Texas House Democrats preparing to flee the state in move that could block voting restrictions bill, bring Legislature to a halt
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/12/..._source=twitter
A majority of Democrats in the Texas House plan to fly to Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 27 days left in a special legislative session called largely for that purpose.
by Alexa Ura and Cassandra Pollock July 12, 20212 hours ago



Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives plan to leave the state and fly to Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon, according to sources with knowledge of the plan, in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 27 days left in a special legislative session called largely for that purpose.

Upping the ante in both the legislative fight at home and the national debate over voting rights, most House Democrats are expected to board a flight out of Austin headed for the U.S. capital without a set return date. They’ll need at least 51 of the 67 Democratic representatives to flee for their plan to work. The House is set to reconvene Tuesday morning, but the absent Democrats could mean there will not be enough members present to conduct business under House rules.

With the national political spotlight on Texas’ efforts to further restrict voting, the Democratic exodus offers them a platform to continue pleading with Congress to act on restoring federal protections for voters of color. In Texas, the decamping will mark a more aggressive stance by Democrats to block Republican legislation further tightening the state’s voting rules as the GOP works against thinning statewide margins of victory.-- excerpt, rest at link above --

Milk Carton Democrats Strike Again – Texas Democrats Leave State to Block Legislation, Fly Private Jets to Washington DC for Support
July 12, 2021 | Sundance | 128 Comments

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/07/12/milk-carton-democrats-strike-again-texas-democrats-leave-state-to-block-legislation-fly-private-jets-to-washington-dc-for-support/

We saw this exact same strategy play out in Wisconsin circa 2011 when the Democrats in state legislature fled the state to avoid showing up to a legislative session. They left the state specifically to avoid state police arresting them and forcibly returning them to work. This is how Democrats operate.

In Texas the milk-carton Democrats do not have the numbers to block legislation; however, they can deny a legislative quorum by not showing up to work. The Democrats took buses to a private airport where they took private charter flights to Washington DC; all of their manipulative schemes paid for by Democrat activist groups. The cases of beer on the seats is a nice touch.

Meanwhile, Texas citizens are paying taxes to fund the salaries of officials who refuse to come to work.

Texas Gov. Abbott: Democrats Who Fled to Block Voting Bill 'Will Be Arrested' 'Once They Step Back Into the State'
https://www.westernjournal.com/texas-gov...1b5cd0e7edca8ef
Jack Davis
July 13, 2021 at 6:48am

He who bolts and runs away will get arrested another day.

So said Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott about state House Democrats who fled the state rather than allow the Republican majority to pass an election bill Democrats have denounced as a danger to their constituencies.

In May, Democrats walked out of a state House session rather than allow Republicans to pass the bill. With no Democrats, the House does not have a quorum and cannot pass any bills.

The tactic was dusted off from the Democratic playbook of 2003, when Democrats fled the state in hopes of holding off a Republican-drafted redistricting plan. The end result of that political exodus was to delay passage of the plan for a few weeks.

On Monday, Abbott appeared on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” and said lawmakers will be punished for playing games at the taxpayer’s expense.-- excerpt, rest at link above --

It would certainly be a nice surprise if something meaningful is actually done....

Republican Leadership Chimes in on Democrats Fleeing Austin
Throwing the ongoing special session into a state of confusion, will Republican leadership prevail in compelling Democrats to return to the state and deliberate issues on the agenda?

By Jeramy Kitchen | July 12, 2021

https://texasscorecard.com/state/republican-leadership-chimes-in-on-democrats-fleeing-austin/



On Monday, in response to reports of House Democrat lawmakers leaving Austin to avoid a quorum and ultimately consideration of the omnibus election integrity legislation, state Republican leadership released several statements condemning the action and promising to employ every available means to compel them to return.

Over the weekend, both the House & Senate versions of the omnibus election integrity bills were passed out of their respective committees on party-line votes.

Gov. Greg Abbott

As Democrat lawmakers were boarding the plane to Washington D.C., Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said:

Quote

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Texas Democrats’ decision to break a quorum of the Texas Legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve. As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state.

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Notably, in the weeks before the beginning of the special session, Abbott followed through on a threat to defund the Legislature in response to two of his emergency legislative items dying in the waning days of the 87th regular legislative session as Democrats, enabled by House Republican leadership, “busted quorum,” precluding any additional consideration of the omnibus election integrity bill.

Abbott added funding for Article X of the budget for the next biennium to his special session agenda, alongside election integrity and bail reform. Many assumed that restoring Article X funding would be used as an incentive to compel Democrat lawmakers to stay and deliberate items like election integrity. Seemingly, that did not work.


House Speaker Dade Phelan

Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan released the following statement:

Quote

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A number of House Democrats stated their caucus intends to break quorum in an attempt to stall election integrity legislation. These actions put at risk state funding that will deny thousands of hard-working staff members and their families a paycheck, health benefits, and retirement investment so that legislators who broke quorum can flee to Washington D.C. in private jets. The Texas House will use every available resource under the Texas Constitution and the unanimously-passed House Rules to secure a quorum to meaningfully debate and consider election integrity, bail reform, benefits for retired teachers, Child Protective Services reform, Article X funding, and the other important measures Gov. Abbott placed on the special session agenda. The special session clock is ticking — I expect all Members to be present in our Capitol in order to immediately get to work on these issues.

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-- excerpt, rest at link above --

Quote: Isailedaway wrote in post #12

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Notice the case of Miller Lite on second row on right.

These people are bought and paid for, and liquored up for the flight to their homeland, DC.

Do not belong representing anyone in Texas.

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Other States Look To Texas For Advice On How To Get Democrats To Leave
https://babylonbee.com/news/governor-abb...-to-leave-texas
July 13th, 2021


U.S.—In a brilliant move, Governor Greg Abbott has tricked dozens of Democrat legislators into leaving Texas. This is leading other governors across the country to ask Texas for advice on how they can get Democrats to leave their states as well.

"Arizona is a beautiful state," said Governor Doug Ducey, "but it has one problem: it's full of Democrats. Is there some way we can just get them to—I dunno—leave? Why can't they live in California or Cuba, or somewhere they'll fit in better?"

The governor of Georgia has also stated he will be flying to Texas to learn all of Governor Abbott's secrets to making Democrats go somewhere else.

"We hope to follow the great example set by Texas," said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. "Democrats have this nasty habit of destroying their states like a plague of locusts-- excerpt, rest at link above --