NBC News: Here’s the Texas Dems’ Exit Strategy

Yesterday we learned that the Texas Democrats who fled the state to prevent a quorum and block a vote on redistricting were making plans to return home. Even though the article, from an ABC affiliate in Texas, didn’t have a lot of detail it was pretty clear that the plan was to fold up their traveling tent and declare victory in some fashion. Today, NBC News has a more detailed follow-up story which goes into detail about the Texas Dems’ exit strategy.

Texas Democrats met late into the night Tuesday then again Wednesday, including breaking into smaller groups, to discuss their next steps and what their ultimate exit strategy looked like after spending the last 10 days out of the state, according to four sources close to the talks.

But those sources said the lawmakers do not yet have full consensus on an exit plan. “It’s hard to get folks on the same page,” said one of the sources, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal party strategy.

Still, there does appear to be agreement on one point: The Democrats won’t come back to Austin until Republicans officially bring the first special session to a close.

The current special session is set to expire Friday, but Gov. Abbott has already said that he’ll call another one to begin immediately after this one ends. In fact, he’s prepared to keep doing this for as long as it takes. So why does it matter if they come back Thursday or start again in a new special session Monday? Because if Dems wait until the weekend they can claim that, technically, they kept their word.

A new statement Wednesday revealed how Democrats are defining victory: “In keeping with our original promise to Texans, the First Called Special session will never make quorum again,” state Democratic Caucus Chairman Gene Wu declared…

“Texas House Democrats will issue our demands for a second special session on Friday. Abbott can choose to govern for Texas families, or he can keep serving Trump and face the consequences we’ve unleashed nationwide,” Wu added.

Having wasted the first special session hanging out in hotels, they are now “demanding” another one. They want it to appear they are the ones making things happen and issuing demands. What a pathetic load of horsepuckey. They can demand all they want but the governor has already said what is going to happen. It’s his choice, not theirs. Their demands don’t matter, only their presence to form a quorum. 

They know that of course, just as they know their return means Republicans are going to win this battle. So now the plan is to claim they knew they were going to lose all along but they are spinning this as a PR win. In fact, this story at NBC News is clearly part of that effort to make this into a PR win. The instructions to the party faithful are right there in the story. [emphasis added]

“From the get-go, they knew they were never going to stay out of Texas forever. People didn’t expect them to. The goal that the smartest among them set was: We need to bring national attention to this issue so other states are ready to counter if Republicans really do this,” one aide to a Texas House Democrat breaking quorum told NBC News…

The aide added that while it’s “hard” to strike a victorious message if Republicans ultimately enact the new maps, as expected, it’s incumbent on Democrats across the country to drive the point home.

“This is a communications battle. When you’re in the minority, what you have is a bullhorn and an ability to draw attention to issues. Eventually, the majority will vote. That’s democracy,” the aide said.

In other words, we’re going to lose and we were always going to lose, but let’s all claim we won. That’s literally the plan they’ve come up with.

Regular readers know I’m not usually the guy who wants to see partisan blood spilled in these contests. I’d rather see cooler heads prevail and get something done even if it means putting up with a lot of garbage from people on the other side of the aisle. I bring that up only because that’s not how I feel about this situation. In this case I’m actually going to be disappointed if the Texas Dems get to come home and get a pass for all of this wasted time and effort so they could go on vacation on someone else’s dime and generate headlines from friendly media. I don’t care about state house comity, I want to see them pay dearly for this. Fortunately, it sounds like Gov. Abbott wants to see that happen too.

Texas Democrats who fled the state to break quorum and disrupt redistricting efforts could face felony bribery charges, Republican Governor Greg Abbott suggested in an interview with Fox News Digital…

“There had been some identification of some people paying for it,” Abbott explained. “I’ve got to tell you, it raises a serious legal question for these officeholders, and that is, they were promised money if they did break quorum. That would be a bribe that could lead to a felony charge.”

Can they be charged with felonies for bribery? I have no idea if that will actually fly in court, but please try. And if they can be removed from office, even better. Send them on a permanent vacation to the blue state of their choice. No need to hurry back this time.