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It is a good rule of thumb that when a political party starts advocating for gerrymanders as its best bet to stay in power, it is not in a position of strength.
What happened in the Texas House on Friday revealed a great deal more than Republicans would have liked about the hand that they are playing.
Texas Democrats left the state to prevent a quorum in the House which has blocked Republicans from being able to pass the gerrymandered map devised at Donald Trump’s direction, which Republicans hope will net them an additional five House seats.
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When Democrats still didn’t return on Friday, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows addressed the situation by saying:
Members, may I have your attention? The roll has been called and a quorum has not been established. Yesterday, Attorney General Ken Paxton and I took action to domesticate the civil arrest warrants in the state of Illinois, seeking to make them enforceable beyond Texas state lines. I expect suits in other states will be forthcoming. The chairman has contacted the sergeant at arms of the Illinois House of Representatives requesting their direct assistance in returning absent members.
I have been in constant communication the department of public safety which has been working to track down absent members in an effort to return them to our chamber. These efforts will continue through the weekend — these efforts will continue through the weekend. For those that have fled to Illinois or California, be reminded that the FBI has reportedly been enlisted and their powers are not confined to any singular state’s boundaries.
As far as new administrative policies in our chamber go, Kelly Hancock and I have enacted a new policy stating any member absent for the purpose of breaking quorum will know longer have their paycheck or per diem deposited electronically while the constitution forbids us from withholding pay, it does not dictate how we issue the pay.
