Texas Democrats Face The Final Week Of The Special Session
The final stretch before Abbott calls them back for more.
Click here to donate and support Texas Democrats’ quorum break.
Last night, Vice President JD Vance, in a Fox News interview, said that Republican states were responding to blue states that have already been gerrymandered.
He made it sound as if the Republican plan to gerrymander all of the red states further red was a done deal. Of course, like all things Republicans say, that’s a lie.
Trump only ran for re-election in 2024 to pardon himself and avoid prison. Now, he must find a way to win the 2026 election, avoid impeachment, and keep the truth about the Epstein files from coming out. There has never been a more destructive man to American democracy. And the cult members in office will hand him everything he wants.
First of all, THEY have already packed the Supreme Court. They stole a seat from Obama in 2016. They rammed through Barrett eight days before the 2020 election. They’ve built a far-right supermajority that ignores precedent, shreds voting rights, and hands corporations everything they ask for. That’s the real “court packing.”
Second, THEY are the ones against “one person, one vote.” They’ve embraced gerrymandering so extreme that in many states, Democrats can win the popular vote and still get a minority of seats. They’re fine with maps that erase entire communities of color from political power.
And third, of course, we wanted him off the ballot. We knew he would destroy American democracy. And look at where we are now.
This is the Republican project now. Dismantle every guardrail, every safeguard, every democratic norm until winning is guaranteed, and then pretend it’s all fair. They accuse others of doing exactly what they’re doing, because the truth is the one thing they can’t afford anyone to see.
Yesterday, the Republican Party of Texas held one of the most unhinged quarterly meetings to date.
They basically spent six hours discussing censuring the Republicans who voted for Dustin Burrows, and censuring the Republicans who didn’t vote favorably on Republican priorities. I’m not sure where the final count landed, but in the coming week, we should expect to see the Texas GOP censure anywhere between 30 and 50 House Republicans.
A couple of tidbits I did manage to capture.
RPT General Council Rachel Hooper says the Texas GOP’s number one priority is to see Gene Wu in jail. For what? She didn’t say.
If she’s referring to the quorum break, then she can’t be a very good lawyer if she doesn’t know the difference between criminal and civil law.
The second interesting tidbit of the evening was when Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George said at the behest of Greg Abbott, they’re going to start messaging around redrawing Legislative districts, because some of the Democratic districts are “DEI Districts.” They want to do away with those.
They’ve all lost their fucking minds.
And Colin Allred still thinks he’s going to win the Senate by pandering to Conservatives 🤦🏻♀️.
⬆️ That was an interview with the Bulwark yesterday.
I know we’re all anxious to have another Senate candidate right now, but we have to wait until this quorum break is over.
Where does it all end?
Based on this map from Newsweek, Republicans would gain +12 seats and Democrats would gain +12 seats.
How long can Texas Democrats hold off to block Republicans in Texas for the 2026 primary? They would need to hold off until December.
While it would be awesome if they could make it that long, we need to be realistic about the amount of pressure they’re under. Bomb threats, death threats, just this morning, San Antonio Representative Josey Garcia posted on Facebook about ununiformed men in unmarked cars showing up at her residence (she’s still in Chicago). Then there’s the money it takes to sustain this quorum break.
One thing I can tell you about is that I was wrong about the last day of the session. I thought it was the 23rd, it’s actually the 17th. So, right now, they only have to make it another seven days until the session ends.
After that, Abbott will call another session, and the whole thing restarts.
Then what?
We need to be prepared for the possibility that Democrats go back and fight for what they can, knowing that the “win” is that blue states are gerrymandering in return. If that’s the case, we’ll bust our asses from now until November and ideally ride a bigger blue wave in Texas than we saw in 2018 and impeach Trump anyway.
Or maybe they’ll stay gone another month. Or perhaps they’ll come back and leave again. We’ll find out.
In my bones, electorally, I feel like it’ll be okay, as long as Republicans don’t cheat. Or as long as America doesn’t completely collapse into a Civil War by the midterms. Or as long as there aren’t Zombies.
So here we are, seven days to go.
Seven days. That’s all we’ve got before this round ends, and Abbott reloads for the next one. They’re betting we’ll get tired. They’re betting we’ll check out. They’re betting wrong.
Because Texas Democrats don’t just hold the line, we move it. And over the next week, every call, every share, every dollar, every conversation matters.
Seven days to keep them from turning Texas into their permanent one-party state. Seven days to remind them this is still our Texas.
The countdown is running. It’s ours to win.
If you aren’t already involved, get involved now. Join:
Just Do Something!!
August 17: Last day of special session
November 4: Constitutional/TX18/SD09 Election
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
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Yesterday at the rally in Ft. Worth with Beto, Castro, Veasey and Alisa Simmons, Wu and many of the Democrats zoomed in from Chicago. The screaming, the hollering supporting them was very authentic and real. Maybe, I'm wishcasting, but Wu seemed a little emotional over the outpouring. He thanked everyone for the financial support and for the moral support, which he said has poured in from all over the country.
What I don't like about returning to Austin is the nation, but especially Texans, have hung a lot of their hopes on Texas Democrats. Abbott and Paxton are engaging in dominance theater, setting themselves up as the boss disciplining recalcitrant servants. They really fear that we could suceed in causing them to fail to please their lord and master.
I am so tired of Republicans setting up a version of this narrative and being able to rely on Democrats playing the assigned role of weaklings. It would really change the political landscape if we could make it to December.
Event after event! Recruit, knock on doors, get the word out, and keep talking! I got to hug Chairman Scudder in Plano and thank him for his strong voice. The room went up in cheers for our reps that are fighting for us as they appeared on the screen. The best thing we can do besides give them money right now is call their office so that they can prove to Abbott they are working and their district is contacting them. This is really hard work. We can also talk to our neighbors about what this quorum break means!