Posted on 08/03/2025 2:05:13 PM PDT by DFG
Dozens of Texas Democrats plan to flee the state amid a special session Sunday afternoon, making a last-ditch effort to disrupt a mid-decade redistricting attempt forced by President Donald Trump, according to two people briefed on the matter.
It marks their second act of breaking quorum — when the state House will lack the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct business — since 2021. And it comes as the party scrambles to counter the aggressive action in Texas, intended to keep Republicans in power in Congress next year by creating five GOP-friendly seats in the state.
Four years ago, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for the arrest of fleeing lawmakers upon their return to their state.
Sunday’s move will almost certainly set off a nationwide redistricting arms race that threatens to upend the 2026 midterm election map.
For weeks Texas state lawmakers have been debating their strategy for responding to the GOP: Some members fully support a walkout; others are reluctant to take such a risk that could put them in legal and political jeopardy.
“Breaking quorum is an extreme step.It should be a last resort,” State Rep. James Talarico told POLITICO in an interview last Tuesday. He was among the 50 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state in 2021 over an election bill. Democrats are said to be headed to Illinois, a blue state with a governor who has accused Texas Republicans of cheating by trying to finagle redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections.
They are expected to touch down in Illinois on Sunday, setting off a standoff with Abbott in the high-stakes redistricting battle.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Bribery of elected officials is a criminal act.
It should be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, from about 30 minutes ago...
Dustin Burrows
@Burrows4TX
The Texas House will be convening at 3:00pm tomorrow. If a quorum is not present then, to borrow the recent talking points from some of my Democrat colleagues, all options will be on the table. . .
5:28 PM · Aug 3, 2025 41.1K Views
https://x.com/Burrows4TX/status/1952119334626582851
hopefully, one way tickets
WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR THEIR FLIGHTS?
NOT TEXAS
ARREST THEM ALL FOR NOT REPORTING TO WORK.
John, I have no idea why you would say that about California; it is simply not true, as I have repeatedly pointed out on this forum in recent days. In response to the democrats’ long term outrageous gerrymandering the voters created the CA Redistricting Commission. There are no crazy shaped districts in California. They are required to start at the north and create districts that are geographically regular as possible. The problem is that republicans are heavily outnumbered in all of the cities so you cannot created GOP districts there; no matter how you divvy up the cities in regularly shaped districts, you’re always going to have rat-majority districts, with just a few exceptions.
In rural areas, where the GOP predominates, they are just grossly dispersed compared to the cities. For example, the GOP’s first congressional district starts at the Oregon’s border, is rectangular, scoops up mountain and foothill towns, and still runs 300 miles, all the way to the Central Sierra to pick up enough voters to form a district.
The problem here is that in the close districts in the southern San Joaquin Valley and Orange County, the three week post election “curing of ballots” is how the rats cheat here. They flat out stole four or five congressional seats in 2024 by “cured” ballots
No one is more corrupt al of the governance of this insane asylum that I am. But gerrymandering is absolutely not one of the fair criticisms.
After 30 days in the military, you are AWOL. I don’t see why they can’t be held to the same standard.
Fleeing the state to avoid a vote seems to have started in recent times in Wisconsin during Governor Walker’s battle to enact Act 1 that curbed the teachers unions’ power to set property tax rates.
This time lock these Democrats who flee up in some far away distant land and mistreat them...
You don’t need no stinking democrats just get it done
Someone can look into the term “Gerrymandering”.
It started in the early 1800s in Massachusetts. Elbridge Gerry, an original signer of the Declaration of Independence, signed off on a district plan to enable a political party to be elected to dominance.
A cartoonist pointed out that the new State districts looked like a salamander. Known forever more as a “Gerry-mander”.
At the time, votes were simply collected by county. Now, 200 years later, every voting district goes across county lines and they are obscene lines, mostly to keep dems in power.
I’d like to see a return to the original idea of counties voting within a state.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/where-did-term-gerrymander-come-180964118/
https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2024/07/gerrymandering-the-origin-story/
Look up your own voting district and see how it doesn’t make sense.
It’s time the dumpocrats make a decision. I would suggest they go back to California where they left originally because liberal leadership was ripping the money out of their wallets. At least they are redistricting there to get more liberals in congress. But...it’ll cost the new folks coming back their whole tomato to live there. So their decision is either better for the California govermment or worse for the people returning to the state. Good decision their reps did for them.
wy69
Republican senators followed suit by fleeing Washington, but feigning senate business to keep the president elected by their party from making political appointments.
Texas democrats will blend in well with all of the illegal aliens in Illinois. They can join the monthly blue-haired ponytail brigade at the monthly No Kings rally.
“Heading to Illinois - the most gerrymandered - for the Democrats - state in the country. Although California is right up there.”
LOL yes.
Meanwhile its going to cost each Democrat state congress person $500 a day for abandoning their constituents for long periods of time.
They tried this tactic a few years back and it failed miserably when the law they were trying to stop, passed anyway at the end of the day.
>>They are literally vacating their seats. It ought to made formal as well.
I thought Texas changed its laws to prevent this after the last time the Commies pulled this stunt... guess not.
The normal authorized August congressional recess? You can’t compare that to unauthorized fleeing from Texas by rebellious Democrat state congress people.
Yep.
These jackasses should be fined and fired for this. If we need to have a special election to replace this trash, so be it. 😏
Back to their sad, old tricks. They seem to do this every decade or so.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has publicly called for the arrest of fleeing Democrats, stating they should be “found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately.”
However, these warrants are for a civil violation (breaking quorum), not a criminal offense, so lawmakers cannot be jailed. The purpose is to physically return them to the House floor to restore quorum.
Impose Fines:Texas House rules, implemented after the 2021 walkout, allow for fines of up to $500 per day per member for absences intended to thwart legislative business. For the 30–40 Democrats who fled in August 2025, this could total up to $8,000 per person over the special session's duration.
These fines cannot be paid from campaign funds under current House rules, though some Democrats, supported by legal opinions, argue the fines may not be enforceable. An Austin-based campaign finance lawyer, Andrew Cates, suggested he would be “very surprised if there were any real monetary penalties that were enforceable.”
Threaten Expulsion:The Texas House could theoretically vote to expel absent members, but this requires a two-thirds majority (100 of 150 members). With Republicans holding an 88-62 majority, they lack the votes to expel Democrats without significant Democratic support, making this option unlikely.
Call Additional Special Sessions:Governor Greg Abbott can call multiple 30-day special sessions to outlast the Democrats’ absence. In 2021, Abbott extended pressure by calling consecutive sessions, though Democrats argue this tactic may not work if they remain out of state until the session expires.
Political and Public Pressure:Texas Republicans, including Abbott and Paxton, can leverage public statements and media to pressure Democrats, framing their absence as abandoning constituents or delaying disaster relief for flood victims. This tactic aims to sway public opinion and encourage Democrats to return.
Democrats yesterday:
“Threat to our democracy.”
“Threat to our democracy.”
“Threat to our democracy.”
“Threat to our democracy.”
“Threat to our democracy.”
“Threat to our democracy.”
“Threat to our democracy.”
Democrats today:
“Screw democracy.”
Governor Abbott should order the closing of all airports within 200 miles of Austin until 3 PM tomorrow. Then send Texas Rangers to find these people and drag their ass back to the state capital.
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