July 14, 2021

"The Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives... said they had no other recourse, and they admitted that they have no endgame..."

"... as [Republican Governor Greg ] Abbott promised to keep calling special sessions, over and over, until the election legislation has its day. But they chose Washington, a hideout in full view, for a reason: to garner national attention and escalate the stakes in a long-running effort to pressure Congress and President Biden to approve federal voting-rights protections that would outlaw the kinds of restrictions Texas Republicans — and dozens of other legislatures across the country — are trying to enact.... 'The endgame is, we need Congress to act,' said state Rep. John Bucy III, who with his wife, Molly, decided to drive to Washington rather than fly, because their 17-month-old daughter, Bradley, has not received a coronavirus vaccine and is too young to wear a mask on a plane.... Republicans accused Democrats of abrogating their legislative duties in the Texas Capitol for a junket to Washington on private jets. They pounced on Democrats’ social media posts showing smile-filled selfies on the coach and in the planes. They even homed in on what appeared to be a case of Miller Lite sitting on one of the seats in the coach they took to the Austin airport...."

From "Inside the secret plan for the Texas Democratic exodus: A phone tree, a scramble to pack and a politically perilous trip" (WaPo).

They're fleeing but they're not hiding. They want to be seen.. In fact, it's not enough merely to get attention, they want to garner attention. 

By the way, I see we're naming little girls Bradley now.

4 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

Leland writes:

"I am glad to see that WaPoop managed to get the “Republicans pounce” meme into this story. There has to be a stylebook somewhere that guides Dem journalists to the approved themes. “They [the GOP] pounced on Democrats’ social media posts showing smile-filled selfies on the coach and in the planes. They even homed in on what appeared to be a case of Miller Lite sitting on one of the seats in the coach they took to the Austin airport… ” This stuff gets old, but it never goes away. When GOPers mess something up, the articles are about how the GOP did something wrong and usually evil. When the Dems mess up, the articles are about how the Republicans reacted to the Dems’ usually misunderstood attempt to do something wonderful."

Ann Althouse said...

Douglas writes:

"I can’t get excited about the Texas Democrats fleeing Texas to delay legislation they don’t like and to garner publicity because the Republicans can and should play the same game. They did so in Oregon this past year, fleeing Salem to prevent the passage of onerous environmental legislation. And, they will do so in Washington, D.C., if the filibuster is killed. If all 50 GOP Senators flee D.C., the Senate would not have a quorum and would be unable to conduct any business. Yes, the Sargeant-at-arms could theoretically arrest and drag into the Senate Chamber any Republican Senators foolish enough to stay in D.C. but as a practical matter, the Sargeant-at-arms has no ability to track down fleeing Senators in distant states. Would all Republican Senators cooperate to boycott the Senate? Even Romney, Murkowski and Collins? I think so because eliminating the filibuster would be seen by them as an extreme attack on the Senate. I believe that this possibility is one of the main reasons the Democrats have not pushed hard on eliminating the filibuster— why go through all that pain to achieve nothing?"

Ann Althouse said...

Tom writes:

"The Bucys put their 17-month-old daughter in far more danger by driving two thousand miles on the highway than if they'd flown with her, even during the pandemic. These are the people who think ordinary citizens aren't capable of properly assessing risk."

Ann Althouse said...

Leora writes:

"I’m going to rofl when the Republican senators leave Washington to avoid giving the Democrats a quorum. They can go to Texas."