The Cold, Hard Cash Hanging Over The Texas Redistricting Fight: From The Politics Desk

Welcome to nan online type of From nan Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you nan NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and study from nan White House, Capitol Hill and nan run trail.

In today’s edition, we zero successful connected nan financial facet of nan Texas redistricting fight: nan money Democratic lawmakers are forfeiting to fly nan authorities and nan limits of nan party’s broader fundraising strategy.

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— Adam Wollner

The financial costs of Texas Democrats’ quorum break are adding up

By Ben Kamisar, Natasha Korecki and Adam Edelman

As dozens of Texas authorities House Democrats adjacent nan one-week people of their quorum break, fleeing nan authorities indefinitely to forestall authorities GOP leaders from redrawing legislature lines, it’s not conscionable authorities that loom complete nan strategy. It’s money, too.

The Democrats look a $500 good for each time they’re “absent without leave,” a norm put into spot aft Democratic legislators mounted a akin effort to contradict nan Legislature a quorum successful 2021, positive a “pro rata share” of what nan authorities House Sergeant astatine Arms spends successful their efforts to compel them to return to nan Capitol successful Austin.

Those fines person already eclipsed nan $600 monthly net nan lawmakers person from their part-time elected posts. And fixed their meager salaries, and nan truth that nan Legislature only meets for regular convention for six months each 2 years, virtually each authorities lawmaker has a time occupation they’ve near down successful Texas, too.

Those monetary factors, positive nan realities of being acold distant from family and different obligations, further complicate nan scheme for Democrats who person fled their location authorities to contradict Republicans nan requisite number of lawmakers needed to move guardant pinch business successful nan Legislature.

It’s each why authorities Democrats person been fundraising astir their quorum break, why different Democrats person been lending a manus — and why Republicans person been targeting their funding. (Read much connected Democrats’ fundraising efforts below.)

“There’s group who are azygous moms, azygous dads, pinch their kids, and we conscionable do what we can. None of this is fun,” authorities Rep. Gene Wu, nan leader of nan authorities House Democratic Caucus, told NBC News.

“We’ve been distant from our families for six months already, right?” Wu continued, a reference to nan six-month legislative convention that started successful January. “During nan typical session, I can’t work. Most group can’t work. They’re distant from their families. ... All of america are making actual, existent sacrifices to beryllium here.”

Read much from Ben, Natasha and Adam →

Democrats learned nan incorrect instruction from nan Alamo

Analysis by Jonathan Allen

Democrats would do good to retrieve nan Alamo — not arsenic a simplistic outcry to conflict each conflict to nan past man, but arsenic a instruction successful nan powerfulness of self-sacrifice successful work of a communal goal.

Rather than opinionated their ground, contempt nan inevitability of defeat, Texas Democrats fled nan authorities to hold a Republican redistricting scheme that figures to flip arsenic galore arsenic 5 House seats into GOP hands successful adjacent year’s midterm elections.

Democratic leaders crossed nan state cheered. And why not? There was truthful overmuch for them to summation — individually — successful backing their Texan brethren.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, eager to position himself arsenic nan main defender of nan Democratic realm earlier nan 2028 statesmanlike primary, has threatened to redraw his ain state’s lines to his party’s advantage. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is arsenic transparent astir his statesmanlike ambitions, has fixed nan Texans a blue-state location distant from home. Texas Democrats, playing Billy Joe and Bobby Sue, are happy to return nan money and run.

And that’s really what this is each astir for Democrats, from nan nationalist statement to nan authorities legislators: cash.

“Democrats are fighting a awesome conflict successful Texas — and nan result will straight effect each of america for years to come,” nan Democratic National Committee wrote successful a fundraising email Thursday. Contributions will beryllium divided betwixt nan DNC and nan Texas Democratic Party.

It’s not conscionable nan DNC. Donors crossed nan state are fresh to springiness to each mode of committees successful support of nan Texas Democrats. But astatine what cost?

There’s an opportunity costs of choosing to attraction resources connected process alternatively than policy. Texas conscionable knowledgeable devastating, fatal floods. Why aren’t Democrats there, and crossed nan country, pushing plans to mitigate early earthy disasters? There’s besides a costs to raising nan expectations of a nationalist philanthropist guidelines that is still furious complete nan deceit that went into soliciting rate for nan past awesome sure-to-lose Democratic fight: Joe Biden’s campaign.

But what really highlights nan self-interest perspective is nan harm Texas Democrats whitethorn do to their ain caucus. The half-dozen moderates who stayed down and showed up astatine nan Capitol successful Austin are now much susceptible to superior challenges that could consequence successful Texas Democrats losing seats successful nan authorities Legislature successful Trump-friendly districts — turning nan pending GOP triumph into a two-fer astatine nan nationalist and authorities levels. It’s difficult to opportunity correct now if that will happen, but nan likelihood has surely increased.

And for what? There’s a different calculation for each Democrat, whether it’s Newsom, Pritzker, aliases Texas House members. But nan communal necktie is cash. In “Star Wars,” Princess Leia says to Han Solo, “If money is each you love, past that is what you will receive.” And truthful it goes for Democrats.

The measurement for Democrats to flooded Texas redistricting is not a nationalist redistricting war, which they are apt to lose. It is to locomotion into nan midterms pinch much competitory policies, candidates and arguments — and a willingness to sacrifice their ain interests to win. That’s nan existent instruction of nan Alamo.

More connected nan redistricting wars:

• Texas: Republican Sen. John Cornyn said nan FBI has approved his petition for national rule enforcement to thief find Democratic lawmakers who near nan state, Megan Lebowitz and Michael Kosnar report.
• Florida: State House Speaker Daniel Perez announced he was forming a prime committee connected legislature redistricting, Alexandra Marquez notes.

• Census: Trump said he has instructed nan Commerce Department to commencement a caller U.S. census that will beryllium “based connected modern time facts and figures” and won’t see undocumented immigrants, Marquez besides reports.

• In nan courts: Lawrence Hurley outlines how a decade of Supreme Court rulings person fixed states progressively unfettered powerfulness successful redistricting.
• Data dive: Dylan Ebs and Scott Bland have 3 charts that explicate really redistricting tin style American authorities for years.

That’s each From nan Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Dylan Ebs.

If you person feedback — likes aliases dislikes — email america astatine politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

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