State Houses Thread

[Ozlsn]

2 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Republicans are chipping away at democracy, one state at a time. They are going to extremes to keep the public from knowing what’s going on. 
Thread on what’s happening in Texas right now in order to make is as difficult as possible to vote:

From the thread, to illustrate how far they are going to keep their going’s on from the public’s eye:

If it’s literally not allowed to see the light of day, you know it can’t be good.

Unbelievable. They need to get as many people into the observation gallery as possible, and on the phones to their representatives before it is voted on. 

[fraurosena]

13 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

Unbelievable. They need to get as many people into the observation gallery as possible, and on the phones to their representatives before it is voted on. 

Sadly, it's the middle of the night there. On purpose, of course. So the chance lots of people would take the trouble to get up in the middle of the night to go to their state Capitol to sit in the observation gallery is slim to none.

Edited May 30, 2021 by fraurosena

[GreyhoundFan]

Good: "Oregon House expels GOP lawmaker who let far-right rioters into state Capitol: ‘He has shown no remorse’"

Quote

In January, footage emerged showing that far-right rioters who stormed the Oregon Capitol weeks before the insurrection in D.C. had help getting in: Namely, GOP Rep. Mike Nearman, who opened a locked door for them. Nearman was criminally charged in April, but steadfastly refused to resign — even when new video released last week showed him coaching the rioters ahead of time.

Now, the Oregon House has taken the unprecedented step of expelling him.

On Thursday, Nearman, 57, became the first lawmaker to be kicked out of the state House thanks to a nearly unanimous vote. Nearman himself cast the sole “no” in the 59-1 tally.

“This is potentially the most serious and historic vote any of us will ever take in our career as legislators,” state Rep. Julie Fahey (D) said during debate before the vote Thursday night, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Nearman’s ouster is the latest clash between state parties and members tied to extremist movements, particularly in the Northwest. In late 2019, Washington state Rep. Matt Shea (R) was expelled from the GOP caucus after an investigation found he’d “participated in an act of domestic terrorism” by helping an armed militia’s plot. In Idaho, GOP lawmakers are battling far-right members for control of the party, the Associated Press reported this week.

Nearman, who was elected to his fourth term last year to represent rural Polk County outside Salem, Ore., was inside the state House on Dec. 21 as a group of far-right protesters gathered outside, waving Trump flags and signs challenging the former president’s election loss. The scene devolved into violence as the crowd tried to break into the Capitol. A video showed one demonstrator attacking a journalist and one man hitting officers with bear spray.

Once the mob got inside the building, they roamed the halls for nearly an hour and chanted for the arrest of Gov. Kate Brown (D). Police eventually cleared the group out of the building and arrested at least four people.

In January, surveillance video published by the Oregonian and Oregon Public Broadcasting showed that Nearman was the one who let the mob inside. Recordings show him casually walking out of the building through a locked door and swinging it open, allowing a clear entry for the rioters.

Though Nearman said he did not condone the violence that day, he argued that the building should be open to the public, rather than closed under pandemic restrictions. But House GOP Minority Leader Christine Drazan supported a criminal investigation into his involvement in the breach.

Nearman was stripped of his committee assignments and faced calls to resign for months. In April, Marion County District Attorney Paige E. Clarkson announced two misdemeanor charges against Nearman for “knowingly” letting in rioters, putting state lawmakers in danger.

Then, on Friday, Oregon legislators learned that Nearman was even more deeply involved in the Dec. 21 riots. A video published by OPB showed Nearman speaking to a room of people, offering out his phone number and advising them on how he could help them breach the state Capitol.

“So, we’re talking about setting up ‘Operation Hall Pass,’ which I don’t know anything about and if you accuse me of knowing anything about it, I will deny it,” Nearman says in the video, before suggesting the group could gather outside the Capitol and text a phone number to signal they were ready to enter the building. Nearman then gave the group his cellphone number several times, though he claimed that they were “just random numbers.”

“If you say, ‘I’m at the West entrance’ during the session and text to that number there, that somebody might exit that door while you’re standing there,” he said.

After that revelation, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek (D) introduced a resolution on Monday to expel Nearman, claiming the lawmaker “engaged in disorderly behavior.”

Republican House members again urged Nearman to resign, with some expressing disappointment that he had apparently lied about his involvement in the incident. Drazan, the minority leader, told OPB that she believes Nearman’s actions could have gotten people killed in the Capitol if police hadn’t acted quickly.

“Mike told us that there is NO further evidence and certainly not any that would show premeditation,” Rep. Bill Post (R) wrote on his website. “I asked ‘is there ANY further video or other evidence?’ He said ‘no.' That is the crux of the problem: he lied. To me personally and to the House Republican caucus. This pains me to no end to reveal. He is my friend.”

During the vote Thursday evening, House Democrats offered Nearman unlimited time to speak. He spent his brief remarks arguing that the Capitol building should have been open in December.

“You’re considering expelling a member, for the first time in history, because he thinks that people should have access to their Capitol, especially during session,” Nearman said, OPB reported. “After this session, we’re all going to go out to dinner or stop at the grocery store, or maybe tomorrow we’ll shop and buy clothes or get our oil change, because all these places are open, but not this building.”

All 22 GOP House members other than Nearman voted to expel the lawmaker. His seat will remain vacant until the party assigns someone to serve out the rest of the term, which ends next year.

Following the vote, Kotek said in a statement that lawmakers should be held to the “highest possible standard” and that removing Nearman was imperative.

“The facts are clear that Mr. Nearman unapologetically coordinated and planned a breach of the Oregon Capitol,” Kotek said. “His actions were blatant and deliberate, and he has shown no remorse for jeopardizing the safety of every person in the Capitol that day. Given the extraordinary circumstances, this was the only reasonable path forward.”

 

[fraurosena]

50 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Good: "Oregon House expels GOP lawmaker who let far-right rioters into state Capitol: ‘He has shown no remorse’"

 

Remarkable that all the R's also unanimously voted to expel.

Pity that they voiced "disappointment" with his actions rather than outrage, though. 

[fraurosena]

It’s such a good thing that the Dems walked out. Now there has been time to actually look the bill the repugs are finding it contains much that can’t reasonably be explained away, and they are now scrambling to clean it up.

[thread]

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by fraurosena
It’s a short thread.

[Ozlsn]

18 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

If you say, ‘I’m at the West entrance’ during the session and text to that number there, that somebody might exit that door while you’re standing there,” he said.

 

[Cartmann99]

Republican Lawmaker Wears Yellow Star of David To Protest Vaccine Mandates: ‘We’re All Jews’

Spoiler

Quote

Today in Wildly Inappropriate Holocaust Comparisons is the story of a Washington state lawmaker who wore a yellow Star of David to protest Covid-19 vaccine mandates. Republican state representative Jim Walsh posted a Facebook video showing him speaking to conservatives in a gym while wearing the Star.

“It’s an echo from history,” he wrote on Facebook. “In the current context, we’re all Jews.”

The event was held this past weekend, and was organized by a group called Washingtonians for Change, which billed it as a “Patriot Gathering.”

[CTRLZero]

Re:  Jim Walsh and his yellow Star of David.  I wish they’d mention the church name so I can avoid it in my local travels.  Also, I find it interesting that he won’t say if he’s vaccinated or not.  True, none of my business, but I bet there are a few anti-vaxxers who are secretly vaccinated.  In the case of Walsh, he may be vaccinated, but his constituents might take him to task about that.  His district is heavily timber industry, which has its struggles.

Anyway, he’s a local treasure.  Not. 

[Cartmann99]

Meanwhile, here in Texas...

Texas House Republicans vote to track down absent Democrats and arrest them if necessary

Quote

A showdown in the Texas House was locked into place Tuesday after the chamber voted overwhelmingly to send law enforcement after Democrats who left the state a day earlier in protest of a GOP priority elections legislation.

More than 50 House Democrats left Monday for Washington, D.C., to deny the chamber a quorum — the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct business — as it takes up voting restrictions and other Republican priorities in a special session.

That agenda, set by Gov. Greg Abbott, includes House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1, the election legislation at hand that would make a number of changes to Texas' voting system, such as banning drive-thru and 24 hour voting options and further restricting the state's voting-by-mail rules. Over the weekend, both House and Senate committees advanced the election bills.

The impact of the House move is unclear since Texas law enforcement lacks jurisdiction in the nation's capital.

Meeting shortly after 10 a.m., the House quickly established that it lacked the two-thirds quorum required to do business, with only 80 of 150 members participating in a test vote.

Then Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, chair of the House Administration Committee, moved to issue what is known as a “call of the House” to try to regain quorum. That motion passed 76-4. Metcalf offered another motion, asking that “the sergeant at arms, or officers appointed by him, send for all absentees … under warrant of arrest if necessary," effectively making the missing Democrats legislative fugitives. That motion also passed 76-4.

Metcalf's motions were opposed by four Democrats who were present on the House floor Tuesday morning: Reps. Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City, Tracy King of Batesville, Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass and John Turner of Dallas.

Morales told the Tribune later Tuesday that he stayed in Austin because he thinks his "constituency expects me to stay behind."

"I believe that my efforts would be best if I stuck around here and fought the fight here," he said, adding that he supported his Democratic colleagues who had left the state.

Under a call of the House, according to chamber rules, all entrances or doors leading out of the hall are locked, and members are not permitted to leave without permission in writing from the speaker.

Morales said members had been told informally that House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, planned to excuse lawmakers daily in the afternoons as long as the chamber is under a call of the House.

"We don't have to be here 24/7," he said.

After Metcalf's motions passed, Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, sought to move to strip absent Democrats of their committee leadership posts if they do not return by noon Wednesday. The motion did not immediately get a vote, and in a subsequent exchange with Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said committee chairs and vice chairs cannot be removed from their positions under the current chamber rules.

Earlier Tuesday, Abbott said in a radio interview that any Democrats who fled the state should lose their committee leadership posts.

"Of course any Democrat who is a member of any leadership, such as a chairman of a committee — they should be losing their job," Abbott told Lubbock radio host Chad Hasty.

Meanwhile, House Democrats held a news conference Tuesday morning in D.C. reiterating their intention to stay outside of the state through the end of the special session.

Rep. Chris Turner, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, said any negotiations about Democrats returning to Austin would have to start with Abbott reversing his veto of funding for the legislative branch.

Democrats are challenging the governor in court over that veto, which Abbott issued after two of his priority bills — including the election legislation — died after House Democrats walked out of the chamber in the final hours of the regular session. Funding for the Legislature, staffers and legislative agencies is set to run out Aug. 31.

By early Tuesday afternoon, members on the House floor were grouped around desks or visiting with Phelan near the front of the chamber.

Asked whether there was tension among members, Morales said he did not sense any.

"It could be the relationships that I have built across the aisle, but I didn't sense that tension," he said. "Everyone is coming up to me and thanking me, even though they know I'm against [HB 3]."

 

[Howl]

@Cartmann99, how do you think this will ultimately play out?  Republicans will get real ugly over this, but the Sergeant at Arms has no authority beyond the Texas capitol. 

Abbott is claiming that he'll just hold an endless series of special sessions until the Dems return. 

Do you think the Texas Rangers/State Troopers will dispatched to DC?  I have "concerns" that some kind of crazy is going to play out in a not good way. 

[Cartmann99]

3 hours ago, Howl said:

@Cartmann99, how do you think this will ultimately play out?  Republicans will get real ugly over this, but the Sergeant at Arms has no authority beyond the Texas capitol. 

Abbott is claiming that he'll just hold an endless series of special sessions until the Dems return. 

Do you think the Texas Rangers/State Troopers will dispatched to DC?  I have "concerns" that some kind of crazy is going to play out in a not good way. 

My mind has gone to some very dark places since this began. All I'm willing to say publicly is that there's too many Republicans with a tenuous grasp on reality for this to end well.

Edited July 14, 2021 by Cartmann99
I no write good

[Howl]

12 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

All I'm willing to say publicly is that there's too many Republicans with a tenuous grasp on reality for this to end well.

Agree. And Abbott has decided to cater to, if not become part of, the crazy right, which is most Republicans these days. 

[Cartmann99]

6 hours ago, Howl said:

Agree. And Abbott has decided to cater to, if not become part of, the crazy right, which is most Republicans these days. 

He and Cruz believe they can ride the tiger and not get eaten.

[Howl]

I'm guessing the strategy with going to DC is paired with leveraging Manchin and Sinema to turn around on the filibuster to get the voting rights bill -- For the People Act -- passed.  Rumor is that Manchin gets a fair amount of Koch money and doesn't want to let that go.  My fear is that we'll wake up and find out he's switched parties.  I have zero idea WTAF  is up with quirky fashionista Sinema.  

These Dems need to be high profile in the news and aggressively messaging every damn day and working hard behind the scenes to make all these things happen. 

Sinfronia Thompson was on Ari Melber last night, raising the talking points. I was generally aware of her as a long-term TX Dem state legislator, but damn,  this woman is 82 years old, serving her 25th term in the Texas state house for District 41 (Houston and Humble). 

I just checked out her bio -- BS Biology, MA Education,  JD Thurgood Marshall School of Law and an Master of Law in International Law. 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Howl

[Howl]

Ooops, her name is spelled Senfronia, not Sinfronia.  Also, this woman is 82 and looks like she's on the good side of 50.   How does that work?

[Cartmann99]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

This made me laugh:

 

[Cartmann99]

 

[Cartmann99]

Spoiler

The last two tweets in the thread:

Spoiler

 

 

[Alisamer]

soooo.... wait. School districts (comprising multiple schools) are supposed to somehow find time to track down each copy of these 850 books - not only in school libraries but in classrooms as well, find where each one is, and somehow figure out how much was spent on the book? And report all this ASAP? 

Who has time for that? Aren't there better things for people to do?

And for anyone who didn't glance over the book list or pay close attention to the letter - this is only partly to do with race, actually. That's an issue, sure, but they are using it as cover to track down all books about "sexuality" - that means all the books explaining puberty and anything sex education related. Race is mentioned almost as an afterthought, but a large number of these books are actually basic "this is what's happening to your body" stuff and anything that mentions birth control or STD prevention in any way. So they are tracking down (likely as a precursor to eliminating) all materials that provide any education on sex, race, history as related to race, and get started on anything not cis, het, christian and white. I saw at least one religion-related book on the list, along with many biographies.

The Handmaid's Tale is on the list, BTW.

How long before Texas starts having book burnings?

[Destiny]

I will never understand the concept of banning books based on "distress" . The POINT of a book is to make you think about something. If being distressed about racism happens, that's a good thing. Giving people accurate information about their bodies and sexuality is a good thing. Learning how people different from you live is a good thing.

20 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

The Handmaid's Tale is on the list, BTW.

But only the graphic novel (which I have not read so am not terribly familiar with), not original recipe HMT. That's an odd distinction for them to make.

Separately, whoever wrote this list is a fucking monster. It's sorted by year of publishing, then title. What kind of fucked up bullshit is that? Who keeps track of fucking year of publication?

[Audrey2]

6 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

  Hide contents

The last two tweets in the thread:

  Hide contents

 

 

My thoughts....

1. Texas is a pretty Republican state although it has liberal pockets so they probably just said the graphic novel for the handmaid's tale because the Republicans who rule the state can't read the regular book and must have the pictures. (I'm not making fun of people with literacy problems. I know too many people who are died in the wool Republicans who are proud that they can name all of the books they've read on one hand and still have fingers left over.)

2. What? No Judy blume? They must not be familiar with her book forever. They also must not know that And Then Again Maybe I Won't is the book that explains what happens to boys and Are You There God, It's Me Margaret is the book that explains what happens to girls.

3. Not having books on topics that make conservatives uncomfortable doesn't mean that people who need this information don't exist. It just means they're going to get their information from much less reliable sources. 

[Destiny]

I thought the same thing re: Judy Blume. I even control+f to check then forgot to say it. They missed a golden opportunity here!

[47of74]

I bet this fuck stick here in Iowa would ban the Wizard of Oz and the Diary of Anne Frank given half a chance;

Quote

Earlier this month, Republican State Sen. Brad Zaun said he also supports charging teachers with felonies for having “obscene” books on school bookshelves and removing those books from schools.

At an initial reconsideration committee meeting on Nov. 10 for Johnston Community School District, Zaun said he would work hard to create legislation to charge teachers with felonies for allowing students to read books that include characters or the authors discovering and exploring their identities and sexualities.

He called those books inappropriate for students.

“My warning to all the teachers and the administrators is you’re going to be in jail,” he said. “Because this is distributing pornography. And I will work my tail end off and it will become law.”

 

[47of74]

Another State House Republican in action, this time down in Tennessee

Quote

A top Republican state lawmaker yelled at a game official and attempted to pull his pants down during a high school basketball match Tuesday night, an incident he later called "completely stupid" in a statement. 

Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, acknowledged he was "bad wrong" and hoped to apologize to the official for losing his temper. The game was recorded live on Facebook by Johnson City's Providence Academy, which was hosting Lakeway Christian Academy.

"For years I thought how wrong it is when a parent loses their temper at a sporting event. It’s not Christian and it’s not mature and it’s embarrassing to the child have always been my thoughts," Faison, the state House Republican Caucus chair, wrote on his official Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Tempers flared with seconds to go in the third quarter, when a scuffle over a loose ball led to a technical foul for unsportsman-like conduct levied on each team. Video of the game shows Faison sitting in the stands before making his way to the court as referees attempted to break up the two teams. The TSSAA report said Pendleton told Faison to leave the gym.

So it looks to me like he wasn't even involved in the game but was just there as a spectator to watch his kid play.