Politicians on Wheels

 

Garnet Coleman stayed behind

TRIUMPH OVER TRAGEDY TOO

Since Coleman is in a wheelchair and recovering from the amputation of the lower right leg, shouldn't he be excused from attendance, and enjoy immunity from arrest for state house special-session absenteeism? On the other hand, Governor Abbott has been rolling to and from work and speaking engagements around the state for decades (since 1984), so perhaps this gubernantorial precedent for the proposition that a wheelchair is no barrier to mobility would provide a rationale for rounding up disabled lawmakers of the opposition party. 

“As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done,” Abbott said of absent Democratic House members who left the state for Washington.  

PS: The Tribune is still talking about the Democrats "fleeing" the state. Flight alright, from to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) to Dulles International Airport (AID), but fleeing?

REFERENCES 

Jolie McCullough, Surgery kept one longtime Democratic lawmaker from fleeing Texas. He fears missing a moment in history more than arrest. Houston state Rep. Garnet Coleman has been at the forefront of voting and social justice battles for decades and helped lead the 2003 flight of Democratic legislators to Oklahoma. Not being with his colleagues who went to Washington, D.C., has been agonizing, he says. TEXAS TRIBUNE 2021-07-19 by BY JOLIE MCCULLOUGH.  

Texas Dems Leave Austin in Effort to Stall GOP-Led Elections Bill. As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott says. NBC DFW 2021-07-12 (updated 2021-07-13) (story contains responses by Texas Republicans).