Texans don't run from a fight, and they want to see their lawmakers showing up for work, not rushing off to Washington, D.C. to stop a vote on the state's voting bill, U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud told Newsmax Wednesday.
"As a constituent of the Texas House. I want my representative to show up for work," the Texas Republican said during an appearance on Newsmax's "Wake Up America."
Earlier this week, a group of 57 Texas Democrat legislators left the state to block a quorum needed to convene a special session necessary to vote on the bill. The group flew to Washington, D.C., and said they would stay as long as necessary in order to deny the quorum.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has threatened to have the Democrats arrested, and state House members on Tuesday voted 76-4 to send law enforcement to find and return the absent Democrats "under warrant of arrest, if necessary."
Under the Texas Constitution, a quorum of two-thirds of each legislative chamber must show up in order to conduct action. Cloud said it is important to point out that it's not some kind of "parliamentary procedure" the Democrats are using to block the vote and said they're actually breaking the law.
"With Texas law, they can be compelled to attend," said Cloud. " You know the old movies where you see the lawbreaker running for the border so they don't get caught by law enforcement in their state? That's exactly what's happening here."
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden on Tuesday slammed states that have passed or are considering new voting laws in the wake of the 2020 election, calling the push a "21st century Jim Crow assault," and Cloud accused him of insulting civil rights leaders.
"That's an insult to the legacy of Martin Luther King and all those who worked to make the advancements that we have for certain in our nation," said Cloud. "These laws, at least in Texas are very sensible laws...this is about one ballot for one person, making sure that it's easy to vote and that it's hard to cheat. That's what every American wants. We want confidence in our election system."
Further, it is sensible to require an ID to vote, as identification is required for almost everything in daily American life.
"This is not a burden to being part of a free society," he said. "This is just simple due diligence."
Meanwhile, Abbott has vowed to complete the construction of the border wall, and Cloud said that is essential to protecting the United States
"The wall gets all the attention, but the wall has sensors in it," said Cloud.
"That's the roads that go along the wall. It's the lights along the wall...the policies that have been put in place over the last few months have been tragic for our nation and for the communities along the border...this is a federal issue. We should be funding border security. We have funded border security. We need to finish the construction of the wall and the infrastructure that goes along with it. But you know, it's great to see states standing up to help Texas, to help our nation, and push back against this Biden disaster."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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