(Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
At least some of the runaway Texas Democrats are headed home from their D.C. vacation disguised as a push for voting rights. The returning lawmakers decided to end the political stunt after an activist judge issued a restraining order protecting them from arrest. But will the ploy turn out to be a net positive or merely a hollow gesture – and now that the Texas Supreme Court has stepped in and warrants have been signed, what fate awaits these wayward legislators in the Lone Star State?
The Fleebaggers Make Their Way Home
State Representative James Talerico, a Democrat, announced his return after District Court Judge Brad Urrutia’s restraining order prohibited Governor Greg Abbott from arresting him and his traveling colleagues for 14 days. The gaggle of leftist politicians originally fled the state to break quorum for a special session intended to prompt the state legislature to consider another election bill. Things may not turn out as the lawmakers planned, however, after the Texas Supreme Court effectively ruled that their get-out-of-jail-free card was not worth the paper upon which it was printed. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, has now reportedly signed warrants for the arrest of those who re-enter the Lone Star State.
After arriving in Washington, these legislators proceeded to make utter fools of themselves. Not only did they viciously butcher the song “We Shall Overcome” on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, but they also they spread COVID. Of course, the classless collaborators elicited an outpouring of support from the left. The lofty encomiums coming from high-profile Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, were so enthusiastic that one might have been tempted to believe these individuals were the reincarnation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Talerico posted a self-congratulatory tweet in which he patted himself on the back for drawing attention to the notion that Texas Republicans were attempting to impose the latest iteration of Jim Crow. “Our quorum break shined a national spotlight on the TX voter suppression bill and pushed Congress closer to passing a federal voting rights act to override it,” he wrote. “I’m confident they will. Now I’m back to clean up Greg Abbott’s latest messes from COVID to ERCOT.”
The lawmaker may as well have been wearing a red cape and blue tights while making this proclamation.
However, it does not appear the rest of the band is quite ready to end their taxpayer-funded vacation. Some have indicated they will remain in the capital to continue pushing for federal voting legislation. As of Aug. 9, about two dozen were still in D.C., according to State Representative Ron Reynolds. Nevertheless, this particular stunt may not achieve its intended objective. Abbott has already indicated he will wait them out. Fox News reported:
“Last month, Abbott told Fox News that lawmakers who left the state to block consideration of the bill would be arrested ‘as soon as they come back.’ The Texas governor has also pledged to call special sessions until the voting legislation is considered. A second special session began on Saturday.”
Abbott is intent on having the election bill debated in the legislature, and it is apparent he will continue to push the matter until it is resolved. In light of this, even Don Quixote could see that the Democrats’ stunt was a fool’s errand – a complete waste of time, energy, and tax dollars. In the end, the governor and Republicans will get what they want, and the Democrats will be left to lick their wounds and whimper about Jim Crow 2.0.
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Read more from Jeff Charles.
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