Let’s Call Abbott’s Work Apartheid By Ballot Because That’s What It Is

“We are at war,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said Monday at a news conference with some of the Texas Democrats, where she affirmed that she supported changing or disbanding the independent commission that draws congressional lines. “And that’s why the gloves are off, and I say bring it on.”

Addressing a partially empty chamber Monday afternoon, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) said he was prepared to sign the warrants as he accused Democrats of shirking their responsibilities.

“To those who are absent, return now,” he said. After the lawmakers voted, they quickly adjourned until Tuesday.

Most of the Democrats in the Texas House exited the state Sunday to prevent Republicans from overhauling the state’s map to give themselves five more safe GOP seats at President Donald Trump’s urging. Their move was met with immediate criticism from Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who threatened to try to expel absent Democrats from their posts. Some legal scholars questioned whether courts would go along with any attempt to eject the absent lawmakers from office.

[Abbott would literally have to ignore the Constitution of Texas and even he isn’t prepared to do that — yet.]

It’s highly unlikely that Abbott would be successful in that particular judicial quest, but even the fact that we’re speculating about such a thing is beyond the pale. And the boundaries of “the pale” keep shifting with each new sunrise and sunset, have you noticed? This is seriously building to a head. But make no mistake, Abbott is framing the issue as if it’s about dereliction of duty on the party of the Democrats, rather than a racist power grab on his part. That’s the angle that’s not getting enough press.

Perhaps Texas State Rep James Talarico said it best, “We are not fighting for the Democratic Party, we are fighting for the democratic process.” That clarity of purpose is what this moment demands. Because what Abbott and Texas Republicans are doing isn’t just a local political stunt—it’s a national crisis. The GOP’s new map is a racially discriminatory power grab. Voters of color make up over 60% of Texas, but under this map, they’d only have meaningful power in 8 of 38 congressional districts. That’s not democracy. That’s apartheid by ballot.

Even now, thousands of Texans are showing up to hearings across the state, calling out the injustice of these maps. But Republicans aren’t listening—they’re cheating.

MAGA Republicans know they can’t win on their ideas, so they cheat. They’ve worked to gut the Voting Rights Act, have shut down more than 100,000 polling locations in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods. They’ve enforced racist voter ID laws that do nothing to protect election integrity and everything to disenfranchise voters of color, particularly Black voters. And now, this redistricting scheme is designed to help MAGA Republicans protect an unpopular, dangerous agenda. They know the people don’t support them. So they rig the rules.

Meanwhile, Abbott issued a statement threatening to remove any Democrat who doesn’t return by Monday. Bold move, Governor—too bad the Texas Constitution gives you absolutely no authority to do that. This is just another case of Republicans talking big about “law and order” while ignoring the actual law. Meanwhile, don’t forget what Republicans are trying to distract from.

Over 100 Texans are dead from catastrophic flooding due to Republican negligence. In any sane world, the Governor would resign for his abject failures. And yet, Governor Abbott called a special legislative session to push Trump-approved voting maps. Moreover, in yet another attempt to distract from gerrymandering, Trump has promised to withhold disaster relief funding from any state or city who boycotts Israel. What a foreign nation has to do with domestic natural disaster caused by climate change is anyone’s guess, but here we are. It reminds me of what President John F. Kennedy said when he warned on March 13, 1962, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

To be clear: while Texans grieve and rebuild, Republicans are drawing maps to protect their power, eliminate voters of color from the equation, and demonize anyone who stands up for their First Amendment rights. This is governance by hostage-taking.

And to further prove the point that this is hostage taking, the Texas House just approved arrest warrants for Democrats who walked out to block Trump’s redistricting map. Once again, MAGA Republicans cannot win with votes, so they resort to state violence. This is the party of “small government,” right? They hypocrisy is staggering.

Make no mistake, Abbott’s actions have a racist undergirding and Trump’s administration, his very being in our politics, is racially motivated. That is the lowest common denominator of MAGA. “Woke” is just another battle cry which translates quickly into the dreaded “DEI” which is racist fearmongering. The current obsession with the border and immigrants is meant to put a governmental boot on the neck of minorities. This is MAGA doctrine in a nutshell, and Project 2025 in a nutshell.

Stephen Miller’s “Election Reform”—the real plan to keep Trump in power indefinitely—is all part and parcel of what Greg Abbott is doling out right now. And what ICE is doling out. This is a preparation for a takeover.

Trump is nuts. I put nothing past him and that includes martial law. Trump and Stephen Miller will make their play when and if they have the right opening. And these machinations on the part of Greg Abbott are just one more step towards making all that a reality.

The party of Dwight Eisenhower is long dead and gone. A lot of fascists in waiting, and their weak cohorts who will do what they’re told, is what’s left of the Grand Old Party now.

Take just another moment and listen to this. This moron on Fox News does not know that U.S. senatorial races and the gubernatorial race in any given state, are statewide races. Her crack about Pritzker comes at the end. This is where people are getting news and information, folks, Fox News.

Kennedy on Redistricting: This is why California is a monoparty state. That's why they have two Democrat senators, a Democrat governor pic.twitter.com/mb1hnj8r5E

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 4, 2025

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