Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Texas Democrats End Walkout, Allowing Redrawn Map to Pass
NY TIMES ^ | 08/18/2025 | By J. David Goodman

Posted on 08/18/2025 8:31:25 PM PDT by know.your.why

Democrats in the Texas State Legislature who had left the state to halt an aggressive redistricting returned to Texas and ended their two-week walkout on Monday, opening the way for Republicans to pass a redrawn congressional map called for by President Trump.

Gov. Greg Abbott and the state attorney general, Ken Paxton, sued to try to remove the absent Democrats from office. Senator John Cornyn got the F.B.I. involved in locating them.

The speaker of the state House, Dustin Burrows, issued civil arrest warrants and threatened to impose $500-a-day fines under House rules. But in the end, Democrats said they decided to return after their walkout succeeded in preventing a vote on the map in the first special legislative session, a move that drew national attention to Mr. Trump’s push for a rare mid-decade redistricting and helped propel Democratic-run states to begin their own redistricting efforts.

California state lawmakers introduced legislation on Monday to redraw that state’s congressional map to be more favorable to Democrats as a counter to the changes in Texas — a move championed by California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom. They are expected to vote Thursday on the proposal.

The standoff among Texas lawmakers began on Aug. 3, when dozens of Democratic state representatives boarded a charter plane to Chicago. And it ended in much the same way, with a large group of Democrats flying together back to Austin.

But in an unexpected coda Monday afternoon, one Democrat refused to leave the State House floor in protest over a Republican requirement that all returning Democrats have state police officers with them to make sure they did not flee again.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: congress; democrats; redistricting; texas
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/us/politics/redistricting-texas-maps.html
1 posted on 08/18/2025 8:31:25 PM PDT by know.your.why
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: know.your.why

Real profiles I courage, Dramacrats.

Check out the photo of Representative Rose’s hand in the article. I didn’t k on that Gollum had been elected to the lower chamber


2 posted on 08/18/2025 8:42:35 PM PDT by j.havenfarm (24 years on Free Republic, 12/10/24! More than 10,500 replies and still not shutting up!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: know.your.why

Don’t mess with Texas!


3 posted on 08/18/2025 8:47:33 PM PDT by lightman (Beat the Philly fraud machine the Amish did onest, ja? Nein, zweimal they did already!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: know.your.why

All kabuki theatre.


4 posted on 08/18/2025 8:52:53 PM PDT by crusty old prospector
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: know.your.why

The New York Times daily crying session.

Ain’t it great?


5 posted on 08/18/2025 8:54:48 PM PDT by BrexitBen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crusty old prospector

But they declared “success.” LOL. Some “success.”


6 posted on 08/18/2025 8:57:23 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: ProtectOurFreedom; crusty old prospector

The fun will begin when they file their 2025 taxes.

The real fun will commence in 2027 when those audits begin.


7 posted on 08/18/2025 9:00:41 PM PDT by lightman (Beat the Philly fraud machine the Amish did onest, ja? Nein, zweimal they did already!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: know.your.why

They’re “allowing” it. Lol.


8 posted on 08/18/2025 9:03:41 PM PDT by HYPOCRACY (Wake up, smell the cat food in your bank account. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ProtectOurFreedom

They think they can ignore the law and do what they want.

What if I did that?

((Just a thought experiment.))


9 posted on 08/18/2025 9:08:58 PM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: know.your.why
The redistricting act was only part of the bomb they dropped. The dems also stopped action on state aid to the Kerr County area.

If there were Democrats left around here, they’ve been converted.

10 posted on 08/18/2025 9:27:01 PM PDT by umbagi (Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it. [Twain])
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: know.your.why

Wow, texans showing how they’re big talking, texan rino honchos...

No arrest

No expulsions or vacating of seats

No penalties to the democrats.

A bunch of big talk, but really they’re nothing more than fake talking republicans with no backbone or testosterone producing parts, to backup their words.

And in the end, the rinos redrew districts again, weakening the districts so the republicans had less support, from what was said on warroom


11 posted on 08/18/2025 9:50:52 PM PDT by backpacker_c
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: lightman

No, the fun will begin when Jasmine Crockett loses her seat


12 posted on 08/18/2025 10:02:08 PM PDT by j.havenfarm (24 years on Free Republic, 12/10/24! More than 10,500 replies and still not shutting up!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; BraveMan; cardinal4; ...

13 posted on 08/18/2025 10:05:23 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: know.your.why

Bye, Jasmouth Crockett…?


14 posted on 08/18/2025 10:10:43 PM PDT by Allegra (Thank you for your attention to this matter. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: All

A Simple Thought Re Mail-In Ballot Delivery
Vanity | 8/17/2025 | Carry_Okie
Posted on 8/17/2025, 10:25:08 PM by Carry_Okie

As we know, Grabbin’ Noisome is planning a special election to return the power to draw Congressional districts to the State Legislature. Anybody with functioning brain cells knows that the only way to win that special election would be an epic level of ballot fraud and manipulated vote counting.

To the former (and this might help nationwide), Trump could instruct the Postal Service to refuse to process mail-in ballots without sending them certified mail in order to guarantee a chain of custody. That takes a signature and voter ID if Trump specifies it.

I just want to see the meltdown when he writes that Executive Order. If anyone else has proposed this, I apologize for not acknowledging it. I was just aspired into thinking it worthy of consideration.

Posted on 08/18/2025 10:08:29 PM PDT by Liz (May you be in Heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead (Irish blessing))

To: (use semi-colons to separate multiple recipients)
all
Your Reply: (HTML auto-detected, see help for more information)
A Simple Thought Re Mail-In Ballot Delivery
Vanity | 8/17/2025 | Carry_Okie
Posted on 8/17/2025, 10:25:08 PM by Carry_Okie

As we know, Grabbin’ Noisome is planning a special election to return the power to draw Congressional districts to the State Legislature. Anybody with functioning brain cells knows that the only way to win that special election would be an epic level of ballot fraud and manipulated vote counting.

To the former (and this might help nationwide), Trump could instruct the Postal Service to refuse to process mail-in ballots without sending them certified mail in order to guarantee a chain of custody. That takes a signature and voter ID if Trump specifies it.

I just want to see the meltdown when he writes that Executive Order. If anyone else has proposed this, I apologize for not acknowledging it. I was just aspired into thinking it worthy of consideration.


15 posted on 08/18/2025 10:13:18 PM PDT by Liz (May you be in Heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead (Irish blessing))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; BraveMan; cardinal4; ...
The speaker of the state House, Dustin Burrows, issued civil arrest warrants and threatened to impose $500-a-day fines under House rules.
All of them should be prosecuted under the RICO Act. And while that's going on, the $500-a-day fines should be assessed. And then all of them one by one expelled from the legislature.

16 posted on 08/18/2025 10:38:14 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

Pretty sure the fines have already been deducted from their pay. RICO is not something the state can press charges for and I don’t know if we have an equivalent state statute.

We can’t expel them from the Legislature because then we don’t have quorum again and can’t do anything. What we need to do is to change quorum rules in the House to be a certain minimum percentage of the members actually present in the state. This would mean that if someone fled the state, the number needed for quorum goes down by 1 - and if you remain in state, the law is already such that you can be compelled to attend by state law enforcement. Should solve the problem nicely.


17 posted on 08/19/2025 1:25:57 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: know.your.why

If all states gerrymandered to the max of if all states played it straight, the Dems would be a net 20-30 seats down. Everyone knows this….especially the Dems. The Dems have been gerrymandering so long they have little room left to play games. The GOP is just now seriously getting into the game.


18 posted on 08/19/2025 1:47:18 AM PDT by Mustangman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: know.your.why

All states need to change their rules so legislators can’t flee to stop legislation. It should just make it easier when they do.


19 posted on 08/19/2025 4:31:57 AM PDT by pas
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: j.havenfarm
Real profiles I courage, Dramacrats.

The same goes for the limp wristed, all hat no cattle, Texas Republicans.

20 posted on 08/19/2025 4:52:10 AM PDT by thegagline (Sic semper tyrannis! Trump & Vance, 2024! (Formerly) Goldwater & Thomas Sowell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson