Exclusive — Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Chuck DeVore on Threats to Fleeing Democrat Lawmakers: You Owe the People Your Presence

Democrat lawmakers in Texas who have fled in attempts to delay redistricting plans owe the voters their presence, Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Chuck DeVore said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily.

DeVore suggested that Democrats are particularly mad because Republicans have not been as politically aggressive as they are in redistricting efforts, until now. Host Mike Slater asked DeVore about potentially issuing civil warrants or arresting AWOL Democrats — something the Texas House passed a motion for on Monday.

“Unfortunately for Governor Abbott and for the Republicans in Texas, that arrest authority only extends within the borders of Texas, and what does it look like? Well, what it looks like is, if you’re a lawmaker and you’re in session, you owe the people that you ran for office to represent. You owe them your representation,” DeVore said. “And unless you have an excused absence, this power exists throughout the entire United States and U.S. Congress, where the leader of that House can say to the Sergeant at Arms, you know, bring the members to the chamber. And sometimes you use the term arrest, the members, bring them to the chamber.”

“And what that usually means is, no matter where you are in the state, they can send the state troopers, or in Texas, the Texas Rangers to your house or to your girlfriend’s house or wherever you’re happy to hide out, and they can grab you and physically bring you to the chamber and keep you there,” DeVore explained.

WATCH — Democrats Flee Texas Like Spoiled Children:

“Now, when I was a California lawmaker, I can’t count the times that I was under lockdown, stuck inside of the State Capitol, because back when I served, you had to have a two-thirds vote to pass the budget. It’s now a simple majority and must have a two-thirds vote to raise taxes. And Republicans had enough votes that Democrats couldn’t raise taxes without a few Republican traitors that decided to flip and vote for the taxes, and so they would keep us on lockdown inside of the State Capitol in Sacramento,” he said, noting that he would be sleeping under a desk near another “snoring Republican.”

“And this was done for days where they would — it’s like a psychological pressure campaign. You couldn’t leave. So, in that case, you were under house arrest,” he said.

“Has it ever happened anywhere where …. a trooper somewhere will grab a lawmaker and throw them in the car? Has that happened?” Slater asked.

“Absolutely. As part of being a lawmaker … you owe the people when you ran for office. You owe the people that you ran for as well as the institution your presence, right? … That’s why they’re trying to bring them into, back into the Capitol. So, this is not an uncommon thing,” DeVore said, deeming it “tradition” which “goes back quite a long way, and is just one of the unique things about serving in office.”

At the end of the day, DeVore said Texans, as well as Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Republicans, just want these Democrats to show up and do their jobs.

“It isn’t just redistricting at stake. There’s some disaster relief bills. There’s some property tax cut bills that are on the table. There’s some issues regarding transgender use of bathrooms in public facilities like libraries on the table,” he pointed out. “So it isn’t just redistricting.”

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