F*ck Your Friendships

When democracy is on the line, your buddy list doesn’t matter.

The first special session ended this morning at 10:00 am. Abbott has called the second special session to begin at noon today.

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A few years ago, I was having lunch with a Texas House Democrat (it doesn’t matter who at this point). We were discussing the politics of the Texas House, relationships, and some things I observed, when I mentioned a particular Republican (it also doesn’t matter who at this point). Still, this specific Republican was a known far-right extremist. And my Democratic lunch-buddy said, “Oh yeah, he’s my friend.”

While I didn’t say anything at the time, it stayed with me. This is one of those Republicans who gets on Twitter and calls Democrats “evil” and says “we’re destroying America” and other bullshit like that.

So, it struck me as odd that a fellow Democrat would call this person a “friend.” Even more strange that this happened in a time when the majority of us have cut ties with our MAGA family and friends, because of our differences in moral values.

It doesn’t matter if that “friend” is a fellow Democrat or a Republican. Of course, we should all understand that every one of us is human, and that building personal bonds is part of life. But when you hold elected office, those bonds can’t come before the people you represent. You’re there to serve your constituents, not to guard your buddy’s reputation or protect their feelings.

Senator Royce West lied to the media to protect his friend, Senator Judith Zaffirini.

As we all know by now, on Wednesday, when the racist gerrymandered maps came up in the Senate, nine Democratic Senators walked out, but two stayed behind. Juddith Zaffirini and Chuy Hinojosa did not walk out with their fellow Democrats, giving the Republicans the quorum they needed to pass the maps through the Senate.

It should also be noted that last week, when the same nine Senators who walked out joined their fellow House Democrats in Chicago and Boston, Zaffirini and Hinojosa stayed in Texas to ensure that the Senate had a quorum.

KUT News from Austin reported that Senator West said that it was a strategic move to leave the two Senators behind to ask questions about the maps. But….

• If there hadn’t been a quorum, there wouldn’t have been a bill to ask questions about.

• As you all remember, no questions were asked. Instead, Senator Zaffirini said she has a “strongly worded” letter against the bill, which she would save for the next session. Here’s the video to jog your memory:

• Senate insiders reported to me that the other Senate Democrats wanted Zaffirini and Hinojosa to walk out with them, but they refused.

Senator West told KUT that the two staying behind was a strategic move because he wanted to protect Zaffirini, who is his friend.

The nine traitors from the border.

On Monday, August 4, six border Democrats showed up to the House, while the rest of the Democrats broke quorum in other states. Those members were:

• Terry Canales (HD40)

• Oscar Longoria (HD35)

• Armando Martinez (HD39)

• Joe Moody (HD78)

• Sergio Muñoz (HD36)

• Richard Raymond (HD42)

The next day, August 5, they were joined by:

• Eddie Morales JR (HD74)

• Philip Cortez (HD117)

And later that week, Friday, August 8, one more:

• Mary Gonzalez (HD75)

Now, early on, I wanted to immediately blast them and call for primaries for each and every one. However, my contacts in the House Caucus asked me not to because they didn’t want there to be this appearance that the Democrats were in disarray. They wanted Democrats to stay united.

In a call that week, on August 5, several House Democrats (who broke quorum) were present, along with various County Chairs and SDEC members. One of the leaders from the area where one of the traitors was from was asking about what to tell their constituents, because a lot of people were very upset that the House members (listed above) did not break quorum with the rest of the Democrats.

One Democrat said, “We need the focus to stay on Republicans. Republicans are the enemy.” And actually, that makes a lot of sense. I get that argument.

Then another Democrat said, “We needed some to stay behind to make sure Republicans don’t pull any stunts, like pushing buttons on our desks and making it look like we’re there when we’re not.”

But here’s the thing, they lock the buttons on their desks and take the keys with them.

And as of Tuesday, August 5, it appeared that the quorum breakers were already crafting messaging around covering for the traitors that stayed behind. Why?

I would like to think that they wanted the focus to remain on Republicans. Because Republicans are the true enemy.

Texas Democrats aren’t stupid. We know how terrible Republicans are. But protecting the House members who capitulated to fascism isn’t the right move.

Throw them under the fucking bus and keep it real. Let’s talk about it.

During the regular legislative session, nearly every single one of the members listed above (including the two Senators) voted more often with the Republican caucus than the Democratic caucus. Take Joe Moody, for example. Organizers and activists have already put him on their shit list this year because of his votes during the regular legislative session.

Then, when Democrats broke quorum that Monday and Moody stayed behind, the political groups in El Paso said, “That’s the final straw.”

By Wednesday, multiple Democratic groups in El Paso had passed resolutions not to support Moody on the ticket for re-election again.

To recap, on Wednesday, these were the Democrats, all border Democrats, all right-leaning, who were trying to give the Republicans a quorum.

• Terry Canales (HD40)

• Oscar Longoria (HD35)

• Armando Martinez (HD39)

• Joe Moody (HD78)

• Sergio Muñoz (HD36)

• Richard Raymond (HD42)

• Eddie Morales JR (HD74)

• Philip Cortez (HD117)

Now, this is where the drama with Mothers Against Greg Abbott (MOMS) comes in. On Thursday, a staffer of a House member who DID break quorum, who was in Chicago, tipped off Nancy Thompson with MOMS that there were three border Democrats who were missing. They didn’t leave Texas, and they weren’t answering their phones. No one knew where they were. Those members were:

• Mary Gonzalez (HD75)

• Erin Gamez (HD38)

• Claudia Ordaz (HD79)

So, on Thursday night, Thompson released a video claiming that those three were at risk of returning to the House and giving Republicans the quorum they needed. And she received a HUGE backlash for it.

Gamez and Ordaz both put out statements denying the allegations. Other House members attacked Thompson. She later took the video down and apologized.

However, the next day, Mary Gonzalez did return to the Texas House.

Today, at the gavel in of the second special session, Erin Gamez was present.

Then the stories emerge on Friday.

Five days after Joe Moody attempted to give the Republicans a quorum, after pissing off every Democrat in his hometown, he put out a statement saying that he and his “deskmate,” Mary Gonzalez, who is a teacher, not a lawyer, filed a brief with SCOTX in defense of Gene Wu.

A story that Wu gladly backed up.

It should be noted that Wu and Moody are good friends.

So, we’re now supposed to believe, a week after the fact, that Moody stayed in Texas and attempted to give the Republicans a quorum because he planned on filing a defence for Wu. Why didn’t he say so on Monday?

That’s not all. The Hidalgo County Democratic Party put out a press release on Friday in defense of the RGV Democrats who attempted to give the Republicans a quorum. Including:

• Armando Martinez (HD39)

• Terry Canales (HD40)

• Oscar Longoria (HD35)

• Sergio Muñoz (HD36)

This press release isn’t just bad because it came five days too late, though that’s plenty of time for everyone to huddle up, compare stories, and polish the talking points.

It’s problematic because it attempts to have it both ways, praising Democrats who broke the quorum and those who stayed to give Republicans the quorum, labeling both as “vital.” That’s spin. They claim that having Democrats present somehow “helped prevent changes to procedural rules” that could have expedited the bill. Still, the only way Republicans could move the bill at all was with a quorum, which those Democrats tried to provide.

It’s like bragging that you stopped the arsonist’s plan by handing him the gas can.

There’s no evidence in the release of any concrete action those members took, just a lot of passive weasel words (“helped prevent,” “role was no less critical,” “seek clarity”). It selectively defends the RGV bloc while ignoring other stay-behinds, which reads less like a coordinated master plan and more like protecting friends back home.

The math doesn’t lie. Republicans can’t pass anything without 100 bodies in the chamber, and every Democrat in a chair moves them closer to that number. No amount of “educate, inform, inspire” fluff changes the fact that the bill passed, and the so-called strategy did nothing to stop it.

And now we’re moving on into the second special session.

You know why I’m mad today? Because I feel like I’ve been one of Texas Democrats’ biggest fucking cheerleaders. Because when they succeed, we all succeed. But there has been a lack of honesty, and it’s been to protect friendships, not the people.

They did the right thing by breaking quorum.

It’s understandable that they want to keep the focus on Republicans. Republicans are the bad guys. As bad as these border Dem traitors are, and they’re pretty fucking terrible, at least they aren’t Nazis. They should be primaried, every single one of them, but because they’re bad Democrats, not because they’re evil monsters.

And it’s even understandable that they want to protect their friends. It’s human nature. Every single one of us at some point in life has stepped up to protect a friend or loved one from harm’s way. Most of us, anyway.

But these aren’t normal times. And we’re in a Cold Civil War.

Yesterday evening, the House Caucus issued a press release stating they would return home for the second special session. They got California to retaliate. They got national attention. And I told you yesterday it would be okay.

To reiterate, I still think it’s going to be okay. I stand by everything I said yesterday.

That being said, last night, three members of the Black Caucus appeared on the Roland Martin show, and they were saying something very different from what the Caucus press release was telling us.

It starts at about 11 minutes in.

And a separate three members of the Black Caucus did an interview with Mother Jones, saying that they aren’t going back.

The Black Caucus is not returning for a quorum of the second special session.

My House Rep, Chris Turner, held a virtual town hall last night and mentioned the huge rally in Austin tomorrow. He also noted that buses would be available locally for those who want to attend, but he would still be in Chicago. I didn’t put two and two together until after I saw the Roland Martin segment last night.

There are currently 54 Democrats who are out on the quorum break.

Only four need to return to give Republicans a quorum.

Instead of sinking the ENTIRE caucus, Democrats should throw the capitulators under the bus. We’re in a Cold Civil War, and these members are willing to freely hand over power to authoritarianism at the expense of Black and brown Texans.

Fuck your friendships

This is not the time for loyalty tests to your friends. This is the time for loyalty to your constituents, to democracy, and to the truth. And if that means telling voters exactly who caved, who stayed behind, and who made it possible for these maps to pass, then so be it. Name them. Own it. Let the voters decide if they want to keep someone who treats the fight for fair representation like an optional group project they can skip if they feel like it.

Because I’m done pretending this is anything other than what it is, aiding and abetting the enemy. And if that makes you uncomfortable? Good. It should.

Friends are who you grab a beer with. Allies are who you go to war with. And right now, Texas Democrats don’t need more drinking buddies. Y’all need allies.

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