My admiration for the Texas state Democratic delegation of 56 House members who voluntarily left the state to go to Washington to deny the GOP dominated Texas House a quorum so that they could pass an uber restrictive voters rights bill knows no bounds. They are heroes who should have a day named after them.
Let’s be clear. House legislatures are not the US Congress. They don’t make $100k plus a year. Most states have two legislative sessions, spring and fall, each lasting 4-6 weeks each. State legislators, especially in the House make jack shit. As a result, they all have their own personal businesses to run, or day jobs for the rest of the year. And those Texas legislators all left those jobs and businesses behind when they fled the state to make their case personally in Washington.
And they made a major difference. They begged, cajoled, and even shamed their way into meetings with Democratic Senators to let them know exactly what the score was on the ground in battleground states like Texas.
They also made an impact. US congressional legislators in both chambers tend to live in a self controlled little bubble, all of them looking at the Big Picture, especially the Senate, since they don’t have districts to answer to. They laid out in great granular detail as to exactly how local state voting restrictions can sway the results of elections. And the Senators were stunned. To the point that WV Senator Joe Manchin is negotiating a lower level version of the For The People Act.
But to my mind, it was the Texas Democrats in the state Senate who put the tip on the spear. And one Texas Democratic Senator in particular. Democratic Senator Carol Alvarado stood up in the well of the Texas Senate to filibuster (for 15 hours) the GOP’s draconian voting bill. It was a futile gesture, and she knew that when she stood up to start her filibuster. But it would take up time, and time is of the essence for the Texas Democrats.
Unlike the genteel, wimpy US Senate, the Texas Senate has a bare knuckled filibuster rule. The Senator performing the filibuster must stand in the well. They cannot eat, they cannot drink, there are no bathroom breaks, and they can’t even lean against a wall or desk while they talk. They can take questions, and Democratic Senators peppered Alvarado with questions to keep her going. Alvarado held the floor for an incredible 15 hours before finally closing. And then the GOP Senate passed the goddamn bill anyway.
And in her incredible act of selfless heroism, she put the entire Democratic Senate caucus to shame! Her bravado showed the US Senate Democrats what the filibuster should look like! Not some wimpy piece of shit where a Senator can send a text message and invoke the filibuster, but a filibuster where the Senator, and his party, has to put some fucking skin in the game. And the end result when she finally ceded the floor, and the bill passed, was a graphic display of how politics should work. Majority rule. Full stop. Period.
Will it make any difference when the Club of 100, or at least the democratic caucus comes back onto session in September? I honestly don’t know. But if it doesn’t, then shame on the entire Democratic Senate caucus. A brave Democratic Senator in Texas showed them the way, and they were too chickenshit to follow the example. We’re talking about the most fundamental right of our democracy here. Get your shit together and get it done!
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She’s right up there with Wendy Davis.
Too bad that so many TX voters don’t appreciate Dems as they should.