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After two weeks of hiding in deep blue states like Illinois and California, Gene Wu and the other Texas House Democrats have finally returned to work in Austin and reestablished a quorum. What results can we expect to see from these Democratic delay tactics?
Grassroots activists and even GOP party officials are demanding that the results be the punishment of quorum breakers. Dr. Bobby Eberle, chairman of the Fort Bend County GOP, said, "Chairmanships should be revoked, they should be removed from committees—I mean basic stuff like this that you see happen in Washington."
Eberle went on to warn that if the Republican leadership in the Texas House or state government fails to punish the quorum breakers, there could be consequences for Republicans, saying, "It does tremendous damage to the Republican brand if we lambaste Democrats but then don't do anything to punish them."
The strictest punishment these Democrats could face would be for their seats in the legislature to be declared vacant. Unfortunately for Republicans, that would likely require action from the Texas Supreme Court, which will take at least another month, assuming they don't dismiss the petition to remove the quorum breakers from office.
Eberle says even if they aren't removed from office, they should at least be kicked out of their committees and stripped of their chairmanships.