Actor not a fan of Texas abortion provision
Actor Matthew McConaughey still isn’t ready to say if he’s running for governor, but the Uvalde native offered a sliver of insight into his political position on abortion during an interview on a podcast with the New York Times.
McConaughey repeatedly veered away from policy specifics but made clear he is not a fan of Senate Bill 8, the legislation that has effectively banned abortion in Texas.
McConaughey said parts of the law, which was blocked by a federal judge Wednesday evening, are “a little juvenile” and said he didn’t agree with not having any exceptions for women who are victims of rape or incest.
“I’ve got a problem with that,” McConaughey said.
McConaughey later said giving women potentially just six weeks to get an abortion — which is before many even know they are pregnant — “does not really make that an honest consideration.”
Despite all that, McConaughey declined to spell out his opinions about abortion rights during his interview with Kara Swisher, who hosts the podcast Sway.
“I’m not going to come out and tell you right now on this show, here’s where I stand on abortion,” McConaughey said.
During other segments of the podcast, McConaughey waxed philosophical about the state of politics, what it is so broken about it and how he can be part of repairing it.
“I’m working on what I’m trying to understand politics to be,” McConaughey said. “I think we’ve got to redefine politics. If each party’s only about preservation of party, well, I’m almost arguing that’s undemocratic.
“If you’re only there to, by hook or by crook, preserve your party, you’re leaving out 50 percent of the people. So I think politics needs a redefining.”
But McConaughey said that’s led him to question whether he’s supposed to get into the arena, or if it is all a “bag of rats” that he shouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole.
He said he’s convinced people want to see a third party emerge and that the bulk of Americans already would fit into a more centrist ideological party.
“I think people want a third party,” he said. “And we’ve got one. It doesn’t have a name right now. And it is the majority. It is 60 percent of the population in America.”
He added: “I think it’s necessary to be aggressively centric to possibly salvage democracy in America right now.”
McConaughey, 51, has talked about running for governor for nearly a year but has not said which party, if any, he would align with if he were to get into the race.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is running for a third fouryear term as governor.
He is being challenged in the GOP primary by former State Sen. Don Huffines and former Florida Congressman Allen West.
Meanwhile, Democrats are trying to convince former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke to get into the race.
O’Rourke said last month he is still thinking about it, but does not have a timetable for when he would make a decision.