Texas House Democrats decided to leave the state rather than stay and fight against the plan by Governor Abbott to redraw district lines for the upcoming election cycle.
According to reports, George Soros and failed gubernatorial, Senate, and presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke were helping fund this little field trip.
That, however, will no longer be the case after a federal judge decided to lock out the funding.
Now, I have always been very open that I do not support gerrymandering, but the reality is that this is what takes place these days, based on the party in charge.
Two of the worst states for gerrymandered maps are California and Illinois, but everyone is making a big fuss because of the timing of the Texas redrawing.
You see, since California and Illinois gerrymandered their maps right after the census numbers came out, that is apparently okay. But Texas doing it mid-decade, well, that set off all kinds of alarms.
So, state Democrats in Texas left to ensure the Texas state legislature could not quorum, which raised all kinds of questions as to how they were paying for this stunt.
When the Democrats left the state, Governor Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately stated they would litigate the matter.
Abbott and Paxton talked about having them tracked down, arrested, and possibly removed from the Texas House.
Paxton has since filed suit to start removals, naming 13 Democrats he wants to see removed for abandoning their duties.
He further stated, "If they show up today, we're all happy, we can get our business done, and everybody is good. If they do not show up, we will be in an Illinois courtroom ... [trying] to get them back to the state of Texas, hold them in contempt, and if they refuse to come, hopefully put them in jail.”
Late last week, reports started to surface that the funding for the Democrats was secured via a PAC associated with Beto O’Rourke and some big checks from George Soros.
Democrats who skipped town are facing some rather stiff fines, and those fines grow with every passing day they are not present. O’Rourke vowed to cover these costs, as well as a report that his PAC was covering travel and lodging costs, among others, for the missing Democrats.
That funding was shut down on Friday by Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey, who ruled, "Defendants have and will continue to engage in unlawful fundraising practices and utilization of political funds in a manner that either directly violates or causes Texas Democratic Legislators to violate [the law]. Consumer have and continue to suffer irreparable harm through these unlawful acts because they are making political contributions that are being used to fund personal expenses and violate state law."
I am all for addressing gerrymandering, but only if it’s across the board and not selective solely to GOP gerrymandering. States like Illinois and California, contrary to what they are saying publicly, have no moral high ground here… they have all gerrymandered their maps. It’s part of the game, and it's surely no reason for representatives to walk out and freeze the state legislature. I am glad the money is blocked, and I truly hope Paxton and Abbott are successful in enforcing the abandonment, as this is simply no way to conduct government.