On Monday and Tuesday, the network morning shows were thrilled that Democrats in the Texas state legislature pulled a political stunt to temporarily prevent passage of a Republican election reform law, hailing the “dramatic” move as a “last stand” by left-wing lawmakers “vowing to fight on.” The Democratic Party shills on ABC, NBC, and CBS also parroted nasty remarks from President Biden tarring the legislation as an “un-American” “assault on democracy.”
“Voting rights showdown. Texas Governor Greg Abbott vows to push through one of the most restrictive voting bills in the country and suspend lawmakers’ pay after Democrats in the state senate staged a walkout to block the bill from passing,” ABC’s Good Morning America co-host and previous Clinton White House hack George Stephanopoulos proclaimed at the top of the show Tuesday morning.
Starting off the report minutes later, correspondent Rachel Scott framed the petulant Democrats as heroes:
Texas Governor Greg Abbott only digging in this morning after this unexpected last stand by Democrats. They were outnumbered, so they decided to use the one tool that they had left, they decided to walk out of the chamber. They left it so empty there were not enough members to even have a vote.
She warned that “the bill that they were protesting would significantly restrict voter access” and proceeded to list the modest changes: “It would ban drive-through voting, restrict mail-in ballots, adding a new voter ID requirement, and pushes back early voting hours on Sunday, a time when we know black residents head to the polls after leaving church.”
After the taped portion of the segment, Stephanopoulos fretted that Texas was “one of just many states that is actually targeting voting.” Scott sympathized:
Yeah, George, 14 states have now passed these bills further restricting voting access. President Joe Biden has called this un-American, he’s calling on Congress to act, but any voting rights legislation faces a very significant uphill challenge here in the Senate. They need at least ten Republicans on board...
Stephanopoulos lamented: “Yeah, they don’t have the 60 votes.”
On NBC’s Today show Tuesday, co-host Craig Melvin imagined the Texas GOP was reeling: “In Texas this morning, Republicans are regrouping after that dramatic walk-out by Democrats to block the passage of a sweeping and restrictive new voting law.” Seconds later, correspondent Morgan Chesky repeated: “And just a dramatic scene in Austin....this marks a major stumbling block in the national GOP effort to pass sweeping new measures at the ballot box.”
The reporter swooned that “Democrats are vowing to fight on, after blocking a Republican effort to impose sweeping new voting restrictions.” A soundbite followed of Democratic State Representative Rafael Anchia declaring: “We don’t take this stuff lightly. We’re going to fight like hell....we are going to bring our courage.”
Wrapping up the report, Chesky touted Biden hurling attack lines and the “pressure” Democrats were under to rig all future elections in their favor with federal voting legislation like H.R.1:
And President Biden has already publicly denounced the Texas bill, in addition to those in Georgia and Florida, calling them assaults on democracy.....And this puts growing pressure on the President and other top Democrats to counteract this surge of Republican laws to pass federal voter rights legislation that so far is stalled in Washington.
While not covering the topic on Tuesday, on Monday’s CBS This Morning, fill-in co-host Michelle Miller excitedly announced: “Breaking overnight, Democratic lawmakers in Texas stage a dramatic last-minute walk-out to stop Republicans from passing strict new voting laws.”
Minutes later, fellow substitute co-host Jericka Duncan introduced the coverage this way: “Christina Ruffini is at the White House, where President Biden has called the proposed law wrong and un-American.” Keeping the “dramatic” narrative going, Ruffini gushed: “In a dramatic late-night maneuver, Democrats blocked the vote on Texas Senate Bill Seven, just before its midnight deadline.”
All three networks hyped the tantrum by Texas Democrats on Monday morning and Monday evening newscasts, in addition to ABC and NBC continuing the hyperbolic coverage Tuesday morning. The leftist media are always happy to help Democrats resist reasonable Republican policies they don’t like.
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Here is a full transcript of the June 1 report on ABC’s GMA:
7:08 AM ET
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We’re gonna turn now to that voting rights showdown in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott is threatening to block lawmakers’ pay after Democrats blocked one of the most restrictive voting bills in the country by abandoning the House chamber late Sunday night. Rachel Scott has the latest. Good morning, Rachel.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Voting Rights Showdown; Texas Governor Threatens to Push Through Restrictive Bill]
RACHEL SCOTT: George, good morning. Texas Governor Greg Abbott only digging in this morning after this unexpected last stand by Democrats. They were outnumbered, so they decided to use the one tool that they had left, they decided to walk out of the chamber. They left it so empty there were not enough members to even have a vote.
The bill that they were protesting would significantly restrict voter access. It would ban drive-through voting, restrict mail-in ballots, adding a new voter ID requirement, and pushes back early voting hours on Sunday, a time when we know black residents head to the polls after leaving church.
Republicans say this is all about restoring voter confidence after the 2020 election but Democrats are very quick to point out there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud during the November election. Still, you have the governor, he is digging in, he says he will be calling a special session. That could be announced as early as today. He’s even threatening to withhold the pay of the Democrats who walked out, he says they abandoned their responsibility, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But Rachel, Texas, one of just many states that is actually targeting voting.
SCOTT: Yeah, George, 14 states have now passed these bills further restricting voting access. President Joe Biden has called this un-American, he’s calling on Congress to act, but any voting rights legislation faces a very significant uphill challenge here in the Senate. They need at least ten Republicans on board, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yeah, they don’t have the 60 votes. Rachel, thanks very much.
Here is a full transcript of the June 1 report on NBC’s Today:
7:13 AM ET
CRAIG MELVIN: In Texas this morning, Republicans are regrouping after that dramatic walk-out by Democrats to block the passage of a sweeping and restrictive new voting law. NBC’s Morgan Chesky is in Dallas for us this morning. Morgan, good morning.
MORGAN CHESKY: Yeah, Craig, good morning. And just a dramatic scene in Austin. This walk-out by the Texas state Democrats marks only the fourth time in the state’s history that that’s ever been done to stall legislation. And while this very will still could become law, this marks a major stumbling block in the national GOP effort to pass sweeping new measures at the ballot box.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Fallout After Democrats Block Texas Voting Bill]
CHESKY: In Texas this morning, Democrats are vowing to fight on, after blocking a Republican effort to impose sweeping new voting restrictions. Staging a last-minute walk-out from the house chamber Sunday night, preventing legislation that had been widely expected to pass from even coming to go a vote.
STATE REP. RAFAEL ANCHIA [D-TX]: We don’t take this stuff lightly. We’re going to fight like hell. And whether it’s in a regular session or a special session, we are going to bring our courage.
CHESKY: Texas’s Republican governor Greg Abbott threatening to use his veto power to cut off funding to the legislature if Democrats continue to fight the bill, tweeting, “No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities. Stay tuned.” Abbott says he’ll call legislators back for another vote on the bill during a still unscheduled special session. If enacted the Texas voting legislation would end drive-through and 24-hour voting, including prohibiting Sunday voting before 1:00 p.m., which critics say unfairly impacts black voters. It would add proof of identity requirements for absentee voting, and make it easier for a judge to overturn election results even without proof that fraud affected the outcome. Texas Republicans say the bill ensures integrity at the ballot box.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN [REPUBLICAN TEXAS STATE LEGISLATURE MEMBER]: I believe it will serve the people of Texas well.
CHESKY: Still, many Texas officials admit their state’s 2020 elections were secure. Texas has become the centerpiece of the GOP’s effort to tighten voting laws, driven by former President Trump’s false claims that the election he lost was stolen. More than a dozen states now, including Florida, Georgia, and Iowa, have enacted new restrictions on mail and in-person voting, with similar bills in progress in dozens of other states.
And President Biden has already publicly denounced the Texas bill, in addition to those in Georgia and Florida, calling them assaults on democracy. And this puts growing pressure on the President and other top Democrats to counteract this surge of Republican laws to pass federal voter rights legislation that so far is stalled in Washington. Craig?
MELVIN: Morgan Chesky for us there in Dallas. Morgan, thank you.
Here is a full transcript of the May 31 report on CBS This Morning:
7:03 AM ET
ANTHONY MASON: But first, we begin this morning with breaking news overnight from Texas, where Democrats blocked a Republican move to tighten the state’s voting laws by boycotting the final minutes of the legislative session.
JERICKA DUNCAN: Yeah, the sweeping legislation was created after former President Trump’s repeated false claims of voter fraud in 2020. Christina Ruffini is at the White House, where President Biden has called the proposed law wrong and un-American. Christina, what exactly happened in Texas last night?
CHRISTINA RUFFINI: Good morning, Jericka. Well, with the clock ticking down, Democrats got a text message from their caucus leader telling them to leave the chamber, and they did, preventing a quorum Republicans needed to hold the vote and stopping the bill, at least for now.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Texas Dems Block Voting Bill; Lawmakers Stage Walkout, Gov. Abbott Says He’ll Call Special Session]
In a dramatic late-night maneuver, Democrats blocked the vote on Texas Senate Bill Seven, just before its midnight deadline.
STATE REP. CHRIS TURNER [D-TX]: We killed that bill. [Applause]
RUFFINI: And railed against last-minute provisions added to the bill behind closed doors, including making it easier for judges to throw out election results based on the allegation of fraud. The bill is one of the most restrictive in the country. It bans drive-through and 24-hour voting, makes it illegal for counties to send unsolicited absentee ballots, adds new I.D. requirements for those ballots, and limits polling hours, even during early voting, delaying the start until 1:00 p.m. on Sundays, a time that Democrats argue specifically targets after-church voter drives in African-American communities.
TURNER: Souls to the Polls is sacred. Republicans were determined to take that away.
RUFFINI: Meanwhile, drive-through and 24-hour voting, popular with minority communities, were used for the first time last year in Harris County which includes increasingly diverse Houston, where President Biden won by 13 points. Republicans say the legislation is necessary to protect the integrity of the voting system, even though there were no major instances of fraud reported in Texas in the last election.
REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL [R-TX]: This may be more of an optics issue restoring confidence with the American people, and in my state, who actually do believe there was tremendous fraud.
RUFFINI: Optics over evidence. Republicans kept every one of their 23 House seats in 2020, and President Trump won the state with 52% of the vote. Now, Governor Greg Abbott has said this is not over and he will call legislators back for a special session to vote on the bill later this year.
MICHELLE MILLER: A fight for certain in Texas, Christina, thank you.
