Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

The Eyes of Us Are Upon Texas (UPDATED: #sb5isdead)

And what are we looking at?

This, happening right now at the state capitol in Austin:

It is a People’s Filibuster and it is gaining momentum.

Liveblog from Texas Tribune

The clock is ticking for the legislation. To reach Gov. Rick Perry’s desk for final approval, the measure must be approved in the House and Senate before the special session comes to a close Tuesday. Opponents of the legislation hope to delay the proceedings long enough to stymie its passage.

Andrea Grimes: An Open Letter to Anyone Ready to Write Off Texas: Don’t, Because it’s Your Future at Stake

Right now, I’m sitting in the Texas State Capitol’s house gallery, surrounded by hundreds of Texans wearing orange shirts in support of reproductive rights, here to protest an omnibus anti-choice bill that would shut down all but five abortion clinics in the state, ban abortions after 20 weeks, and make medical abortions all but impossible to prescribe or obtain legally.[…]

Texas is not a throw-away state full of throw-away people who can be shrugged off with a contemptuous, “Well, what do you expect?” Texas is not an outlier. Texas is a test case for right-wingers with their eyes on the coasts and, as Congress showed this week, Washington, D.C.

~

Tweeted by Cecile Richards:

@CecileRichards: #TXlege fighting #SB5 & standing up for women’s rights while a familiar face looks on…

Stand in solidarity with Texas women:

Follow on Twitter:

Texas Democratic Party

BattleGround Texas


57 comments

  1. Actually being against reproductive rights is not just anti-women but anti-family.

    Women vote … motivated women work to get others to vote. And when we vote, we win.  

  2. kirbybruno

    I am just now trying to catch up on news and what is going on in the world. Besides Snowden and Paula Deen.  

  3. GlenThePlumber

    now I know of what they spoke…totally awesome..!!

    a fellow Dream Mender met with Jeremy Bird yesterday…they will be bringing him to Texas to help…he is a genus on micro-targeting and getting minorities involved…he was very excited.

  4. anotherdemocrat

    I was stupid & skipped lunch – had to leave at 4 because I was starting to feel bad.

    Anyway, while I was there it was all parliamentary maneuvering, but from my Twitter feed it looks like we’ve gone on to a real fight.

    Here’s the line waiting to get in before they opened. Went all the way around the rotunda & halfway back around.

     photo 0d71a34d-f3ac-4afc-aa87-d50c56cf54d7_zps4a7cadd6.jpg

  5. anotherdemocrat

    Jason Stanford ‏@JasStanford 59s

    By a vote of of 86-51, Texas Republicans came out as pro-rape tonight. To be fair, they also came down on the side of incest.

  6. Texas Abortion Bill: Republican Lawmakers Approve Tough New Restrictions

    Republicans used their majority to cut short debate and give preliminary approval early Monday to some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country as time was running out on the Texas Legislature’s special session.

    Democrats gained strength from more than 800 demonstrators who packed the hallways of the Capitol carrying signs reading, “Stop the War on Women,” to oppose Senate Bill 5. The measure would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and limit abortions to surgical centers.

    Supporters say the bill will raise the standard of women’s health care. Opponents say the bill would shut down 37 out of 42 abortion clinics in the state.

    House members must still give final approval to the bill, and then it must sit for 24 hours before the Senate can consider it.

  7. Diana in NoVa

    Those jerks can pass the legislation, but how can it be enforced in view of Roe?

    Hope this motivates Texas women to vote Democratic in the next election.

    I HATE this war on women! Everyone is a person except a woman.  Embryos are people. Zygotes are people. Fetuses are people.  But women are not.  We have no rights.

  8. anotherdemocrat

    he is a passionate pro-choice advocate, pro-GLBTQ activist… just all around a great guy. Also a Presbyterian minister with the eloquence of… well, he has mad me cry at more that 1 rally. Here’s what he says about yesterday

    http://www.jimrigby.org/an-ope

  9. nomandates

    I was traveling yesterday, and then I stayed up until 3:30am watching the livestream and my twitter feed as our Democrats presented amendment after amendment to this awful omnibus abortion bill.

    Debate on the third and final reading in the House has already begun this morning. Our House Democrats have to drag this out as long as possible so that our Senate Democrats won’t have to filibuster for two days instead of just one.

    Thank you to all of the Moose who are standing with us.

  10. anotherdemocrat

    Katherine ‏@KathTX 2m RT @chucklindell Texas House gives final passage to abortion bill, 95-34. It heads next to the Senate after 24-hour wait. #txlege #sb5

  11. wordsinthewind

    my state senator’s district office and described in plain words how monstrous I find this war men are waging against women and asked that my senator vote against this bill. Not hardly since he’s hard right but his staffer was shocked at just how sincerely I felt it was against me and every other woman in the state. He is a politician and he does want to be re-elected so that is the most convincing argument I had.  

  12. anotherdemocrat

    read the bottom one 1st

    Jack DeLapp ‏@jackdelapp  Real #classy MT @BlakeRocap Quote from Sen Hancock to GOP Reps “We have to get our people here so we can get this done during the funeral”Retweeted by Katherine

    ClinicEscort ‏@ClinicEscort  Now word is Sen Van de Putte is LEAVING HER DAD’S FUNERAL to stop TXGOP ramming #SB5 through. I have to log off-I literally can’t. #txlege

  13. nomandates

    They forced Democratic Sen Van de Putte to leave funeral services for her father to get back and be sure they had enough votes to stop the rules suspension that the TX GOP was trying to pull off.

    Some folks think that’s it til 11:00am or so tomorrow, but Sen Watson got clarification that Sen Hegar can make another motion to suspend the rules between now and then.

  14. wordsinthewind

    it has escapted notice that our Lege has punted redistricting to the San Antonio court pending the outcome of the VRA decision. Seriously, the stated purpose of a special session was redistricting which the Lege did not accomplish during its regular session. Perry added in the opportunity to revisit abortion after the session started so those poor Rs could try again under easier rules the bills they failed to pass during the regular. But redistricting wasn’t really addressed at all and the S A court is also marking time until a decision is announced. It’s some kind of career path for appellate lawyers apparently, it grinds on like Jarndyce v Jarndyce. There are regular calls for briefs, proposed maps and procedural stuff to keep the wheels steadily grinding but it’s all pro forma to keep everyone gainfully employed.  

  15. Texas Senate Dems Plan Thirteen-Hour Filibuster To Kill Anti-Abortion Bill

    A sweeping bill that would effectively shut down most abortion clinics across the nation’s second most-populous state has stalled in the Texas Senate – and a Democratic filibuster that will only need to last a seemingly manageable 13 hours Tuesday looks like it will be enough to talk the hotly contested measure to death.

    After thwarting two attempts Monday by majority Republicans to bring the abortion bill to a floor vote ahead of its scheduled time Tuesday morning, Democrats are turning to Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, to stage the marathon speech.

    Apparently, Senator Davis had a filibuster at the end of the 2011 session to thwart plans to cut education funds.

    The rules:

    She will have to speak nonstop, remain standing, refrain from bathroom breaks or even leaning on anything. Other Democrats can give her voice a break by offering questions to keep conversation moving.

  16. See nomandates diary: Stand with Texas Women

    Texas abortion bill defeated after missing deadline


    . Wendy Davis stages 11-hour filibuster to block bill

    . Vote derailed by unruly mob, says lieutenant governor

    A controversial abortion bill, which would have severely restricted access to abortion in Texas, has been defeated after a day of political drama and confusion that saw a marathon filibuster speech, procedural wranglings and a loud public protest fanned by nationwide support on social media.

    David Dewhurst, the Texas lieutenant governor, acknowledged that he had missed the midnight deadline to sign the bill, which Democrats had spent most of the day trying to block.

    Dewhurst told reporters the 19-10 vote was in time, but “with all the ruckus and noise going on, I couldn’t sign the bill”. He blamed the delay on “an unruly mob using Occupy Wall Street tactics”, according to the Austin American-Statesman, and denied mishandling the debate.

    “I didn’t lose control [of the chamber]. We had an unruly mob,” Dewhurst said. He then hinted that Governor Rick Perry might immediately call another special session, adding: “It’s over. It’s been fun. But see you soon.”

    🙂

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