Texas House Democrats appear desperate to spin their imminent return to the Lone Star State as a victory march. It’s clear, however, that their weeks-long effort to thwart the will of the people and to prevent Republicans from passing new congressional lines was in vain.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) stressed to Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on Wednesday that Republicans will ultimately prevail.
Quick background
Texas Democrats fled to Illinois and other blue states earlier this month to block the passage of a redistricting plan that would help the GOP gain five more congressional pickup opportunities ahead of the midterm elections.
Following the Democrat lawmakers’ departure, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) signed arrest warrants for the absentee legislators, Abbott ordered their arrests by the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the FBI agreed to collaborate on the hunt.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Ken Paxton opened investigations into a George Soros-funded political action committee and a group organized by failed gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, which are both suspected of helping fund the Democrats’ abrupt exit.
Paxton also readied a court request to remove the absentee legislators from office.
In the face of significant heat from Texas and the prospect of a chilly winter in exile, the absentee legislators have reportedly decided to return.
Trying to save face, Texas House Democrats said in a release that they have “killed this corrupt special session on behalf of Texas families — exactly what we said we’d do when we left the state.”
Gov. Abbott announced on Tuesday, however, that he will immediately call another special session to get the matter resolved — much simpler after the Texas Senate voted 19-2 on Tuesday to pass the new congressional lines.
‘They’re going to pass’
Abbott suggested to Beck that Democrats realized after his Tuesday announcement of another special session that “they were going to have to take up permanent residency in Illinois or California or wherever.”
‘There’s so many things wrong with that.’
“So the word on the street and the word in the news is that they are coming back, and they will be part of the special session that begins either on Friday of this week or Saturday of this week,” said the governor. “But again, we’ll see when and if they show up.”
Abbott noted that regardless of whether the Democratic legislators show up to work, “these congressional district maps — they’re going to pass as well as the other items on the agenda. They are going to pass.”
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Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
When asked about whether Republicans have enough votes in the state House to pass the maps, the governor noted that all that is needed is a majority, and the GOP controls nearly two-thirds of the chamber.
Newsom finger-waves at a gunfight
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) indirectly threatened Abbott in a Monday letter to President Donald Trump, noting that if Texas Republicans do not surrender on this issue, he “will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states.”
When asked to respond to Newsom, Abbott said, “Oh, my God,” then broke out into laughter.
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Photo (left): Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images; Photo (right): Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“There’s so many things wrong with that,” said the governor. “In Texas, for us to redraw congressional lines and make sure that people in Texas are going to have the ability to vote for the Republican candidate of their choice in these congressional seats, all it requires is for the governor to call a special session on it and for a majority of the Texas House and Senate to vote on it.”
Abbott noted that for redistricting California, Democrats must alternatively “go through this complex constitutional process.”
In addition to suggesting Newsom’s threat is easier said than done, Abbott noted it’s virtually meaningless given how gerrymandered California — like Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts — is in the first place.
“[Newsom] is kind of like someone who shows up to a gunfight but forgot to bring the bullets because he doesn’t have any bullets to shoot in this fight,” said Abbott. “Whereas Texas has plenty of bullets to shoot — to make sure that we will maintain a congressional district in Texas that’s going to be more Republican, more representative of the values and votes in our state.”
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