“We can’t let a systematic assault on democracy just happen and stand by,” the former president said during a Zoom call with Texas Democrats.
Barack Obama is applauding the Democratic lawmakers in Texas who left the state last week to protest their Republican colleagues’ redistricting plan. The GOP plan is designed to give themselves five extra seats in the U.S. House.
During a Zoom call on Thursday with Texas House Democrats, the former president — who has rarely spoken out while Donald Trump is in office — stressed the dangers of doing nothing. “We can’t let a systematic assault on democracy just happen and stand by,” Obama said.
He continued: “I think we became a little complacent over the years. We assumed things would keep getting better, that our democracy would become more inclusive and fair. That it would become easier to vote instead of harder, and that votes would be counted instead of suppressed.
“And what we forgot is that history doesn’t always move in a straight line. It’s not always two steps forward and another two steps forward. Sometimes it’s two steps forward and a step back.”
Texas Democrats Push Back
Texas House Democrats are expected to return to Austin, the state capital, next week — possibly as soon as Monday — after again denying Republicans quorum at a special session Friday. Earlier, Texas Republicans’ first attempt to push through a new congressional map — which critics say could harm Black and Latino voters’ representation — failed because most Democrats were absent.
One condition for the Democrats’ return is the release of California Democrats’ proposed new map. The national party hopes it will cancel out GOP gains in Texas. On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom officially called for a special election on Nov. 4, so residents can vote on whether to temporarily remove their independent redistricting commission and replace it with a new map for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections.
Last weekend, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned that Democratic lawmakers who fled could be arrested. “If they show back up in the state of Texas, they will be arrested and taken to the Capitol. If they want to evade that arrest, they’re going to have to stay outside of the state of Texas for literally years,” he said on Fox News.
On Tuesday, Obama will lead a fundraiser hosted by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, an organization started by his former attorney general, Eric Holder, in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The event will focus on fighting the Texas GOP’s gerrymandering efforts.
