Taking a stand in Texas

Texas Democrats staged a dramatic walkout on Sunday night, depriving the state's House of Representatives of a quorum, in order to block passage of a restrictive voting bill that would have been one of the most stringent in the nation. Facing a midnight deadline to approve the measure, Republicans were forced to abruptly adjourn the session without taking a vote. The surprise move followed a heated late-night debate and various objections over the legislation, which would have made it harder to vote by mail and easier to overturn election results. —The Washington Post

• — No one to blame but themselves. "I can't even blame it on the other party for walking out," said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican from Montgomery County who runs the Senate. "They got an opportunity to walk out because of the deadlines." He suggested that House Republicans helped derail the legislation by taking too many days off and delaying the vote. —Houston Chronicle
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• — "Wrong and un-American." The day before, President Biden criticized the bill. "It's part of an assault on democracy that we've seen far too often this year—and often disproportionately targeting Black and Brown Americans," he said in a statement. "In the 21st century, we should be making it easier, not harder, for every eligible voter to vote." —Politico
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• — "No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities." Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, having anticipated signing the bill today, tweeted yesterday that he will suspend the pay of the Texas legislature as a result of the bill's failure. The Texas Constitution grants the governor line-item veto power, giving Abbott the authority to unilaterally remove the legislature's funding in the recently passed state budget. —Insider

Waldman: Texas' war against democracy

"The suppression measures aimed at voters themselves—limiting early-voting hours, forbidding the use of dropboxes, making it harder for people to give other people rides to the polls—have gotten much of the attention. But as in other states, the Texas bill would go after local officials, not only by forbidding them from deciding how to run their own elections without the permission of the legislature, but also by creating personal criminal and civil liability for them if they failed to comply with any of the new rules. And as has happened in close to 20 other states, the Texas bill would expand the rights of partisan poll-watchers to inject themselves into the process of both voting and counting votes. It's a recipe for chaos—which is exactly the point." —Paul Waldman in The Washington Post

Paul Waldman is a political columnist at The Washington Post.

MORE: Biden on Memorial Day: Democracy is 'in peril,' worth dying for —Politico

A happier Memorial Day

What a difference a year makes. With COVID-19 infections reaching their lowest levels since the early days of the pandemic, and restrictions being lifted nationwide, the U.S. observed a much more "normal" Memorial Day weekend this year than last. More than 130,000 fans watched the Indianapolis 500 live at the racetrack—the largest such gathering since the pandemic began. But it's not the same everywhere. Outbreaks of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia have led to new restrictions throughout the region. Malaysia has announced a two-week national lockdown, and China has locked down parts of the city of Guangzhou to battle surges. Japan, which is hosting the Summer Olympics in Tokyo next month, is reportedly considering mandating testing and/or vaccinations for spectators. —Bloomberg

MORE: Vietnam detects hybrid of Indian and UK COVID-19 variants —Reuters

Bye-bye, Bibi?

The reign of the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history, Benjamin Netanyahu, may be coming to an end. Ultranationalist Naftali Bennett said his party is working with opposition leaders to build an alternative government that would force Netanyahu from office. If it comes to pass, the agreement would form a coalition of eight parties with a range of ideologies. The prime minister's post would rotate between Bennett and Yair Lapid, a secular centrist. Avigdor Lieberman, chair of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, expressed confidence that a deal will be formalized by the end of the day. But he warned of a repeat of the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6—this time in Israel, by Netanyahu's supporters. —Haaretz

MORE: Netanyahu: Israel would risk 'friction' with U.S. over Iran —Associated Press

Parker: Jan. 6 will live in infamy

"When Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said the same about Dec. 7, 1941, he was referring to the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Though that was an attack by a foreign power that led to war at incalculable human cost, the domestic attack by our fellow Americans raised the threat of accomplishing outcomes our enemies have long sought—the ruin of our democracy and the potential for civil war. That Republicans would thwart an investigation into the events of that day suggests that the GOP has abandoned the union and sided with a former president whose words on Jan. 6 bordered on treasonous." —Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post

Kathleen Parker is a columnist at The Washington Post covering politics and culture.

MORE: Calls mount for Biden to form presidential Jan. 6 commission after GOP's 'cowardly filibuster' —Newsweek

Focus on extremism

Over the weekend, hundreds gathered in Dallas, Tx., for a four-day conference featuring speakers with ties to QAnon—and one sitting U.S. congressman. With the slogan for QAnon—an extremist ideology that the FBI has deemed a domestic terrorism threat—lit up onstage behind him, Rep. Louie Gohmert spoke to the crowd at the "For God & Country Patriot Roundup," downplaying the seriousness of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and criticizing a proposed independent review of the deadly event.

• — Also delivering an address was Michael Flynn, the disgraced former national security adviser to Donald Trump who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. An audience member asked him why a military coup, such as what recently occurred in Myanmar, can't happen here. Flynn responded, "No reason. I mean, it should happen here."
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• — "No American should advocate or support the violent overthrow of the United States," Rep. Liz Cheney tweeted in response to Flynn's remark. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, also denounced Flynn's comments. "Wow. NO," he said in a tweet. "We will defend our constitution."
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• — Lt. Col. Eugene Vindman suggested that Flynn's words could be considered a violation of military law, which would apply to Flynn as a retired Army lieutenant general. "With these seditious remarks, Comrade Flynn may have crossed the line for recall to active duty and court-martial," Vindman tweeted. "As a JAG, I’m qualified and also happy to prosecute this case." —The Washington Post

Dent: If you lie down with extremists...

"This kind of weakness, failure to speak out publicly, and lack of legislative action on substantive policy matters created a political vacuum for extreme voices like Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who have gained a foothold in the GOP with their politics of grievance, conspiracy theories, nativism, nihilism, and dishonesty. We are now living with the consequences." —Charlie Dent on CNN

Charlie Dent formerly represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he chaired the House Ethics Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.

Thank you, Bill T. of Arizona. You regularly say what I am thinking, only better! —Alice L., Arizona

In voting against the Jan. 6 commission, some (many?) senators claimed to base their vote not on the merits of investigating what happened, but on the particulars of the bill before them. "(It contained) broad investigative mandates even to areas outside the events of Jan. 6, combined with broad subpoena power and a flawed structure, constituting a recipe for a political witch hunt," said Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. Okay then, Senator. So show some courage and put forward your version of a reasonable Jan. 6 commission bill that doesn't have the flaws you say you voted against. Otherwise, quit pretending that technical aspects of the bill, or of the impeachment process, or of whatever issue you are stonewalling this week, are the basis for your opposition. Quit playing at being a defender of the republic and its Constitution, and truly stand up! —Paul G., Utah

In response to Bill M. on his comments regarding my post: That's a very good point you make, and it's the same one my older brother made. The risk to preventing a president from running for a second term when they've been impeached by a simple majority is that we may very well have a "circle of spite" where every president is impeached and is never able to run for a second term. That assumes a worst-case scenario where there is poor leadership and a complete unwillingness to collaborate or compromise. If we assume the worst then we might as well redefine amendment XXII so that a president can only serve one term.

However, how else can we prevent an absolutely awful president from hijacking the country for a second term if the party to which they belong looks the other way when their behavior is corrupt? We were lucky this time that we had enough votes to get Biden in as president. He's not perfect, and I don't agree with some of his policies, but at least he has some basic decency. I think the Founding Fathers hoped that a future Congress would be composed of members who would not stand for corruption within their own party; however that hope has been proven overly optimistic based on our current situation. Only a very small portion of the Republican base has finally said "enough" regarding the previous president's ongoing antics, and that is clearly not enough to stop the corruption.

I think it would be prudent for us as a country to make some adjustments to the Constitution to address our current dilemma. Whether that means term limits or changes to the impeachment process, something should be done. —Steven R., California

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