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Facing Loss of Nearly Half of Their House Seats, Texas Dem Lawmakers Literally Flee State to Stop GOP Redistricting

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Dozens of Texas House Democrats fled the state rather than allow a congressional redistricting plan to be voted for on Monday.

Fox News reported that at least 100 of the 150 members of the Texas House must be present for a quorum so business can be conducted.

Some of the Texas Democratic lawmakers flew to Chicago, among other destinations, where Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker met them and commended their courage in standing up to President Donald Trump and those “cheater” Republicans.

That’s funny, because Illinois has one of the most gerrymandered maps in the U.S. Its congressional delegation includes only two Republicans of the 17 total.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also welcomed some of the fleeing lawmakers and decried the Texas legislature’s new map, calling it a move toward “authoritarianism.”

“If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they leave us no choice. We must do the same,” she said.

Actually, they already did. Just last year, New York Democrats rammed through a new congressional map after Republicans picked up several seats in the 2022 midterm elections, according to the New York Post.

The Republican delegation in the last Congress was 11, but in the current one it dropped to seven.

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This is one of the reasons that the GOP holds such a narrow majority overall, at 219 to 212, despite Trump performing so well at the top of the ticket and many other downballot races swinging in the Republicans’ favor.

Now, Democrats are up in arms because Texas dares to redraw its congressional map in a way that may result in the GOP netting up to five seats.

Republicans currently hold 25 of the Lone Star State’s 38 seats, and if the change goes through, it could be 30 of the 38, according to Fox.

The proposed Texas map is not some crazy gerrymandered creation like that seen in Illinois.

The new map would force Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett out of her district in the Dallas area, Fox said.

Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott told the outlet Monday, “New York and Illinois are two hallmark states that have already done redistricting to eliminate Republicans.”

He noted that by Democrats fleeing his state, they are also preventing flood relief legislation from receiving a vote.

“I believe they have forfeited their seats in the state legislature because they are not doing the job they were elected to do,” the governor said.

He announced Sunday that he plans to take action to remove them from office if they do not return by Monday afternoon when the legislature returns to session.

Good.

A consistent truism when it comes to Democrats is that the very things they most loudly decry (often with great sanctimony) are the very things they are most guilty of.

There is no need for Republicans to roll over and let the Democrats regain the House next year by rigging the game. Democrats have already shown a proclivity to abuse power through their two impeachments of Trump and the highly partisan Jan. 6 committee.

Texas is doing the right thing to counter what the Democrats have already done.

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 4,000 articles for The Western Journal since he began with the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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