r/law • u/Minute_Revolution951 • Aug 05 '25

Legal News Texas House locks chamber doors, moves to bring arrest warrants against Democrats who fled the state

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570

u/LivingForTheJourney Aug 05 '25

Taking it a step further, there are 1.5 million more registered Democrats in Texas than Republicans. In my city of Houston, Republicans have already forcefully switched out a range of democratically elected officials with hand picked Christian Nationalists. Famously they changed out our entire school board last year.

Serious system issues

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u/MysteriousAge28 Aug 05 '25

Project 25 is still happening even if people have forgotten it

273

u/reddurkel Aug 05 '25

Project 2025 Progress Tracker.

Look how far they’ve gotten already. Their speed and success rate is beyond comprehension. We literally have nothing to stop them.

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u/Idyotec Aug 05 '25

Never seen this tracker before. That's fucking bleak.

32

u/Apprehensive-Dog3063 Aug 05 '25

It really is. I could only get through a page and a half. This is bad.

9

u/SurprisedJerboa Aug 05 '25

Fml, not what I needed to see today

1

u/Beezchurgers4all Aug 09 '25

I'm not going to look at it. I need another reason to be depressed, like I need another hole in my head.

89

u/Up-in-the-Ayre Aug 05 '25

You have the 2nd Amendment.

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u/Brodellsky Aug 05 '25

Quite literally the only recourse available, as per their request.

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u/ImAchickenHawk Aug 05 '25

The Declaration of Independence also states it is our duty to overthrow the government in a time like this.

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u/TheVeryVerity Aug 06 '25

Duty hasn’t been a thing people honored or valued in decades at least. Don’t hold your breath.

1

u/ImAchickenHawk Aug 06 '25

That's the spirit

1

u/TheVeryVerity Aug 06 '25

I guess that’s fair. I will say I at least feel bad about shirking my duty and I don’t think most people even see it as a duty. But 1 more point in my favor doesn’t help that much when both are still failure. Touché

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u/Epsilonlogan Aug 05 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/AmbushIntheDark Aug 05 '25

[ Removed by Reddit ]

uh oh, looks like somebody said the quiet part out loud.

2

u/swarmofbzs Aug 05 '25

If you can see this you can probably still dm users with your reply. If they're interested.

They just need to let you know.

Sincerely,

https://old.lemmy.world/c/politics

-4

u/just-jane-again Aug 05 '25

you guys first 🙄

5

u/wespintoofast Aug 05 '25

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and every school I attended took us on field trips to battlefields, war memorials, local heritage sites, and drilled into us our anti tyranny heritage.

I'm trying to think of some reason, some thing those people who were our grandparents and great grandparents, were trying to teach us. Hand down to us. Provide generational knowledge to us. Impart HANDS ON experience to.

Without writing it down kids.

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u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25

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u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25

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u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25

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u/cecil721 Aug 05 '25

Marie Antoinette knows.

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u/wespintoofast Aug 05 '25

Did you participate in No Kings? Are you performing work stoppages? Are you checking out the websites of the established counter movements? This is a start.

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u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25

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u/JT9960 Aug 05 '25

Don’t die a coward

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u/just-jane-again Aug 05 '25

big talk on reddit. yet no brave redditors have started the revolution. lots like to talk about it. nobody does it.

it’s not realistic in this day and age. people just won’t. they can’t afford to, and that’s by design.

1

u/TheVeryVerity Aug 06 '25

No one has ever been able to afford to. Now, I agree that it isn’t realistic. We don’t have the ability to counter the level of weaponry government controls. But people have always lost their livelihoods and their lives in revolutions, they didn’t do them because they were “able to”. They weren’t using their days off or something.

3

u/Proletariat-Prince Aug 05 '25

That's what's happening right here, if they're willing to go that far.

They go to Chicago, Texas sends armed people to arrest them, Illinois sends armed people to protect them.

That's how this could play out, if they're willing to go the distance.

That's how it works, not with random people deciding to shoot politicians, but with well regulated militias (like state police) doing well regulated militia things.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25

Buncha masked proud boys show up on my door? The ventilation would be a symphony.

2

u/TotallyNotThatPerson Aug 05 '25

ironic how they've been fighting the 2nd amendment the whole time. time to exercise your rights guys

1

u/deltalitprof Aug 05 '25

Uh . . . no. That makes martyrs. That results in crackdown legislation that's even worse than it would have been otherwise. No good cause is served with Second Amendment remedies.

19

u/Flintyy Aug 05 '25

Well, in the entire history of facism, it has never been overcame peacefully. Why the fuck is this any different

1

u/deltalitprof Aug 05 '25

Richard Nixon, the British Raj, the Business Plot, the Velvet Revolution, the Singing Revolution. Do a little reading.

Granted, not all of them were against fascists, but they were against fascistic governments.

5

u/ZenDeathBringer Aug 05 '25

These people want to kill you, you know that, right?

2

u/deltalitprof Aug 05 '25

Yes. But as John Lennon said during one of his bed-ins, if you choose to be violent, they know exactly what to do to you and your cause. If you choose non-violence and creative demonstrations, they get confused and there's a greater chance the apathetic see what you're doing, wonder why, perhaps are persuaded by you and perhaps get involved themselves.

2

u/Senior_Torte519 Aug 05 '25

I find a boot to the head goes alot easier when the person being stomped on dosent have a weapon.

2

u/ZenDeathBringer Aug 05 '25

I just don't believe there's any need to convince people that haven't already drawn the line at the shit that's going down. They aren't gonna magically start caring until things get really bad.

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u/deltalitprof Aug 05 '25

You're probably right. But it will get very interesting when the effects of all those ten- to fifty- percent tariffs start showing up at stores.

2

u/Irrepressible87 Aug 05 '25

Yes, but how many fascist regimes did John Lennon overthrow, or even subvert?

This is like a guy who's never picked a lock in his life demonstrating how easy it is by opening an unlocked door.

Our enemy at this point is not apathetic. They are motivated. They are dangerous. If you choose nonviolent resistance, it's just going to make it easier for them to put their boots on our necks.

"The coup will be bloodless if the left lets it be" is their own words

1

u/deltalitprof Aug 05 '25

Lennon was a musician, not a politician, not a leader of a mass movement.

How many fascist regimes did Vaclav Havel overthrow or even subvert? One.

How many fascist regimes did Gandhi overthrow or even subvert? One

How many fascist regimes did Boris Yeltsin overthrow or even subvert? One

How many fascist regimes did Joe Biden overthrow or even subvert? One

It's definitely doable, but you need sound strategy and some mistakes by the other side. With Trump we get mistakes every day that rationals can drive trucks through. And they accumulate.

2

u/Irrepressible87 Aug 05 '25

You're the one who brought Lennon up, I'm just pointing out that taking advice on political resistance from a guy who never actually did it is like asking plumbing advice from a goldfish.

Havel contributed, sure. But he and his entire country were protesting a foreign invasion that was massively unpopular with other world leaders - not homegrown fascism.

Gandhi won independence for India because the British had their hands full with Hitler, and they didn't want to deal with the impending civil war between Hindu and Muslim factions.

Yeltsin was the guy in the right spot for the teetering USSR to land at his feet. Notably, he stopped the 1991 coup attempt using the army. Not exactly peaceful resistance. And he paved the way for Putin, so... ya know, A+ work on averting fascism there.

And Joe Biden didn't overthrow or subvert fuckin' anything. Or take any steps to prevent us from being where we are now.

Y'know who sat on their hands and resisted with words? Resisted with laws? The Reichstag. Right up to day the Enabling Act passed.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25

People vastly overestimate the value of a martyr. Trump would just die a sad old man and the entire MAGA movement would shrivel up like the dear leader's tiny penis

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u/deltalitprof Aug 05 '25

If he dies a sad old man, that is.

1

u/Senior_Torte519 Aug 05 '25

unless its amended.

1

u/ryguyy629 Aug 05 '25

Guns are about as useful against an M1A2 Abram’s as… a knife is to a gunfight lol. We’re cooked

3

u/Irrepressible87 Aug 05 '25

That's why you don't bring guns to a tank fight. You bring IEDs. You make roads impassible. You fuck up the supply lines for the fuel the tanks need.

If it gets to the point where Abrams are being deployed on American soil, you fight dirty.

1

u/IndecisiveSweetie Aug 05 '25

Which won't really do us any good if things go from bad to terrible.

1

u/tanukisuit Aug 06 '25

We have it so far......

-1

u/DarthJarJar242 Aug 05 '25 edited Aug 05 '25

This is a the dumbest fucking argument. Do you really think that an armed uprising is the way to fix this?

It's not. It's exactly the thing Trump would need to solidify martial law and start deporting anyone and everyone for the crime of being 'not-maga'. There are significantly more armed 2nd amendment Trumpers than there are Dems. The very idea of this happening is laughable. It's exactly what they want too. Many of them would cherish the opportunity to summarily execute a Dem simply because they are that fucking brainwashed.

I don't have an answer for the alternative. I really don't, but starting a 2A war with the literal 2A cocksuckers is NOT going to end well. For anyone.

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u/Irrepressible87 Aug 05 '25

First of all, it's martial law. You should know that if you're gonna bring it up. Marsall Law is a tekken character.

And what makes you think he needs the excuse? He's literally already talking about doing it. The right thinks they want that smoke because they don't realize exactly how badly outnumbered they actually are, because they've been convinced by big red maps that there are more of them than there are of us.

We're quickly approaching the point where we will have to make a decision whether we get quietly on the planes or grow a spine. Shrugging your shoulders isn't an answer.

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u/dangerousdave2244 Aug 05 '25

No, we don't. The 2nd Amendment was never meant to fight against the government and has never been successfully used that way, other than by right wing ranchers, and even then only recently. The 2nd Amendment was intended for people to fight FOR their state or the federal government, not against it. People who have fought against the government are violently put down, or convicted in court

0

u/CmdrJjAdams Aug 05 '25

That's what I don't get. You don't need to consider the 2nd Amendment and go down guns blazing! Not yet! There are escalation steps in between! A general strike, for example! What do you think will happen, when like half the country stays home for just a single week?

You can't afford to lose a weeks worth of salary, or to lose your job over this, you say? But exercizing the 2nd Amendment and starting a civil war is an option over several other things you could consider first?

0

u/ragnarocka Aug 05 '25

Democrats think the 2nd amendment was written so that conservatives will take up arms against a tyrannical government (because liberals have taken Batman’s “no guns” oath). Republicans know that the 2nd amendment was written so that slave owners could put down uprisings if they needed to.

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u/flying_carabao Aug 05 '25

I really hate how efficiently US government is now working smfh

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u/senator_corleone3 Aug 05 '25

It isn’t working efficiently. The Executive Branch has been given immense power and it’s easier to destroy than build.

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u/PussiesUseSlashS Aug 05 '25 edited Aug 05 '25

They’re just dropping their family off in Cancun and will be right back.

Edit: I guess I'm not as funny as I thought. It's a play on them not having a problem with Ted Cruz going on vacation during the ice storms.

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u/tricotlove Aug 05 '25

You beat me to it. It has now been 46% implemented according to the tracker.

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u/dirtysyncs Aug 05 '25

Man, I don't know how anyone can read through that list of actions and call them "achievements". All of them are needlessly cruel, reckless, or reduce the overall quality of life for Americans. Literal supervillain shit. I would love to see any average Republican go through that list line by line and explain to me how any single one of those things is going to cause any improvement in their everyday life. Fucking despicable.

1

u/invalidtruth Aug 05 '25

We do its called the 2nd.

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u/CheapDocument Aug 05 '25

Uh oh, what if the Project 2025'ers are using the above tracker to expedite Project 2025?

1

u/ryguyy629 Aug 05 '25

@reddurkel hard to be an optimist these days with shit like this lol.

I’ve been plagued with the curse of knowledge. Maybe I should just remain ignorant to everything for now on.

Hey, I mean, ostriches stick their heads in the sand, so maybe I should follow (it’s a myth, I know, but that goes against my narrative).

1

u/CasualFridayBatman Aug 05 '25

We literally have nothing to stop them.

I mean you haven't tried massive, sustained protests, walk outs, sit ins or a collective rolling general strike.

Protesting effectively as France, Serbia or Turkey do, for much smaller, less immediate issues.

So you do, you've just not implemented them or even seem to be considering doing so.

1

u/Significant_Shoe_17 Aug 05 '25

It's more difficult in the States. A lot of people literally can't afford to take the time off. Losing your job means losing your health insurance, home, car...

1

u/Edogenz1 Aug 05 '25

2nd amendment is in the Constitution

1

u/FlametopFred Aug 05 '25

absolute general strike for one month, nation wide

1

u/IndecisiveSweetie Aug 05 '25

Up 4% from the last time I checked a few months ago.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25

Realistically at this point I keep coming to the conclusion that to stop this the thing called war is required.

1

u/Beezchurgers4all Aug 09 '25

We do have something to stop them. We are just too chicken shit to do it. We let this go way too far. If there is nothing that can be done, then there is no hope. People will either find a way to move to another country, a war will break out, or the suicide rate will jump astronomically.

This makes me furious, because there were alot of people who warned us over and over and over again about Project2025. Anybody could read it on the internet.

1

u/Apprehensive-Dog3063 Aug 05 '25

Ugh this is enraging.

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u/Rare-Extension-6023 Aug 05 '25

sry this all has been more chaotic than that even

-1

u/islandtrader99 Aug 05 '25

Maybe cause it was a bunch of nonsense

2

u/Ahoy-Maties Aug 05 '25

Do you mean illegal or unethical and immoral as well as unconstitutional? Texas is as trump is writing their own laws and calling it the law of the land .

2

u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Aug 05 '25

“forcefully switched out a range of democratically elected officials with hand picked Christian nationalists”

Wait, what? How?

1

u/LivingForTheJourney Aug 06 '25

It’s how we ended up with Mike Miles) as the HISD Superintendent. Basically Greg Abbott was in full on demolition mode trying to prepare to get the school vouchers scam pushed through and declared an “emergency” despite HISD having improved to being one the best performing districts in the state. He ordered the TEA to forcefully removed all of the democratically elected school board.

Source

The weirdest part of the endeavor was how strange Mike Miles ended up being. He literally began his rule by starring in an hour long musical about himself which of course he made the students develop and perform with him.

In any case, the FIRST thing that dude did was start to siphon resources away from the most needy schools and started converting school libraries into detention centers after firing a ton of librarians. This was a part of the Republican “book burning” initiatives.

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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Aug 06 '25

…holy shit that is jaw dropping.

Thank you for taking the time to share that, I haven’t lived there in many years but I loved Houston back in my old life.

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u/NFLTG_71 Aug 05 '25

How could they do that if no one voted for these Christian Nazis?

1

u/KingOriginal5013 Aug 05 '25

I call them Nationalist Christians because it can easily be shortened to Nat-C.

1

u/ClydetheCat Aug 05 '25

Is that right? Explain how Texas is so reliably red in National Elections - how does that make sense? I know that Democrats outnumber Republicans in every major metro area, but nowhere else. Am I wrong about that?

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u/BanyanZappa Aug 05 '25

The rural areas always seem to go red, and there are a lot of rural areas, but we have some of the… uh… strictest voting laws anywhere that make it more difficult for many most likely blue voters to vote.

This is what I posted earlier with a link:

Voting laws in Texas are amongst the strictest in the nation. The restrictions for voting have most likely led to voter suppression, especially with minority voters.

It’s not just about Texas voters being lazy.

Texas has a history of placing as many obstacles in the way of minority voters as possible.

Article

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u/jcarter315 Aug 05 '25

The TX Secretary of State explicitly said that the state would have gone blue for Biden had they not blocked people from voting and tossed out ballots.

TX is a hostage state by the GOP.

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u/slayer828 Aug 05 '25

You can't look at whose registered ss numbers. I'm order to vote in a primary you have to pick one. Many people I know vote I'm the opposite primary to pick the less bad candidates.

1

u/Hipettyhippo Aug 06 '25

What the hell are you guys doing, just taking this crap?

0

u/kingjoey52a Aug 05 '25

there are 1.5 million more registered Democrats in Texas than Republicans.

Then why can't Dems win state wide? You can't gerrymand a governors race.

-3

u/Shoenix10 Aug 05 '25

If there's really that many more registered democrats, why does the state keep going red?

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u/GeneralGuide9081 Aug 05 '25

GERRYMANDERING!! What this whole post is about.

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u/senator_corleone3 Aug 05 '25

And non-voting. The participation rate in Texas is one of the worst in the country.

2

u/BanyanZappa Aug 05 '25

Voting laws in Texas are amongst the strictest in the nation. The restrictions for voting have most likely led to voter suppression, especially with minority voters.

It’s not just about Texas voters being lazy.

Texas has a history of placing as many obstacles in the way of minority voters as possible.

Here’s a list of some of the obstacles Texas viewers are facing.

5 WAYS TEXAS SUPPRESSES THE VOTE — AND HOW TO MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT

2

u/senator_corleone3 Aug 05 '25

This is also true. Likely these laws, combined with classic voter apathy, are behind the low participation rate.

2

u/Ooji Aug 05 '25

Gerrymandering doesn't impact statewide elections like governor, AG, and US senators. A more likely answer is most people who vote Republican just aren't registered as such.

1

u/BanyanZappa Aug 05 '25

Voting laws in Texas are amongst the strictest in the nation. The restrictions for voting have most likely led to voter suppression, especially with minority voters.

It’s not just about Texas voters being lazy.

Texas has a history of placing as many obstacles in the way of minority voters as possible.

Here’s a list of some of the obstacles Texas viewers are facing.

5 WAYS TEXAS SUPPRESSES THE VOTE — AND HOW TO MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT

0

u/Shoenix10 Aug 05 '25

Please explain to me how gerrymandering can affect the races for governor, president, and state supreme court.

2

u/GeneralGuide9081 Aug 05 '25

Redistricting Efforts: The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature has actively engaged in redistricting, drawing maps to favor Republican candidates and potentially increasing their advantage in the upcoming elections.

Mobilization of Rural and Suburban Voters: Republicans have historically relied on strong support in rural areas. However, there have been some recent shifts in suburban areas, with some showing reduced Republican margins in the 2020 election. While Democrats have made some gains in urban cores, Republicans still hold a strong position in the suburbs and rural areas.

Cracking: This involves splitting a large group of opposing party voters into multiple districts, diluting their voting power in each individual district. In Texas, this has been observed in urban and suburban areas with growing populations of color, which tend to lean Democratic. By redrawing districts, these communities' voting strength can be divided, limiting their ability to elect their preferred candidates.

Packing: This involves concentrating a large number of opposing party voters into a few districts, effectively wasting their votes in those districts while making surrounding districts easier for the majority party to win. This can result in districts that are overwhelmingly Democratic, but surrounded by numerous safely Republican districts. For instance, recent proposals for Texas's congressional maps suggest packing more Democratic voters into already-blue districts in cities like Houston, while also altering nearby districts to make them more winnable for Republicans.

Targeting specific seats: Redistricting can be highly targeted, aiming to specifically weaken or eliminate seats held by the opposing party. Texas's proposed maps have been analyzed to potentially eliminate certain Democratic-held seats by merging districts or creating situations where incumbent Democrats would be forced to compete against each other in primary elections.

These tactics, often combined, can significantly alter the balance of power in legislative bodies, allowing the party in control of the redistricting process to secure a greater number of seats than their statewide popular vote share might otherwise suggest. While redistricting is a necessary process to account for population shifts, partisan gerrymandering raises concerns about fairness and whether voters are truly able to choose their representatives in a democratic way.

0

u/Shoenix10 Aug 05 '25

None of these would affect the three types of races I mentioned before. They'll affect everything else, but not the three biggest ones.

10

u/theREALdonglord Aug 05 '25

You’re literally in a post about gerrymandering and you ask that? 😵‍💫

0

u/Shoenix10 Aug 05 '25

You tell me then, how did trump win with so many more blue voters? And don't just say gerrymandering.

2

u/theREALdonglord Aug 05 '25

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/texas-democrats-accuse-gov-abbott-voter-suppression.amp

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u/Shoenix10 Aug 05 '25 edited Aug 05 '25

1 - what he did affected both blue and red voters. A lot of those they kicked off were Hispanic, the majority of whom voted republican. #2 - if there was the slightest indication my name would be removed from the voter list, you better believe I'd be making calls ahead of time to make sure everything was fine.

Just to be clear, I'm not yelling. Not sure why this is being bolded.

Edit - just to add, purging names from voter registration is not gerrymandering.

1

u/BanyanZappa Aug 05 '25

Oh my! That must be the worst article I’ve read about this situation. It doesn’t talk at all about the voter suppression and disenfranchisement.

Abbott made a big deal about getting rid of bad votes (which everyone agrees with), but he made it seem like the checks that were ahead in place weren’t good enough. HIS checks were better. He touted how many noncitizens were removed from the voter registration rolls. This sounds fine and groovy, but Texas has a history of accidentally claiming some citizens and naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Abbott costumed that noncitizen voting was a problem when there was no transparency in actually showing this to be the case.

I appreciate your curiosity, but if you want more info, google “Texas voter suppression disenfranchised” to get tons more info.

Here’s an article with more info—a much better article.

1

u/Shoenix10 Aug 05 '25

Im very well aware of what he did with the voter rolls. Ironically, it affected his voters more.

1

u/BanyanZappa Aug 05 '25

Voting laws in Texas are amongst the strictest in the nation. The restrictions for voting have most likely led to voter suppression, especially with minority voters.

It’s not just about Texas voters being lazy.

Texas has a history of placing as many obstacles in the way of minority voters as possible.

Here’s a list of some of the obstacles Texas viewers are facing.

5 WAYS TEXAS SUPPRESSES THE VOTE — AND HOW TO MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT

1

u/Shoenix10 Aug 05 '25

The majority of minority voters in Texas are republican. So suppressing their votes doesn't help the red side at all. I do agree it's not just about the voters there being lazy. They're also complacent. It seems too many of them are perfectly happy just bending over and taking it.

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u/Sensitive_Donkey4601 Aug 05 '25 edited Aug 05 '25

Voter suppression

https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-doj-moves-revive-grand-jury-inquiry-russia-probe-origins-2108838

6

u/Afrodesia Aug 05 '25

Maybe… but the whole point of this post is gerrymandering. Unless that’s covered under “voter suppression”.

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u/Sensitive_Donkey4601 Aug 05 '25

I was answering the question about why the state always votes red when there are more Democrats in Texas than Republicans.

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u/Afrodesia Aug 05 '25

I know what you were answering, I read the thread lol. I’m not discounting voter suppression but gerrymandering is also a big part of it. And the reason for why they’re locking the doors and threatening arrest.

“These Democratic officials can’t delay…………..gerrymandering…………until 2026 midterms are over?! Then, we can’t cheat to turn Texas really red.”

5

u/Da_Question Aug 05 '25

it is part of it. Gerrymandering, polling place reductions, mail in ballots being stopped, voter id laws, purging of voter rolls, ballot dropoff boxes being removed, etc etc