Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to lift all pandemic restrictions this week came as a shock to even his own health advisers. His critics, from California to the Oval Office, called the move reckless, and potential 2022 challenger Beto O’Rourke described it as a “death warrant for Texans.” Call it what you like, but it may give him a way to move past the raft of negative headlines coming from his state’s disastrous handling of a winter storm that left Texas literally in the dark. For two weeks, Texas has been a focus of national attention as the cold snap rendered more than 4 million Texans without power, caused at least 70 deaths and so far cost the state economy $19 billion. The total price tag could soar to close to $300 billion, according to one estimate, making it twice as costly as Hurricanes Harvey and Katrina.