Things Have Progressed from Bad to Worse for Texas Leftists Who Fled to Stop Redistricting

The cost for Texas Leftists abandoning their seats has risen exponentially.

State House Speaker Dustin Burrows has ordered all direct deposits be stopped for any member absent for the express purpose of denying a quorum.

This from redstate.com.

IL Gov. JB Pritzker with some of the Texas “AWOL gang.”

No work, no pay. The money flow has been stopped to those who fled to Illinois and other blue states to prevent the Republican super majority from redistricting the state.

As RedState reported, this battle has been ongoing since early August. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) called for a special session to add up to five GOP-leaning seats to the congressional map, a move to combat gerrymandering in left-wing states like Illinois, New York, California, Maryland, and Massachusetts. As a percentage of the total vote, all of those states give fewer seats to Republicans than Texas has been giving to the Left.

Naturally, a national freakout ensued, with Gov. JB Pritzker (C/G-IL) helping facilitate the “AWOL gang” who abandoned their duties in Texas. That is especially ironic given Illinois is arguably the most gerrymandered state in the country. Meanwhile, one communist/globalist compared this redistricting fight to the Holocaust, because that is what the extreme Left does when they lack any sound points to argue.

In the aftermath, Texas Republicans moved to fine the derelict members for each day they remain absent. Arrest warrants were also approved by the legislature, with Abbott authorizing the Texas Department of Public Safety to enforce them.

But this is where things become complicated. A state law enforcement agency cannot roll into Chicago and start slapping handcuffs on the Leftists in question. That will have to wait until they decide to cross back into their home state, at which point they can be arrested and taken involuntarily to the state capitol to provide a quorum. In the meantime, the most effective strategy to break this gambit will be financial pressure.

Many of the “AWOL” legislators are not independently wealthy, and when the paychecks stop coming, they are going to soon feel the squeeze. Couple that with what will eventually be tens of thousands of dollars in fines, and suddenly it is a real question how long they can hold out. Because Gov. Abbott can call a new special session every 30 days, he can conceivably exile the “AWOL” legislators indefinitely until they decide to give in. Do they want to live in hotels, away from their families, and without pay for the next six months over a battle they cannot win?