Texas Democrats leave state to try to stop GOP voting bill
Democrats in the Texas Legislature bolted Monday for Washington and said they were ready to remain there for weeks in a second revolt against a GOP overhaul of election laws, forcing a dramatic new showdown over voting rights in America. Private planes carrying more than 50 Democrats left Austin for Dulles International Airport midafternoon, skipping town just days before the Texas House of Representatives was expected to give early approval to sweeping new voting restrictions in a special legislative session. The numbers meant the House would not have enough lawmakers in attendance to conduct business and could not, at least for now, vote on the bill. The cross-country exodus was the second time that Democratic lawmakers have staged a walkout on the voting overhaul, a measure of their fierce opposition to proposals they say will make it harder for young people, people of color, and people with disabilities to vote. But like last month’s effort, there remains no clear path for Democrats to permanently block the voting measures or a list of other contentious GOP-backed proposals up for debate. Hours after they took off, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott told an Austin television station he would simply keep calling special sessions through next year if necessary and raised the possibility of Democrats facing arrest upon returning home. “As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested; they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done,” Abbott said. As they arrived in Washington Monday evening, the lawmakers said they would not be swayed. “We are determined to kill this bill,” said state Rep. Chris Turner, who said he and his colleagues were prepared to run out the clock on a special session that ends early next month. Democrats’ decision to hole up in Washington is aimed at ratcheting up pressure on President Joe Biden and Congress to act on voting at the federal level. Biden is set to deliver a major address on the issue Tuesday in Philadelphia, after facing growing criticism for taking what some on the left call too passive a role in the fight. “This is a now-or-never for our democracy. We are holding the line in Texas,” said Democratic state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer. “We’ve left our jobs, we’ve left our families, we’ve left our homes. Because there is nothing more important than voting rights in America.” The Texas bills would outlaw 24-hour polling places, banning ballot drop boxes used to deposit mail ballots, and empowering partisan poll watchers. The measures are part of the GOP’s rush to enact new voting restrictions in response to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. More than a dozen states this year have already passed tougher election laws — but only in Texas have Democrats put up this kind of fight. The state has a history of attention-getting political tactics. Texas Democrats, shut out of power in the state Capitol for decades, last fled the state in 2003 to thwart a redistricting plan. They ultimately lost that fight. Turner noted this time, the state lawmakers had dual goals. They called on Congress to pass the Democrat-backed, federal voting rights law prior to when they go on August recess, which is around the same time Texas’ special session will end. He said the group would meet with Democrats across Washington, but a White House official said there are no current plans for a White House visit. Turner said in order to pass the voting rights expansion law, the Senate may have to modify its procedural rules but added, “I don’t really care how they do it.” Back in Texas, Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan promised to use “every available resource” to secure a quorum. He did not elaborate, but some House Republicans signaled they would take action when the chamber reconvenes Tuesday. When Democrats fled the state two decades ago, state troopers were deployed to bring them back. In an interview with Austin television station KVUE, Abbott said he was prepared to keep calling special sessions through next year’s election. “If these people want to be hanging out, wherever they’re hanging out on this taxpayer-paid junket, they’re going to have to be prepared to do it for well over a year, he said. But it was not immediately clear who was footing the bill for the Democrats’ trip. Martinez Fischer said he would use his own campaign funds to pay for hotels for House members but declined to comment on who funded the chartered flights. Speaking in the airport parking lot, he blasted the governor for likening the group, which includes many Black and Latino lawmakers, to “animal or property, to say he will corral us and he will cabin us in the capitol to get this agenda.” After addressing the media, Black lawmakers led the group in singing ”We Shall Overcome.” Over the weekend, Texas Republicans began advancing measures that also bring back provisions to ban drive-thru voting, add new voter ID requirements to absentee ballots and prohibit local elections officials from proactively sending mail-in ballot applications to voters. Abbott also gave lawmakers a lengthy to-do list this summer, heavy on hot-button conservative issues, including restrictions over how race is taught in schools and banning transgender athletes from playing in girls’ sports. The decision to flee carries risks and no guarantee of victory in the long run. Abbott, who is up for reelection in 2022 and has demanded new election laws in Texas, could keep calling 30-day special sessions until a bill is passed. He also punished Democrats after their May walkout by vetoing paychecks for roughly 2,000 Capitol employees, which will begin taking effect in September unless the Legislature is in session to restore the funding. Staying away for an extended time could also carry repercussions in next year’s midterm elections, although many Texas Democrats are already expecting a difficult cycle in 2022, particularly with Republicans set to begin drawing new voting maps this fall that could cement their
Donald Trump allies put unproven virus drug to work
Hydroxychloroquine is officially approved for treating malaria.
Ted Cruz adds billionaire backer to presidential campaign
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has picked up the backing of a Texas billionaire and the state’s lieutenant governor, his campaign said Monday. Darwin Deason, a technology entrepreneur, and his son, Doug, had given millions of dollars to the 2016 efforts of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who ended his bid for the White House last month. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — a one-time foe of the Texas senator — also will now be the Texas chairman of Cruz’s presidential campaign. Cruz is one of several Republican presidential candidates with Texas ties, but he has dominated the state’s generous donor class. In the first nine months of the year, Cruz raised more than three times as much in the state as did Jeb Bush, according to an Associated Press analysis of donations. Bush, a former Florida governor, spent much of his youth in Texas, and his father and brother, both former presidents, still call the state home. The Bush family is rallying around Jeb Bush on Monday at a donor event that’s taking place less than six miles from where Cruz is announcing his team’s additions. Patrick’s backing of Cruz gives him a powerful surrogate in a delegate-rich state where Republican primary voters go to the polls on March 1. And adding the Deasons to his financial team could significantly boost Cruz’s presidential campaign accounts. Darwin Deason poured $5 million into pro-Perry super PACs this year— making him one of the biggest contributors in presidential politics. After Perry’s withdrawal from the race, the super PACs returned much of that money. Cruz also has super PACs working on his behalf. Those groups can take unlimited amounts of money from donors, while the campaigns themselves cannot accept contribution checks from each donor of more than $2,700 per election. When super PACs are factored into the mix, Cruz’s fundraising is second only to Bush’s in the GOP field. Together, the pro-Cruz groups had raised at least $64 million by the end of September, fundraising documents show. Bush and Cruz have both shown they can land big contribution checks. But Cruz holds a sharp fundraising advantage over Bush when it comes to small donors. While only about 4 percent of Bush’s campaign haul has come from contributors giving $200 or less, 41 percent of Cruz’s campaign money is coming from such small donors, fundraising records show. Those kinds of givers are especially valuable because they can provide a constant stream of cash without taking up the candidate’s time attending traditional fundraising events. The Deasons are marquee names for Cruz, but he has quietly consolidated the support of many former donors to Perry and another 2016 dropout, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The Cruz campaign added five other former Perry backers to its finance team, officials said on Monday. Cruz gained a larger share of those candidates’ donors than anyone else in the race, according to an analysis by crowdpac.com, a nonpartisan political analytics company. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
