Sunday, June 30, 2013

TEXAS FIGHT, TEXAS FIGHT





Tuesday night was a momentous occasion. State Senator Wendy Davis (D, SD-10) successfully filibustered the large anti-abortion omnibus bill that would have closed down all but 5 of such clinics in the state of Texas. Somewhere between 800-1300 activists from across the state stormed the Capitol to do what they could to help the small minority of Senate Democrats to stall passage of the bill over the last several days in order to not allow the bill to pass before the end of the first special session of the 83rd Legislature or 83(1).

Last week a hearing was held in a House committee room to discuss testimony on why this bill should or should not pass. The majority of the testimony was against this bill, but the committee was having none of it. At one point, State Rep. Byron Cook (R, HD-8) said "The testimony has been impassioned, but it has become repetitive, so I am going to only allow another hour of testimony on this bill." The bill passed committee in the wee hours of 21 June.

Over that weekend, House Democrats did everything they could to stall the passage of the bill out the house. The longer they stalled, the shorter amount of time it had in the State Senate where even though Republicans control a majority (19-12), it is not a super-majority. Democrats were introducing various Points of Orders (POO or PoO for short on twitter) and various amendments to at least minimize the damage that this bill could do. State Rep. Mary Gonzalez (D, HD-75) pointed out that this bill would harm the women in her El Paso district because if the bill had passed the nearest reproductive services clinic within the state would be in San Antonio, a 550 mile drive that can be done in 8 hours and stretches two time zones (El Paso is in the Mountain Time Zone, while the rest of the state is in the Central Time Zone).

The best part of the House debate came from State Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R, HD-89) where she said this:


In case you missed it, here it is again:
If a woman is raped… We have hospital emergency rooms. We have funded what’s called rape kits that will help the woman, basically clean her out. And then hopefully that will alleviate that.
And this is one of the many reasons why Texas cannot have nice things.

Laubenberg sits on the House Public Health Committee and is the chair for the state's chapter of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is a conservative-right leaning organization that is responsible for pushing things like Florida's Stand Your Ground gun legislation (which has received considerable attention in the media in the Trayvon Martin murder and associated George Zimmerman trial), various voter-identification bills, and Wisconsin's union stripping bills.

I've seen many episodes of Law and Order: SVU and I don't think rape kits work that way.

But let's ask an organization that is dedicated to sexual assault victim's advocacy on the topic. The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) explains that the purpose of rape kits is to collect evidence, not to perform the procedure that Rep. Laubenberg thinks they do.

The anti-abortion omnibus bill, HB 60, passed the House on 21 June 2013 by a vote of 97-33 and was on its way to the Senate as SB 5.

The fight was on.

At 11:18 AM (CT) on Tuesday, State Senator Wendy Davis (D, SD-10) took to the State Senate floor to filibuster the bill.



Texas filibuster rules are different than the ones at the US Senate. For one, you actually have to speak and hold the floor. So, yeah... take that US Senate GOP.

You cannot leave the chamber for anything (yup, you better have a strong bladder). No eating or drinking.

The filibusterer can decide whether he (or in this case she) will take questions. Once the question is asked, the floor is returned to the filibusterer.

Most importantly, you have to stay on topic. No reading from the phone book, quoting scripture, reciting Lady Gaga lyrics, or reading twitter feeds. You have stay on point or you are issued a warning/strike. After 3 strikes, a vote is held to end the filibuster and all that is needed is a simple majority.

Davis read the testimony that did not have the opportunity to be heard at the House committee hearing. Folks were able to contribute additional testimony to her speech. Even though I am not physically able to have children as a biological male, I stated my opposition to this bill being considered because we have other issues to worry about.

A recent bipartisan poll via Progress Texas shows that a overwhelming majority, 80%, DOES NOT SUPPORT The Lege taking up these bills during the special session. 63% of Texas VOTERS think that this state has enough abortion restrictions and 71% believes that The Lege should be focusing on the economy and jobs.

Here is another telling statistic: 34% trust the Governor and The Lege to make decisions about women's health.

I'm surprised it is that high.

During the filibuster, Republicans attempted to end Davis's speech. The first strike was over germaneness, which means is she staying on topic or ranting on (like a CERTAIN person we know...). The Republicans were challenging over whether discussing Planned Parenthood's Budget was relevant to the topic. I think it is since the Republicans are tirelessly trying to defund the program. Especially around the false claim that all that Planned Parenthood does is abortion.

You might want to look at what a majority of Planned Parenthood does. 35% is STD Testing and Treatment, another 35% contraception, one-sixth is cancer screening and Prevention, and the final tenth is other women's health services.

Only 3% is abortion services.

And no federal dollars goes towards abortion except in cases of rape and incest. That was in an amendment passed and added to a larger bill in 1976. It's called the Hyde Amendment and was passed in response to Roe v. Wade (1973). I once had a state representative, Myra Crownover, who was unable to explain what it was.

The second strike came early in the evening over Davis's Democratic colleagues were adjusting her back brace. Maybe a little ticky-tacky, but if you're following the letter of the law, ok fine. I'll give them that one.


That did follow with some passionate debate over about the traditions of the chamber and how close the members are. Remember, there are only 31 members that sit in the Texas Legislature and that is out of a population of over 26 million people.

The final strike happened because Davis was talking about the Sonogram Bill than passed in the 82nd session. If you are unfamiliar with Texas politics, the last session was the passage of the controversial sonogram bill where if you want to have an abortion in Texas you have an ultrasound within 24 hours of the procedure. The Texas Observer has a heart wrenching story about a family enduring the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy due to a sudden medical problem occurring. Before I post the link, I must warn that it might be a trigger for some. Here is that story.

Davis failed to yield to a question from Senators Jane Nelson (R, SD-12) and Donna Campbell (R, SD-25). I suspect it was because earlier Nelson was reportedly laughing and joking with other senators on the floor while security in the gallery were asking observers to refrain from making noise. The only noise from early in the event was from a "pro-lifer" who was ranting about how those who were against SB 5 were sodomites.

Senator Campbell successfully challenged the germaneness of the topic (which it was on topic) and the filibuster was over at 10:07 PM (CT).

If you are wondering, Senator Campbell was voted one of the worst legislators during the 83rd regular session per Texas Tribune readers. Yes, she was voted WORST than Stickland. She ran against Lloyd Doggett in 2010 and she hold board specialties in ophthalmology and emergency medicine. Senator Campbell is a supporter of the "fetal pain bill" (considering she is an eye doctor) and restricting voting rights.

Most importantly... she is up for re-election in 2014.

Anyways...

With the filibuster ending, all hell broke loose in the State Senate.


There was one item to the Democrats' advantage was the clock. There was less than 2 hours left and they did everything they could to stall the vote on SB 5.

There was one ace in the hole: Senator Leticia Van de Putte (D, SD-26), the Senate President Pro Tem.

Senator Van de Putte was back in her home town of San Antonio attending her father's funeral. He was present when Senator Van de Putte was named Governor-for-a-Day on 4 May 2013. This has been a difficult session for the Senator as she had to also bury her 6 month grandson. In the Texas Monthly's profile of Van de Putte as one of the Best Senators, the article pointed out the Senator's willingness to persevere through difficult times with this observation:
The session ended in tragedy for Van de Putte, when her infant grandson died unexpectedly in early May. The news was heartbreaking, and her grief understandably overshadowed much of her work. Still, she carried on, a diligent lawmaker intent on making incremental progress.
After many points of orders that took the clock to 11:45 PM (CT), Senator Van de Putte asked a question:


Can you say that the microphone was effectively dropped?

The chamber ERUPTED in applause and cheers. I was cheering here at the Watts News Network global headquarters.

The cheers went on for 15 minutes. The clock stuck midnight and the first special session of the 83rd was over. SB 5 was dead.

Or was it...?

CBS and the AP was reporting that the bill did pass. There were reports that the bill passed 17-10 or 19-11, something like that. Those reports were later found to be incorrect.

There was one problem... the timestamps.

Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D, SD-20) shows that SOMEONE altered the timestamps.



Isn't falsifying official documents a FELONY?

Finally at 2:45 AM (CT), Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst finally conceded what everyone knew: the bill was dead.



The crowd in the capitol rotunda erupted in cheers.

This event has vaulted Wendy Davis into the national spotlight. There are talks among Texas Democrats that she could run for governor in 2014. Leticia van de Putte was featured on 2 MSNBC programs on Thursday (Now with Alex Wagner and All in With Chris Hayes). Folks are realizing that yes, there are Democratic-Progressive-Liberal minded folks in Texas. They aren't just concentrated in Austin. A lot the people that witnessed this event came from out of town. I know some people that drove from Denton to witness this. If I didn't have a test on Thursday, I so would have gone down there.

Over 180,000 people were watching the filibuster live on line. Many were following on twitter. Over a quarter of the #StandWithWendy tweets came from Texas.

Here are some other stats and figures about the social media awareness during the filibuster.



And perhaps, I contributed to that pink blob that was on the DFW Metroplex.









So.... it's over right...?

No

Governor Perry hours after the first session ended called for a second special session. Yes, he also put on the agenda to pass a transportation funding bill and juvenile justice measure, but we know WHY he is calling this.

Yup. Abortion.

Senator Dan Patrick (R, SD-7) re-filed the anti-abortion omnibus bill in the Senate as SB 2 and SB 9. Patrick is also the former ESPN Sportscenter host who was teamed with Keith Olbermann during the program's high point in the 1990s recently announced his intention to challenge David Dewhurst for Lt. Gov. in 2014.

I am going to repeat what I said in a post looking back the 83rd Regular Session.

This special session is nothing more than an opportunity for the very vocal minority of Tea Party Republicans to push forward their agenda and to prevent some legislators from seeing a formidable primary challenger in 2014. State level Republicans know they are going to get hammered on issues such as the budget and not pushing enough of an extreme agenda by their base. Governor Perry knows this too as he is weighing his options on whether he will run for re-election next year. The latest polling shows that the governor is the favorite to win the Republican nomination over Attorney General Greg Abbott who has expressed some interest in the race though there is sentiment among Republicans that it's time for Perry to step out of the spotlight.

The special session should be utilized to focus on the tangible and real issues such as repairing our roads, participating in Medicaid expansion, solving our water issues, improving voter turnout, and other problems that exists with the budget.

What the Texas Legislature is involved in is nothing more than political gamesmanship.

Also me to add on to this.

This special session is nothing more than Republican hypocrisy and arrogance on display. If you listen to Republicans within the DC Beltway they mention about rebranding the party, but here in Texas and other places where the Republicans control the legislative and executive branches at the state level it is, as Senator Davis put it when the first special session was called:



And she is correct.

Republicans claim to be the party of limited government and no regulations but is doing the complete opposite with this bill. They are refusing to listen to the people who are experts in this field. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and American Medical Association (AMA) have stated STRONG opposition to this bill stating that these proposals are NOT based on sound science, they weakens the standards for care, it threatens the doctor-patient relationship, and creates over-reaching requirements for abortion facilities.

In a statement by Lisa Hollier, MD, MPH, FACOG, and Texas-ACOG Chair: "The regulations set forth [in the Texas bill] require additional standards that are not necessary. The regulations are much more stringent than for other surgical procedures at similar risk, such as a colonoscopy."

Also, if they wish to limit the number of abortions and unwanted pregnancies, maybe it is time to ditch this idea of abstinence only education and start embracing comprehensive AGE APPROPRIATE sex education that is based around that thing called oh, I don't know... FACTS.

Yes, Governor Perry will tell you that abstinence works, but the data says otherwise. Texas has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates. Clearly something is NOT working.

Republicans say that they are the party of fiscal responsibility. This second special session is estimated to cost the tax payers $800K. If the session goes the full 30 days, it could run a bill of $1.6 million. And this speaks about Texas Republican's arrogance. Again, 800-1300 people showed up in Austin from all across the state to protest this. Again, 80% of Texans do not support using the special session to push this bill. 63% feel that the state has enough abortion restrictions. 71% feels that The Lege should be focusing on the economy and jobs.

Letters From Texas writer Harold Cook points out what has already been stated: It is about satisfying the six percent of voters who will participate in next year's Republican Primary Elections here in Texas.

The Lege starts its second special session on Monday. There is a planned rally against these anti-abortion bills.

Texas Fight is on because for the first time in a while...


The Eyes of Texas Are Upon The Lege.


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