THE TEXAS BADASS BRIGADE

God bless 'em

Some of the Texas legislators who fled Texas to shut down Governor Abbott’s special session. Nicole Collier is on the front row, far left...

Democrats in the Texas State Legislator returned to Austin Monday after a two week trip away. They left Texas in order to deny Republican legislators the quorum needed for a special session called to pass a redistricting plan providing Trump five more Congressional seats. Refusing to bow to this undemocratic power grab being staged by Texas Republicans (I discussed the topic a couple of weeks ago with Beto O’Rourke ), they made it clear this is not just a Texas issue. It’s an American issue. Drawing up his battle plans for the 2026 midterms, the President expects to get more red states to give him even more seats, in Missouri and Ohio as well.

The Democrats stayed away long enough to deny Republicans the quorum needed for their special session, though Governor Abbott announced he’d simply keep calling for them as long as it took. The Republican redistricting plan will now succeed, but the Democrats scored a victory nonetheless. They brought attention to the fact that the President is in full attack mode on fair elections in 2026. With his “get me more seats” campaign, he’s only just beginning to do whatever he feels he needs to do to stay in power past the midterms.

Not that Democrats in Texas, or anywhere else, are folding. “We’re returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans’ plans than when we left,” said the leader of the Texas House Democrats, Gene Wu. “Our return allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court, take our message to communities across the state and country, and inspire legislators across the country how to fight these undemocratic redistricting schemes in their own statehouses.”

All states gerrymander, yes. But by adding to the total number of House seats through a highly unusual mid-decade effort, President Trump has put the process on steroids. So now the fight is on. Governor Newsom of California has made it clear he will fight fire with fire, announcing a ballot initiative to add seats to the California delegation as well.

Unfortunately, adding Congressional seats is just one part of a multi-pronged plan. The President announced Monday that his lawyers are preparing an Executive Order eradicating mail-in ballots. He claimed we’re practically the only country that has them, though that falsehood was easily debunked. He even made some comment about how they’re bad for democracy, which would be funny if it weren’t so sad.

Think of someone in a rural community who is disabled, a sick or elderly person who can’t get out of bed, or someone who for whatever other reason can’t get to a polling place. They’re citizens too. And even if someone makes it to the polls, it’s reasonable to expect that in some places intimidation factors will be high. Remember in 2021 when Georgia made it illegal to pass out water to people standing in line to vote? Thinking ahead isn’t a pleasant exercise, but it’s necessary when it comes to what’s happening in America today. Masked soldiers “guarding the process,” perhaps?

For years Republicans have been claiming America has a problem with voter fraud, although never - not once - have they found evidence to prove it. And now they’re no longer just playing around the edges. From the proposed SAVE ACT requiring married women who took their husband’s last name to prove they were citizens when born under their maiden name, to demanding that every voter show proof of citizenship, a continuous stream of voter suppression efforts is underway. They’re taking direct aim at fair elections in the United States, specifically the 2026 midterms, and that will be the ultimate battleground for the takeover, or rescue, of our democracy.

The John Roberts led Supreme Court, by the way, began gutting the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2013, making all these shenanigans possible. And there are plans afoot to gut it further. Fair elections are literally the heart of a free, democratic society. When that’s gone, the body is dead.

Americans are resisting all this, and doing so heroically. Let’s all take the Texas badass brigade as our model for resistance (having been born and raised there, that’s easy for me to do). Do. any(non-violent)thing. that. you. can. do. Monday night, Texas State Representative Nicole Collier was held in the State Capitol overnight. Why? Because she refused to sign a form granting permission for a police escort to accompany her 24/7 to monitor her whereabouts.

What country is this again?

All over America, people are rising up. Local, state and federal political figures such as legislators, judges, Mayors and Governors; podcasters and citizen journalists; attendees at Town Halls; citizen lobbyists following the advice of groups like Indivisible.org and 5Calls.org; content creators passing along information and making videos exposing the gestapo tactics of ICE agents; people bringing lawsuits against the illegal activities of the administration and and non-profits waging campaigns - the people of this country are standing up and standing strong. This is a marathon, not a sprint. No one should expect that this nightmare will be over soon. The totalitarians are on the march. But so are we.

The point is, we can all be active. By demonstrating such courage as they did, the Texas Democrats moved the needle. And we all can. Inch by inch, we can defend our democracy from forces intent on destroying it. The President’s approval ratings are at 42% approve, 54% disapprove; millions of people are just beginning to understand the seriousness of the threat his administration represents. Not since the Confederacy have there been elected leaders in the United States attempting to demolish our Constitutional system. And we won’t have it.

Show your conscience. Show your patriotism. Show your grit. In the words of Winston Churchill, "Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense."

I don’t think we will.