When last we caught up with the renegade Texas legislators, the ones who were determined to prevent Texas from amending its voting laws to prevent election fraud, they had abandoned D.C. and headed for Portugal. That’s not a good look for people who swear they’re acting to defend voter’s rights. Now, these legislators have hit a new low: They’re suing Governor Abbot because he caused them discomfort and embarrassment, among other woes. It’s hard to imagine most Texans taking kindly to this nonsense.

The main point of the Democrats’ complaint seems to be that it was mean of Governor Abbott to inform the fleeing legislators that, upon their return, they could expect to be arrested and dragged into the Assembly to do their jobs. The Texas Tribune explains:

Twenty-two Texas House Democrats sued some of the state’s top Republican leaders in federal court in Austin late Friday, alleging that GOP officials’ efforts to bring them home for a special legislative session infringed on their constitutional rights to free speech and to petition the government for redress of grievances.

The lawsuit was filed on the final day of the first special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott — and on the eve of a second specially called legislative session — and names as defendants Abbott, House Speaker Dade Phelan and State Rep. James White.

Abbott has called for the arrest of the more than 50 House Democrats who fled the state last month for Washington, D.C., to block the passage of an elections bill they said would restrict voting rights in the state. Their departure left the House without a quorum, the number of present members needed to pass bills, stalling the chamber’s operations.

The lawsuit is peculiar, to say the least. For starters, while it names State Rep. James White as a defendant, he wasn’t served and has no idea why he was named. Also, it gets wrong House Speaker Dade Phelan’s legal name. It alleges, with the bare minimum of words, that

Defendants Abbot, Phelan, and White have embarked upon a course of conduct which is intended to violate State and Federal Constitutional Rights of the Plaintiffs and the classes of citizens they represent by denying rights under the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution because of

(a) Race, in that certain Plaintiffs are either black or white,

(b) Creed, in that certain Plaintiffs have expressed a faith or belief that every eligible citizen has the right to vote,

(c) Color, in that certain Plaintiffs are distinguishable based upon the melanin in their skin, and

(d) Natural original, in that certain Plaintiffs are descendants of persons born in other countries.

So, the Democrats, after violating their duty to the citizens who elected them by running away instead of appearing in the legislature, are claiming that the defendants silenced their voices, denied them due process, and deprived them of their rights as citizens because the Governor said they should come back and represent the people of Texas.

By making this demand, the Democrats allege, the defendants were racist against both Blacks and Whites, as well as people with other degrees of “melanin,” they failed to respect that the right to vote is a religion, and they discriminated against people who are unnatural in the original state.

Ultimately, as damages, the plaintiffs claim that they’ve “been deprived of liberty for substantial periods of time, suffered much anxiety and distress over the separation from their families, and much discomfort and embarrassment and their reputations impaired, and have lost much time from their homes and the companionship and care of their families and have been required to spend substantial sums of money and of time traveling to and from the State of Texas to persuade Congress to pass laws to ameliorate the harm done and redress their grievances.”

Considering the private jets, nice hotels, favorable press coverage, super spreader opportunities, and a jaunt to Portugal, it’s hard to take all of this seriously, especially when you learn that they’re seeking $5 in actual damages and $10 in punitive damages – all because the Texas legislature refused to vote their way.

Yes, it’s gibberish. What may explain this shoddy bit of work is that the renegade Democrats hired an unusual lawyer. The Texas Tribune explains that “Craig Anthony Washington, is a former Democratic lawmaker, who is practicing law under a probationally suspended license, according to the State Bar of Texas.” Washington is almost 80 and it may be that he’s simply no longer capable of providing quality legal representation.

Still, even while the renegade Democrats look like morons, it’s worth remembering that, unlike Republicans, Democrats always play for keeps. They don’t care if they look mean, stupid, greedy, or corrupt. What matters is the win. And as long as they can prevent Texas from implementing anti-fraud provisions in its voting laws, they’ve won.

IMAGE: Deleted Julie Johnson selfie.

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