Democrat state lawmakers in Texas chose to walk out of a legislative session rather than stay and vote on Republican-backed voting law reform. Democrats knew they would lose the vote so instead of going through the process, they up and walked out to break quorum. It was only the fourth time in the history of the Texas state legislature that a walk-out was staged and carried out.

Instead of being embarrassed for such a cowardly political act, the state Democrat lawmakers applauded themselves for what they see as political bravery. Democrats both in Texas and elsewhere hailed them as heroes for stopping the passage of voting reform legislation. It was all about having something to point to in fundraising letters, something to show supporters that they were fighting back against the bad Republicans who want to suppress voting. That narrative is ridiculous, of course, yet that is what they claim and the media dutifully repeats Democrat talking points.

A group of Democrat Texas state lawmakers is in D.C. this week enjoying the fruits of their hyper-partisan labor. The highlight of their trip is a meeting with Kamala Harris today. They will have the attention of the vice-president, though I’m sure if Joe Biden was in town, he’d be meeting with them, too. The group has already met with Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and even the staff of Joe Manchin. Their mission is to prod the Democrats to pass HR1, the For the People Act, as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Both pieces of legislation would preempt significant portions of the Texas legislation that nearly became law. Fortunately for those of us who do not want to federalize elections, the Senate is not rolling over and allowing Democrats to pass legislation to create a permanent Democrat majority. Democrats do not have the 60 votes necessary in the Senate. That is why it was important for the Texas Democrats to try to meet with Joe Manchin, a Democrat unwilling to entertain thoughts of scrapping the filibuster. Manchin has also spoken against the For the People Act.

Manchin hasn’t made himself available to the Texas Democrats but his staff did meet with them. A lunch was held for the Texans by Democrats on The Hill and Manchin didn’t attend. Afterward is when they secured a meeting with Manchin’s staff.

Manchin did not attend the Dem lunch with Texas Democrats that were speaking about fighting GOP voting laws

— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) June 15, 2021

The #txlege delegation in DC has gotten a meeting w/ @Sen_JoeManchin's staff. @TMFtx and @jasminefor100 are in the meeting now, per a Dem source. #SB7

— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) June 15, 2021

My own congresswoman made sure to get in on the photo ops and capture a little attention for herself.

Proud to stand with Texas state legislators who came to Capitol Hill today to continue their efforts to protect the right to vote in Texas.

It's time for the Senate to act to protect the right to vote in Texas & across the country: #ForThePeople Act & #JohnLewisVotingRightsAct. pic.twitter.com/Qjah06oM8Z

— Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (@RepFletcher) June 16, 2021

While on Capitol Hill, Texas Democrats didn’t get their own turn at appealing directly to the Manchin or Sinema. Neither were in attendance during the Senate Democratic Caucus’ weekly luncheon where Texas lawmakers discussed their walkout and the chaotic process leading up to it, including a series of last-minute changes Republicans made to the legislation behind closed doors.

Unable to get on his calendar, state Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio and Jasmine Crockett of Dallas conferred with Manchin’s staff for about 45 minutes in what they described as a “productive” meeting during which they discussed how voting experiences in Texas differ from the senator’s home state of West Virginia and telegraphed the stakes of congressional inaction.

“It’s one thing to say, ‘Hey, we’re in Texas. Come help us.’ It’s another thing for us to then walk out. It’s a whole other thing for us to fly here and tell you we need cover,” Crockett said after the meeting. “This is that important because otherwise we don’t know what’s going to happen in our country, and I think they hear us. And I think they hear us on a different level than maybe they would’ve heard us if we had just sat there and maybe voted against that bill.”

Please. The drama is a bit much. Yes, the Democrats walked out rather than do their job. Their inflated egos over their own heroism will soon deflate. Governor Abbott will call a special session this summer and the voting reform legislation will be at the top of the agenda and legislation will pass then. All of this is DNC-sanctioned political theatre. We don’t know what is going to happen in our country? What’s going to happen is that election law will be made clear and stunts like a Democrat County Clerk in Houston will not be allowed to send out mail-in voting applications to every registered voter in Texas. Texas doesn’t have universal mail-in voting and the pandemic was a good excuse for Democrats to try to make that happen. Texas still has early voting, for example, something not available in states like Delaware, home of Joe Biden. Local officials run elections, not the federal government. The Texas legislation was tweaked to meet demands by Democrats but not enough for them to finish out the legislative session without their big stunt.

A group of 10 Texas state Democrats will meet with Kamala Harris today. Check out how the Houston Chronicle describes Republican legislation – it would restrict voting rights. Ugh.

The group of Texas Democrats includes Rep. Chris Turner (Grand Prairie), Rep. Nicole Collier (Fort Worth), Rep. Rafael Anchía (Dallas), Rep. Jessica González (Dallas), Rep. Gina Hinojosa (Austin), Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (San Antonio), Rep. Senfronia Thompson (Houston), Sen. Carol Alvarado (Houston), Sen. Beverly Powell (Burleson) and Sen. Royce West (Dallas).

Anchía chairs the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. He was one of several Democrats who staged a walkout that killed Texas’ Senate Bill 7, a Republican bill that sought to restrict voting rights across the state.

The Texas Democrats will not win their legislative battle but they will get their photo ops and get the attention that makes for good fundraising letters, which, let’s be honest, this is all about anyway. Trying to turn Texas blue isn’t cheap, you know.