Richard Linklater is an award-winning Texas filmmaker known for classics like Boyhood and Dazed and Confused. Now, the Austin-based talent is lending a hand to a group that's hellbent on booting Republican Governor Greg Abbott from office.
Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC is made up of Democrats, moderate Republicans and independents who share the goal of getting a new governor elected. Turning the "MAGA" acronym on its head, the group has churned out several viral ads highly critical of Abbott's uber-conservative policies, and now, it has Linklater on its side.
Linklater hopes the series of 31 ads will help motivate voter turnout. Set to air each day until the November 8 election, the videos are part of what the anti-Abbott group has dubbed a "Vote Abbott Out Advent Calendar."
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Linklater said that he wanted to help the group spread its message.
"Change only happens when enough people are paying attention and responding," he told Rolling Stone. "We hope these testimonial portraits help more people pay attention and get engaged."
The gubernatorial election in Texas is just under a month away. Even though his popularity has taken some hits in recent months, Abbott is still favored to win against Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke.
Speaking to Newsweek, Mothers Against Greg Abbott founder Nancy Thompson said "everything is at stake" in the coming election. She worries that freedoms currently protected under the 14th Amendment, including "women's rights over their own bodies" and gay marriage, could be at risk.
Some conservative lawmakers are attempting to crack down on access to contraception, Thompson noted, and others are apparently even flirting with the idea of school segregation.
"It's terrifying," Thompson told Newsweek. "What we're seeing happening right now is just a small percentage of Americans, it's not the majority. But the problem is the majority don't vote."
She argued that the Supreme Court seems intent on returning certain rights to the states. But in Texas, she said, it could mean that state lawmakers roll back the clock.
"That is the problem," Thompson said. "This is causing a trend throughout Republican states within the Union, the United States. So what is happening in Texas is coming to a state near you."
Newsweek has reached out to representatives for Linklater, O'Rourke and Abbott for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Simone Carter is a Newsweek reporter based in Texas. Her focus is covering all things in national news. Simone joined ... Read more
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