MEDIA RELEASE: Statement from Indivisible grassroots leaders of Texas
Texas is not a red state. Texas is a hostage state.
Currently, we are held hostage by an undemocratic regime that is led by Donald Trump, and enabled by our Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and the rest of the cowardly Texas GOP who always fall in line.
When our state leaders should have been using this special session as an opportunity to direct much needed relief to victims of the devastating floods in Central Texas, and prevent further lives lost to poorly funded and faulty emergency alert systems, they have instead prioritized another attack on our democracy and further erosion of the United States Voting Rights Act.
As the collective grassroots groups aligned with the national Indivisible movement, we are heartened that progressive lawmakers listened to their constituents’ pleas to fight this with everything at their disposal – and have left our state in protest. They are protesting an unjust forced vote on redistricting that will disenfranchise working families across Texas. By leaving the state, there is not a quorum in the Capitol enough to vote on the egregiously unfair maps hand-drawn by the Trump administration itself.
Donald Trump does not care about real Texans. Donald Trump only cares about Donald Trump.
The fact that we have as many progressive lawmakers in Texas as we do, enough to break quorum, even in such an unfairly districted state, should serve as testimony that the people of Texas want fair representation. From the vast blue skies of El Paso, to the rolling hills of Austin and San Antonio, up to the prairies of Lubbock and Amarillo, to the vibrant sprawls of Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, to the rich culture down in the Valley, to the Piney Woods of East Texas and everywhere in between, we all deserve to have our voices heard for the good of our beloved state.
We applaud the lawmakers who have broken quorum and ask that they stay the course by whatever means necessary. The people of Texas are counting on YOU. To our followers, we urge you to call your democratic representatives’ offices as soon as possible and thank them for their courage and commitment.
From deep in the heart of Texas,
LoneStar Indivisible Team (LIT)
