Texas Democrats on the Lam

In one of the weirdest political stories in years, Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives have fled the state to prevent a quorum from convening in the House. The Washington Post has the story: “‘Outlaw’ Texas Legislators Still on the Lam.”
The Republicans have taken control of the Texas House for the first time in 130 years, and apparently the Democrats can’t deal with the situation. Fifty-three Democratic legislators fled across the state line in chartered buses. Texas state police tracked them to Ardmore, Oklahoma, where they are staying at a Holiday Inn. But the Texas troopers were powerless to bring them back, since the AWOL Democrats had crossed the state line. I’m not making this up; see for yourself.
The Democrats’ flight has brought Texas’ legislature to a standstill, as a two-thirds quorum of the House of Representatives cannot be achieved. The Democrats have “paralyzed all legislative business, undercut efforts to write a multi-billion budget and imperiled hundreds of pending bills.” Republicans are denouncing the vanished Democrats as cowardly; the photo below shows a demonstrator outside the Texas capitol in Austin.
capt.1052861546.legislative_rebellion_at106.jpg

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses