The Texas Democrat Clown Show Is Getting Old

Gov. Gregg Abbott (R-TX) has a historic opportunity to deal a crushing blow to Democrats’ melodramatic reliving of 1960s-style activism. Texas Democrat state lawmakers fled the state in early August to deny Republican legislators a quorum to pass their redistricting plan, which could add five Republican seats to Congress. Abbott has threatened to have them arrested or replaced. He should go as far in punishing them as the Texas Supreme Court will allow him to set an example for future Democrat legislators who consider running away from their duties.

Democrats will return now that the 30-day special session expires on Aug. 15 and are framing their tactic as a victory. But even if Abbott doesn’t have them arrested, forcibly brought back, or replaced, their absence will only delay the inevitable.  

Abbott has vowed to call “special session after special session” with this session’s same agenda items.

The current drama mirrors past Texas Democrat theatrics. In 2021, they pulled a similar quorum-breaking stunt to stall GOP legislation.

Their latest clown show represents their self-representation as protagonists in an epic tale of good versus evil. They act like government is a costume party in which they play super-heroes, protecting the poor, minorities, and the downtrodden from rich, powerful, white Republican oppressors.

For instance, Texas Rep. Mac Veasy (D-33) didn’t accuse Republicans of gerrymandering for partisan gain. She instead framed their map as “racist” and “part of a long, ugly tradition of trying to keep black and brown Texas from having a voice.”

This penchant for melodrama wins donations and praise from coastal media, and academia. But it doesn’t help the people or system they pretend to represent.

(READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: 36 Seats Could Be Up for Grabs in New Supreme Court Redistricting Case)

Same Old Tired Theatrics

Democrat lawmakers exist in a perpetual state of sit-in style street activism that doesn’t serve the democracy they pretend to defend.

Their antics come from a tired playbook—one they have dusted off repeatedly when they can’t get their way legislatively because of not getting their way at the ballot box. From being indicted for assaulting law enforcement, to being arrested for sit-ins, Democrat lawmakers insist on behaving like radical 1960s activists who believed their causes merited grinding society to a halt and going to jail.

Former Texas Senate candidate Robert “Beto” O’Rourke’s 2018 campaign was a masterclass in self-aggrandizement.

He livestreamed and recorded sweaty monologues painting himself as an almost messianic figure fighting for Texas’s heart and soul. In the end, he lost his Senate bid, his gubernatorial run, and any shred of credibility as a serious leader.

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) represents another example.

During Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, he declared himself “Spartacus” threatening to illegally release confidential documents. The documents, however, were already cleared for release, showing his vow of self-sacrifice a lame stunt for the cameras.

Later, in 2020, he filibustered on the Senate floor, grandstanding about racial justice to an empty chamber for viral clips. Earlier this year, he repeated this performance, breaking the Senate floor speech record, speaking for 25 hours against President Donald Trump. Liberal influencers hailed it as a moment of greatness. Rank-and-file Americans, however, quickly forgot about it—if they noticed it at all.

Abbott Should Play Hardball

Abbott has an example from Oregon Democrats to crack down on Texas Democrats who try this in the future.

Ten Republican senators left the Oregon state senate in 2023 to block Democrat proposals, similarly denying quorum to the majority party. Oregon’s majority Democrat voters had passed Ballot Measure 113 the previous year to bar elected officials with unexcused absences from running for re-election. Last year, the Oregon Supreme Court disqualified those Republicans from holding elected office again.

Abbott has already imposed $500 daily fines and asked the Texas Supreme Court to declare Rep. Gene Wu’s seat vacant for accepting a bribe for breaking quorum. Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a similar suit against 13 other Democrat state representatives.

Abbott can and should go as far as possible to make an example of Democrat lawmakers who thumb their noses at their state’s voters just because they disagree with what most elected officials want.

The Texas Democrats’ flight is a microcosm of party’s broader strategy—prioritizing optics over doing their jobs. By framing redistricting as a racist plot, they play to their activist and academic base, which sees itself as undervalued in society.

In the end, the Democrats’ clown show changes nothing. Republicans will simply call a second special session after they all return, and the redistricting plan will pass eventually. Just as O’Rourke’s and Booker’s stunts fizzled without impact, these Democrats’ main character syndrome will achieve nothing. Still, Abbott should make them pay as dearly as possible to set an example for similar stunts in the future.

(READ MORE: Republicans, Go on Offense Against the National Popular Vote—Now!)