Thereās something strangely pathetic when members of a partyās state-level legislative conference leave home in order to evade a vote on a piece of legislation they canāt defeat.
This is true whatever party it is. When Wisconsin state Democrats pulled the stunt back in 2011 to avoid a vote on limiting the power of unions, it simply drew attention to the fact they didnāt have the electoral numbers to prevent it any other way.
The same thing was true in 2019 when Oregonās Republicans āfled their state with little more than spare underwear and their passports,āĀ per The New York Timesā semi-mocking coverage of the stunt.
The Times called it right that time. Not surprisingly, you donāt see the same tone used when The Times refers to Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives high-tailing it out of the state.
Even though they used the same Iām-taking-my-ball-and-going-out-of-town tactics to stall a GOP election integrity bill ā decamping to Washington, D.C., in order to deny Republicans a quorum in their stateās lower house ā the Democrats are being treated as conquering heroes by the establishment media.
If you needed a reminder just how pitiful this all was, however, allow Houston-area Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu to provide it.
On Tuesday, having fled the Lone Star State with his comrades, Wu tweeted a picture of a Caesar salad along with a Coca-Cola Zero. āMy fist meal as a fugitive,ā he wrote. āDelicious.ā
Wuās āfugitiveā status has to do with the fact that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has promised that the Democrats who fled the state will be arrested when they return and forced to carry out their elected duties and vote on the legislation.
Thatās not exactly Dr. Richard Kimble stuff there, particularly since the āfugitiveā TexasDemocrats escaped their state aboard a party bus that took them to a private jet.
Imagine being so clueless you self-mythologize over your own escape from the state in the lap of luxury, a private plane no less, all to avoid passage of a bill that will help Texasprevent election fraud.
In a second tweet, Wu assumed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is actually guilty of a crime.
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While Paxton is the subject of an investigation by the FBI involving claims he illegally helped a donor, according to The Associated Press, Paxton hasnāt even been charged with anything, much less convicted.
Apparently, state politicians can dispense with such formalities as constitutionally guaranteed due process of law and the presumption of innocence.
āNow I have an idea what AG Ken Paxton must feel like every day ⦠itās not bad,ā Wu wrote. āNo wonder he keeps committing more crimes.ā
Maybe Wu just doesnāt put too much thought into his Twitter posts. Misspelling āfirstā as āfistā certainly gives that impression. Maybe he just didnāt realize or care how ridiculous this sounded.
And thatās what conservative Twitter is there for.
If you wanted a more serious take on this, the Manhattan Instituteās Brian Reidl pointed out the absurdity of Texasā āfugitiveā Democrats treating themselves as if they were civil rights icons for blocking the election integrity legislation.
āThe ālook at me!ā narcissism and bravery-on-the-cheap is so cringeworthy,ā Reidl wrote in a Twitter post. āYou are elected officials ditching the state and refusing to go to work. That is all. Stop acting like you are civil rights activists courageously marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Grow up.ā
Wu is hardly alone in this publicity and fundraising grift, although heās the worst thus far by a relatively sizable margin.
Consider this tweet he published after arriving in the nationās capital.
I bet George Clooney could have walked right by and nobody would have noticed until Amal asked Wu for an autograph.
And in case youāve forgotten what this is all about, allow Wu to remind you:
One would hope the backlash against Wuās tweets must have taught his cohort something.
Surely the rest of the Democratic delegation from the Texas House has a bit more self-awareness now and realizes not to engage in this kind of tone-deaf puffery.
Or not.
Pathetic is really the only word for it.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
