Texas state Rep. Ann Johnson spoke with CBS on Tuesday to elucidate why Democratic lawmakers left the Lone Star State, blocking Republican efforts to gerrymander 5 new GOP congressional seats forward of the midterm elections.
A girl holds an indication as she joins others throughout a rally to protest towards redistricting hearings on the Texas Capitol on July 24 in Austin, Texas.
When requested about conservative claims that Democrats are “running away,” Johnson responded by reminding viewers that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his minions try to pave over the GOP’s failures by degrading Texans’ voting energy.
“Abandoning your job is going to Cancun in the middle of a deadly freeze, right?” Johnson mentioned, referring to Sen. Ted Cruz. “Abandoning your job is cutting health care when people need access. Abandoning your job is cutting public education when we already have one of the worst education systems in the nation. What we are doing is the fundamental protection by our founding fathers in the Texas Constitution that says the minority party has the opportunity to break quorum when you know that the majority has really gone off the rails.”
Johnson additionally in contrast what’s taking place in Texas to how Georgia officers resisted Donald Trump’s try to vary the outcomes of the 2020 election after he misplaced to former President Joe Biden.
“They said, ‘No, sir. That’s a step too far.’ But when he called Texas Republicans and said, ‘I need you to fill me five seats,’ they said, ‘Does July work for you?’” Johnson mentioned. “This is not just about our voters—it’s about the nation. And it’s important for people to know. They have threatened us personally. They have threatened our arrest. They have threatened our jobs. They have threatened us. The solution is, if we show up today at 3:00 and sit and be quiet, then we get to keep ours. But it kills the voice of everybody in this country. And so we won’t. We won’t sit and shut up to have them shut up the voices of voters.”
Whereas Republicans like Abbott genuflect to an more and more dictatorial Trump and escalating their threats of authoritarian motion, Democrats like Johnson are taking an actual stand to guard voters not simply in Texas, however throughout the nation.
Associated | Texas governor threatens the unthinkable to pressure by rigged map
