Texas State Senate Republican's Cheating in order to Pass SB 5 on Abortion FAILS!

One thing learned from last night's live stream of the Texas Senate was that the rebranding effort by the Republican Party is an abject failure.

Two groups lost last night in the Texas fiasco on State Senate bill 5 which was a draconian anti-abortion bill.  The bill would have hurt women's access to healthcare and taken the choice away from a woman and her doctor.

First group of losers was Texas Hard Right Republicans in the Senate led by Governor Perry and Lt Governor Dewhurst who attempted to cheat to get the bill passed.   

The second group was the Mainstream Media and Cable News who ignored what was happening in Texas last night.  Twitter had it all with almost second by second updates and links to watch on line.  We watched the numbers grow of people viewing on-line until it was around 200,000 as the special session ended at midnight.  

Last night I was watching the Texas State Senate break the rules to try and pass an abortion bill  including time stamping the vote by taking it back even though almost 200,000 were watching everything unfold on-line at midnight when the special session officially ended.   During the talking filibuster by State Senator Wendy Davis, I was reminded of how lame the filibusters are in the US Senate today.  Wendy Davis showed the Country how it is done yesterday by filibustering for 11 hours.

State Senator Wendy Davis

Was struck by Lt Governor Dewhurst IMHO illegally stopping the talking filibuster by Senator Wendy Davis with lame reasoning which was flawed but then have come to expect that from Texas Republicans.

The crowd of demonstrators in the capitol cried "Shame! Shame!" when Davis' filibuster was halted by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who ruled that her discussion of mandatory ultrasound testing was off-topic. Then the protesters roared after state Sen. Leticia Van De Putte asked, "At what point must a female senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over her male colleagues?”

Was appalled that Dewhurst would even pull such a stunt.  Actually was dumb enough to think he was more honest and had more integrity then Ted Cruz, his opponent in the TX Senate race.  I was dead wrong as Dewhurst has the integrity of a gnat.  The protesters voices sent chills up my spine until they sang "The Eyes of Texas" from UT and this Sooner turned off the feed.  There are certain things I don't want streaming into my home and that is one of them.

Their cries continued to echo inside the chamber -- and over a livestream watched by thousands around the world -- until after the midnight deadline passed. 

Although some Republican lawmakers later claimed the bill had passed in time, Democrats denied that the vote was completed before the clock ran out on the session. 

A time stamp showing the vote completed after midnight was the deciding factor. “This will not become law,” Sen. John Whitmire (D), told The Austin American-Statesman.

This special session of the Texas Legislature called by Governor Perry for the purpose of passing  Abortion Senate Bill 5 failed in the end because it was passed after midnight even though Dewhurst announced it had passed and someone tried to backdate the bill.  The people watching knew differently that it passed after midnight and was not a legal bill.  TX State Senator Wendy Davis filibustered the bill for over 11 hours and is owed a debt of gratitude by women around the Country.  As for the hard right Texas Legislature with zero common sense, they will be going down in history as handing the State of Texas to the Democrats in the future IMHO.

According to The Texas Tribune, Dewhurst was less than pleased by the evening's turn of events. After ruling that the time on SB 5 had expired, he told reporters that "an unruly mob using Occupy Wall Street tactics" had derailed legislation that was designed to protect women and babies. 

The legislation would have prohibited abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, regulated first-trimester abortion clinics as ambulatory surgical centers and restricted access to medication abortions. Had it passed, nearly all of the clinics in the state would have been shuttered. 

Dewhurst also hinted that Gov. Rick Perry may call another special session to get the bill passed, saying: "It's over. It's been fun. But see you soon." 

Despite a long day of filibustering, Davis was upbeat when she greeted the crowd of supporters, who applauded the senator and chanted her name. 

"Today was democracy in action,” Davis said. “You all are the voices we were speaking for from the floor.”

In polling, the vast majority of Texans were opposed to this bill but that didn't stop Governor Perry and his hard right legislature from wasting taxpayer money on a special session on a social issue.  Still think all these draconian abortion bills being passed in the States are going to eventually get overturned.  Sick and tired of a bunch of white guys sitting around determine what a woman can and cannot do with her own body.

Most Texas residents don’t support Senate Bill 5, the omnibus anti-abortion bill currently advancing in the legislature, according to a new bipartisan poll. In fact, 80 percent of Texans don’t want their lawmakers to be considering abortion-related bills during the special session that Gov. Rick Perry (R) convened at the beginning of the month.

Was Governor Perry brandishing his pro-life credentials for another run at the Presidency?  Is this what this was all about as it turned into epic failure?

Several months ago I agreed with speculation that Texas was going to turn blue in ten years but after last night, I think Texas turning blue is getting closer.  In years to come you can probably point to last night as the tipping point when women along with a lot of men realize just how bad having social conservatives in charge of your state really is.  Texas Legislature makes Oklahoma's look good which didn't think was possible.  Seems Texas Legislature is vying with North Carolina for the most hard right in the Country.

Can someone tell me why a business would want to move to Texas now and be subject to such an out of control Governor and legislature?