Taking the Republican war on democracy seriously

It’s good to see Texas Democrats taking the threat to democracy seriously, while way too many prominent national Dems are complacent:

Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives are leaving the state and flying to Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 26 days left in a special legislative session called largely for that purpose.

Upping the ante in both the legislative fight at home and the national debate over voting rights, most House Democrats are expected to board a flight out of Austin headed for the U.S. capital without a set return date.At least 51 of the 67 Democratic representatives — the number needed to break quorum — were in the process of leaving, most arriving at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Monday to board a chartered flight. The House is set to reconvene Tuesday morning, but the absent Democrats would mean there will not be enough members present to conduct business under House rules.

“Today, Texas House Democrats stand united in our decision to break quorum and refuse to let the Republican-led legislature force through dangerous legislation that would trample on Texans’ freedom to vote,” Democratic leaders said in a joint statement released Monday.

They won’t be able to stop the legislation forever, but at least they can draw attention to what’s happening. In addition, they’ve already compelled Republicans to remove two of the most egregious provisions (restrictions on early Sunday voting and making it easier for judges to throw out election results) from the previous iteration. It’s impressive that they’re taking this seriously — it’s time for the Manchins and Sinemas and Feinsteins to do the same.