Support Texas Democrats amid walkout

Democracy is on the line, and Texas Democrats understand that.

That’s why, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) called a special legislative session to once again try and pass his party’s voter suppression bill, the Democratic state representatives did the only thing that they could to protect the voters of Texas: they left the state, depriving the legislature of the quorum needed to pass legislation—including the Republicans’ voter suppression bill.

And while this decision was desperately needed and widely applauded, it doesn’t come without cost. Governor Abbott will continue to hold funding for the Texas legislature hostage until he’s able to get his party’s voter suppression bill passed. That means that not only will the lawmakers not get paid, but neither will their staffs, the custodians, cafeteria workers, parking attendants, landscapers and every other employee who relies on this funding to survive. In total, over two thousand people will lose their salaries and health insurance, all because Republicans have opted to exploit them as bargaining chips. They shouldn’t suffer because one political party needs to cheat to win.

So with that said, your help is needed. These Democrats will do their duty and remain out-of-state as long as it takes, but they need your help to do it. The lawmakers themselves are willing to forego their salaries, but their staffs and the nonpartisan employees shouldn’t be punished because Governor Abbott has decided to play politics. So please pitch in and support the

Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee which will ensure that the more than two thousand employees of the Texas legislature can get paid. They're doing their part; now it's time we do ours.

In the meantime, this should serve as a wake up call to national Democrats to use their hard-won majorities in the House and Senate to pass the For The People Act. These Texas Democrats may have been able to stave off a vote on the Republicans’ voter suppression bill during this special session, but Governor Abbott has the power to call unlimited special sessions. In other words, what the Texas Dems are doing is not a permanent solution, but rather a means of buying time for national Democrats to step up and show the same courage that these Texas Democrats have shown. If Texas Democrats can get the job done in the minority, there is no reason that national Democrats can’t get it done in the majority.