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From another article about this, oh the irony:
Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, who fled his own impeachment hearings and refused a court order to release his travel records after speaking at the rally in Washington that preceded the January 6 insurrection, has described wayward Democratic legislators as “cowards”.
Voters don't care, why should they act differently?
Monday's vote was mostly symbolic, according to the Texas Tribune, as the warrants only apply within state lines.
The move empowers the chamber's sergeant-at-arms and state troopers to arrest the absent lawmakers and deliver them to the state capitol building in Austin.
They would not face any civil or criminal charges as a result of the warrant, the newspaper reports.
So basically it’s toothless posturing and only real consequences is that they get sent to the state capitol to go back to work.
Only immediate consequences. The gerrymandering they want to pass has the potential to screw the state and country depending on how the gerrymandering works and is perceived to work. I'm afraid this may make our voting numbers go down even more.
No telling what can happen if Republicans achieve their goal of solidifying a bigger majority in the US House. We've already seen that Texans are willing to keep Cruz in the senate, rather than spend 30 minutes voting.
CRUZ is the GOPsenates necessary evil to maintain a majority, so was mitch until he realized the magats were turning on him, he bounced.
Well, that serves their goal at the moment. That may change. After having so easily made this posturing move, next time, they will have this language available to them, with more severe and less legal consequences.
In my head, I keep going back to that fascist guy that Medhi Hasan got sat down with. These fuckers would pick up the ball and run with it in a soccer game, chuck the ball in the goal, keep their own score and time, then jog off the field pumping up the 10% of the crowd that's on their side.
It'd be funny if they were just deluded, but they are setting it up so they can deport or arrest anyone that doesn't cheer.
After the vote, the governor ordered state troopers "to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans".
So which trooper is going to be brave enough to follow the governor’s orders and arrest him?
Has Rafael fled to Cancun yet?
as the zodiac killer, he also possess the ability to shapeshift, and travel at great speeds to a tropical environment.
Yes arrest them for not helping subvert democracy to keep an illegitimate fascist in power. "States rights", party of "freedom", my ass. Bunch of nazi clowns.
Seems like the governor told the troopers to arrest people like the governor.
Only four states, TX, IN, TN, and OR, have rules like this that require 2/3rds of members be present for legislation to be passed. The republicans in Oregon have done it so often that the voters passed (with 70% of the vote) a law that states that any legislator with 10 or more unexcused absences from votes cannot run for office again.
Democrats in Texas have done this to stop redistricting that could result in a fascist take over of the country. Republicans in OR have done this six times since 2019. They did it to block legislation on gun safety, reproductive health, education funding, cap and trade, COVID-19 restrictions, and once on redistricting.
Wow there’s no way the American people will stand for this.
lol j/k of course they will.
I like it when basement dwellers say Democrats don't do anything while they're literally having arrest warrants issued for them because they're trying to prevent fascists from seizing more power.
I also like how these basement dwellers are completely unaware of any of the bills Democrats have passed that have massively helped average Americans because their goal is to whine, not educate themselves.
Passing bills is not enough. You need to “bring a knife to a knife fight” and Dems themselves say they’ve been bringing pencils up till now.
I love this new more feisty Democratic Party but it’s a new thing.
Y'all are one Reichstag fire away from invading Poland
Hi from Canada, we're likely Poland in Nazi Boogaloo 2.
All I'm saying is that Canada and Mexico are going to need to step up their border defense game, just in case
That's gonna suck all around; America already does poorly with insurgencies, let's see them fight one against their closest neighbour, who speak the same language, look the same, and follow most of the same culture.
The irony of a Republican lawmaker trying to make this point is unbelievable...
Hopefully, Texas police realize they’re being given an unlawful order and arrest the dickweed who issued it.
LOL. Texas police don’t have brains.
More importantly, they don't have jurisdiction.
How is the vote legitimate if there's no quorum?
The rules specifically allow for either voting to adjourn and voting to arrest no attending members
Didn't this exact same thing happen some years ago? Dems went on the lam and were found in a hotel across the state line a few days later.
Edit: found it, 2021. https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/special-session/texas-democrats-leave-state-redistricting-quorum/269-6919f7c5-ec57-49a6-bc3a-ad7cf84aa683
Also in 2003. In fact, that time was due to the GOP doing the same redistricting shit they're doing now!
Definitely shouldn't look up OR and the six times Republicans have done this in the last few years.
Texas Democrats should tell Piss Baby Abbott that they all went to Cancun cause of their families. Worked for Rafael Cruz.
Who exactly has abandoned their duty to Texas? The people eroding democracy in Texas. Abbot you fuckhead!
Gregg Abbott is un-American because he refuses to stand for the national anthem. And I also hear he’s a little piss baby.
How did they vote on this if they don’t have a quorum?
Rule 8, Section 5.
All absentees for whom no sufficient excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found, by the sergeant-at-arms or an officer appointed by the sergeant-at-arms for that purpose, and their attendance shall be secured and retained.
And
Until a quorum appears, should the roll call fail to show one present, no business shall be transacted, except to compel the attendance of absent members or to adjourn. It shall not be in order to recess under a call of the house.
It does not require a quorum, it is a measure voted on by those present. This is the same thing in lots of State legislatures including the US House. There's usually a rule that allows whoever is present to be able to bring a motion to those present to force those who are not present to the floor. It's usually one of a handful of motions that don't require quorum.
That language suggests that the only thing they can do is either order the "arrests" or adjourn, making the headline much less impressive...
This dude wants to talk about duty to Texans? Wow man
The beauty of the 300-year-old American federalist system is that states enjoy a wide range of special rights to be ultimately determined by the current makeup of the Supreme Court with absolutely no checks on their power. Supreme Court Justices are lifetime appointees who can be bribed publicly and are free to lie about it, and there is no mechanism to question their ethics or remove them from their positions outside of a full impeachment like with Trump.
The state supreme courts have a good deal of power, but only to the extent that the federal Supreme Court doesn’t take it away. I can’t imagine a more fertile ground for fascism to be experimented upon legally if people of conscience do nothing.
There are checks built in. The fascists just control all of them.
Multiple justices should not have been confirmed. At least one should absolutely, 1000% been impeached (by Congress), regardless of party. The justices should be checking the president. Respect for the rule of law should be putting a stop to most of this.
We have voted for Team Fascists because we've decided team colors are more important than principles.
Congrats. You're gonna turn your 100 billion dollars into 300 billion dollars and it'll be worth 600 billion rubles. All the numbers are bigger, just like you wanted. Good fucking work. Maybe you should have considered that 3 years ago 600 billion rubles were worth 8 billion dollars.
You've played yourself (and the rest of us with you).
Isn't this why they left the state in the first place? I fully expect Trump to employ ICE to track them down and bring them back, though and regardless of how illegal that is.
this just in, fascists don't like their own methods! Lmao bunch of wusses.
Wouldn't it just have been easier to say - "we vote to say an absentee vote is counted as a 'for'"? No, no, they must show that they are a fascist dictatorship in the strongest way possible 'cus - 'Murica!!!
The law there allows the redistricting to happen if there is a majority vote for redistricting. The law also requires at least 2/3 of members to be present to actually hold a vote. So, this is a tactic that can be used by the minority party to avoid a vote happening at all.
Its a weird law. The democrats have only taken advantage of it a few times and, so far, only for votes relating to redistricting or vote suppression. They did this twice in 2003, once in 2021, and again now. All to stop redistricting or voter suppression votes.
Tx repugs are stupid beyond imagining