John,
What’s happening in Texas right now should scare the hell out of anyone who cares about democracy.
Trump’s allies in Texas are forcing through a brutal, corrupt redistricting plan that would hand them almost every congressional seat in the state, even in districts where they lose elections.
They’re not even pretending to play fair. This isn’t about representation. It’s about raw power. It’s about silencing millions of voters by slicing up their districts until their votes don’t count.
And because Democrats don’t have the votes to stop it, they made the only move they had left: they walked out. Left the Capitol. Denied the GOP the quorum it needs to force this through.
Now, those lawmakers are under active threat from Governor Greg Abbott, who’s made it clear he’s willing to punish them for standing up. He’s already threatened to treat their absence as a forfeiture of elected office.