The Texas state representative who famously piqued Joe Rogan’s interest says state Democrats could take “extreme” steps to combat Republican redistricting.
James Talarico explained what Democrats could do to combat the Texas Republican-dominated state legislature’s redrawing of Texas’s congressional lines in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
He said he expects the new congressional map, which was unveiled by Republicans Wednesday and is expected to grant the GOP 5 new House seats, will be brought to the floor soon. If brought to a vote, Texas Republicans would likely pass the new map. President Donald Trump ordered top Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s lines.
“We’re talking a matter of weeks, not months,” he told the Washington Examiner. “It’s a pretty fast process.”
While Texas Democrats can likely do little to prevent the maps from being enacted, Talarico says they are exploring their options.
“My Democratic colleagues and I are committed to doing everything we possibly can to stop this from happening,” he said.
“Because I think it’s wrong. I think it’s bad for Texas,” he added.
Talarico suggested they’ll start by organizing people to oppose the maps. They’ll then get another opportunity to speak out against the bill in a public hearing on Friday. Democrats could then proceed to more “extreme” steps, like denying Texas Republicans a quorum in the state House.
Democrats hold 62 seats in the Texas House against the Republicans’ 88. If 51 Democrats flee the state Capitol, the state legislatures’ activities would halt until they’re lured back. Such a step would delay any legislative actions in the special session, including the proposed redistricting.
Most attempts to deny the opposing party a quorum usually buckle after long enough, though, considering it renders the state’s legislative body unable to conduct business.
Michigan Republicans fled their state Capitol late last year, denying Democrats a quorum, to protest the then-Democratic majority’s priorities. They delayed long enough to go into a new session where the Republicans now had the majority with a new GOP speaker.
Nearly two dozen Texas state House Democrats have traveled in recent days to other states, such as California, Illinois, and New Mexico, to protest the Republican redistricting effort. Their absences could signal a willingness to protest against the legislature in the coming days.
“It’s a pretty extreme step, but it’s one that we’re willing to take if we have to protect our democracy,” Talarico said.
He also said that he expects there to be legal challenges to the redistricting efforts. Talarico would not comment on the maps unveiled Wednesday, remarking that he needed more time to review them.
He also recently introduced a bill that would create an independent redistricting commission in the state, eliminating partisanship in drawing congressional lines.
But Talarico acknowledges Democrats may have to match Republican efforts to redistrict with their own across the country, even though he disagrees with a “descending spiral of partisanship.”
“It’s not a tit for tat,” he said. “That is not the prize. It’s not the vision. It’s not the goal. The goal is to one day be able to get to a place where we’re taking this redistricting process in every state out of the hands of politicians,” he added.
Ultimately, Talarico says he’s praying Texas Republicans back off from redistricting to avoid the partisan redistricting battle that appears to be pending, in which Democrats could also claim more House seats in bluer states like Texas and California.
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“I’m still praying and holding out hope that if they see blue states ramping up to do the same thing, maybe they’ll back off,” he said.
“Maybe having blue states match [Texas Republicans’] energy and stand up to them and look them in the eye, and not flinch, maybe that would give my Republican colleagues here in Texas second thoughts,” he concluded, pausing before adding, “I still hold out hope for that.”