The Texas Democrats who fled the state weeks ago to avoid a vote on new election laws continue to embarrass themselves and their party.
They’re now trying to sue Governor Greg Abbott for causing them ‘distress’ for threatening to arrest them when they return to the state.
Andrew Court reports at the Daily Mail:
Runaway Texas Democrats file lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott for causing them ‘anxiety and distress’ by threatening to arrest them on their return to the stateAlmost two dozen Texas Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C. last month in order to block two ‘restrictive’ voting reform bills proposed by Republicans have now filed a lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott.Abbott – who is Republican – threatened to arrest the lawmakers when they eventually return to the Lone Star state after they packed onto private jets and flew to the nation’s capitol on July 12.On Friday, 22 of the Democrats filed a complaint in federal court in Austin claiming that Republican attempts to bring them home for a special legislative session is a violation of their rights.The plaintiffs claim they ‘have been deprived of liberty for substantial periods of time, [and] suffered much anxiety and distress over the separation from their families.They also say they have suffered from ‘much discomfort and embarrassment’ because their reputations have been ‘impaired’.In addition to Abbott, GOP House Speaker Dade Phelan and State Rep. James White are also named as defendants in the suit.
This is a problem entirely of their own making.
They seemed so hopeful when they boarded that chartered jet to leave the state.
They ended up spreading COVID in Washington, DC, and Biden didn’t even meet with them.
The Associated Press reports:
Democrats had hoped to exert pressure on President Joe Biden and Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation, but a Senate Republican filibuster continues to block such a measure.Democrat Jasmine Crockett, one of the state representatives remaining in Washington, said she would be disappointed if enough of her colleagues returned to give Republicans a quorum next week. She said their group is not “naive” and knows they don’t have the votes to permanently hold off passage of a bill in Texas, but are still hoping for movement in Congress.“I’m not giving up on anything. I’m not going home until the fat lady sings,” Crockett said.Biden never met with the Texas Democrats in Washington. The group was quickly forced to change some plans after several of their members tested positive for COVID-19. Reports that two Democrats snuck away to Europe also led to bad headlines and invited mockery from Republicans back home.
This was the political backfire of the year, perhaps more than that.
They ended up accomplishing none of their goals and looking completely ridiculous in the process. They also robbed their party of a carefully crafted narrative about the filibuster.
So. Much. Fail.
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