate speed
As a man was being released from the Killeen city jail, police…
