Democrats Have a Long Way to Go in Texas

It sounds like a easy plan with an inevitable result. You have a comfortably red state controlled by conservative Republicans in the legislature and under a conservative Republican governor. If that majority wants to pass legislation that enacts abortion restrictions and other things that make pro-lifers happy, it shouldn't be too much of a challenge to step over Democrat opposition and get it to the governor's desk quickly. However, if you live in the great state of Texas, that is proving to be much more of a challenge than anyone expected. Thanks to one ambitious state Senator and an outpouring of support from both citizens and national Democrats, what should be an easy procedure is proving to be an immense challenge and a sign of resurgence on the left in Texas. However, there is still a long way to go for both state and national Democrats to move Texas to blue, or even purple.

Nobody ever expected that anti-abortion legislation in bright red Texas wouldn't pass. In a legislature controlled by Republicans under the leadership of Governor Rick Perry, everybody just knew that it would pass handily. Indeed, it still could pass handily at anytime. However, thanks to state Senator Wendy Davis, the bill (S.B. 5 in the Texas State Senate) has yet to be passed. Davis defied all the odds when she maintained an 11 hour talking filibuster of the bill entirely on her own under Texas' incredibly restrictive filibuster rules. For example, in order to filibuster a bill in the Texas Senate you must:
1. You must act entirely on your own. You cannot split the talking between 2 or more Senators.
2. You cannot eat or drink anything at all.
3. You must stay on the topic of the bill being filibustered. Sorry, no phone books allowed.
4. You must stay at the podium where you are talking without moving around or leaning on the table or anyone.
The filibuster was successful in running out the clock on the special legislative session without a vote on the bill. However, Governor Perry promised to call another special session (taking advantage of a power to call special sessions in cases of emergency) to push the bill through the Senate. The question now is whether Davis can continue to hold up the bill until Republicans give up for the summer. The legislature is adjourned until July 9th.

This whole phenomenon in Texas has caused an unexpected resurgence of Texas Democrats rallying behind Senator Davis on the pro-choice side of the debate. This phenomenon is the latest indication that Democrats insist mean that Texas is losing some of its red shine. One of the major pipe dreams for Democrats is to see Texas go blue (or even purple). It's been a dream of the Democratic party for years. If you look just at demographics and voter trends, you might be inclined to think that this change in Texas is a wave of change that will come soon. However, even with the Wendy Davis phenomenon, the pro-choice Democratic insurgency and voter demographics, Democrats still have a long way to go before Texas becomes any shade of blue.

First, let's take a look at the Davis filibuster and pro-choice uprising in Texas. Despite all of the support for Wendy Davis and rising opposition to S.B. 5, the bill itself can still easily pass the legislature and fly right to Rick Perry, who has promised to sign the bill into law. Davis herself has made use of procedural snags to hold up the Senate from voting on the bill. If the Republican majority can weather the storm of both Davis and the people protesting the bill, then this bill can become law. This isn't the only challenge facing Democrats in the Lone Star State. The second challenge is that changing voter demographics take a long time to affect elections. It's no surprise that the Hispanic and young voter blocs break for Democrats, but Texas still has a large white bloc that votes overwhelmingly Republican in both state and federal elections. Remember, this is the state that gave us both George W. Bush and Ted Cruz. This rallying point for Democrats is a good first step in tandem with the support of Hispanic voters, but there is still a long way to go before Texas starts looking purple.

If there was one thing I could say to the Democratic party in Texas, it would be this: Keep your hands in control of the operation. Don't think just because voter demographics are changing that this is a Rube Goldberg kind of situation. Republicans still hold control comfortably at all levels in Texas, and it will be a tough fight to take it away from them. However, Democrats are moving in the right direction to make Texas a competitive state in the 2020's and beyond.