Texas Democrats Commit Major Blunder, Tough Immigration Law Could get Passed

The Texas state legislative session, which only takes place every other year, was supposed to end with the Memorial Day holiday. Technically, it did but a Democrat State Senator named Wendy Davis (Fort Worth) filibustered an education spending bill that could not be left unresolved. Failure to address the bill's passage would cause the withholding of $37 Billion to public schools. This prompted Governor Rick Perry to call a special session as soon as the regular one ended.

Apparently lost on Davis is that by filibustering that school spending bill, she gave the Republicans a golden opportunity to not only pass THAT bill but to add others to the agenda. The chances of one such bill passing - the Sanctuary Cities Bill - dramatically improved as a direct result of Davis' ill-advised tactic. The Bill has already been filed for Special Session. The decision to allow it to go to the floor - where it will almost certainly pass - rests solely with Governor Rick Perry. The governor is in a position where there is NO wiggle room. He either supports tough immigration enforcement or he doesn't.

Via Texas Tribune:

A bill that seeks to ban “sanctuary cities” in Texas has been filed for the special session of the Legislature that began today.

State Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, filed House Bill 9, a bill that would prohibit local entities from enacting policies that prohibits law enforcement from inquiring into the immigration status of a person lawfully detained or arrested.

Gov. Rick Perry called a special session of the Legislature immediately after learning Monday that the Texas Senate would not pass a bill essential to balancing the 2012-13 budget. His original proclamation did not include sanctuary cities legislation, which he designated as an emergency item during the regular session and was the only one in the category to not make it to his desk for a signature. But the governor is free to add what he wants as the session continues.

Though the Texas Republicans were able to pass a voter ID Bill in the regular session, the Sanctuary Cities Bill was killed by Senate Democrats. However, in the special session, super majorities are NOT required to pass bills so passage of this tough immigration Bill is virtually all but assured if Perry gives it the green light. It has become very apparent that the Democrats, led by Senator Davis, committed a MAJOR BLUNDER.

Davis said the funding would short-change public schools and said after Perry’s press conference she was supported by her fellow Democrats in her efforts to continue debating education funding. Those same Democrats successfully killed HB 12, Solomons’ original bill in the regular session, after voting against bringing the bill up for consideration. During a special session, however, different rules apply — a simple majority is needed to consider and pass bills, eliminating the Democrats' ability to prevent a bill from coming up for debate. Asked today if Democratic support of her filibuster would wane if Perry did in fact make the sanctuary cities bill a part of the summer session, she said the governor hinted he was going to do it anyway. Perry had indicated before the filibuster that he would likely call a special session to address the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and, possibly, congressional redistricting.

Talk about a golden opportunity for sweet justice. This is what can happen when ideologues allow pride and partisanship to cloud their judgment. Perry's political consultants and gurus may tell him this issue is too radioactive for him to touch if he has presidential aspirations. In reality, the exact opposite is true.

More here.