Media top headlines July 12
The New York Times getting ripped for equating 'freedom' to an 'anti-government slogan,' Gov. Kristi Noem saying it was 'tough' being attacked by conservative media over trans-athlete bill, and MSNBC giving Michael Avenatti's prison sentence less than 2 minutes of coverage round out today's top media headlines
MSNBC anchor Geoff Bennett praised Texas Democrats on Monday who fled the state to prevent a vote on an election reform bill and said national Democrats could learn from them.
Bennett appeared to agree with the Texas Democrats’ actions.
"It’s interesting, because we should say, you know, the legislative system in Texas is vastly different than the legislative system here in D.C., but you do have Democrats at the national level, and I mean Democratic voters, who look at the Texas Democrats and say, not for nothing, those folks know how to fight and there’s a lot that elected Democrats on the national level can learn from that," he said.
Bennett hosted a panel of reporters who also appeared to approve of the political maneuver.
"When they get there, I think you’re going to see them really try and push and they think that they can be a national symbol for the fight for voting rights, because Texas, of course, is one of 22 different states that has advance restrictions like these, it’s just they’re ones who are making the headlines and they’re going to take advantage of it," NBC News senior digital reporter Jane Timm commented.
TEXAS DEMOCRATS SKIPPING TOWN ONCE AGAIN AS LEGISLATURE RECONSIDERS GOP VOTING BILLS
Politico White House reporter Eugene Daniels highlighted the Texas Democrats "also know they want to be a symbol, they want to bring to the forefront, because it’s basically all they can do, right, is to continue to push, continue to be very public, and get a lot of attention."
Progressive activists and politicians were enthusiastic by Texas Democrats fleeing the state to delay the vote on the legislation. Beto O’Rourke highlighted a donation drive that will help support the Democratic state lawmakers as they are away from their homes and jobs.
Meanwhile, other MSNBC hosts and contributors are openly pushing for a Senate Democrats to eliminate the filibuster that would weaken Republicans who are in the minority. Despite the Texas Democrats using similar filibuster-like tactics, MSNBC host Joy Reid shared admiration for the Texas Democrats while at the same time calling on Senate Dems to "end the filibuster."
When Oregon state Republicans did something similar and left the state to avoid a piece of legislation from passing, news outlets framed the action as Republicans "hiding." Twitter user Jewish Deplorable shared contrasting headlines.
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Under Texas law, however, the Texas Democrats could actually face arrest for leaving the state. The legislature requires a quorum of two-thirds of lawmakers to be present in order to conduct business, meaning these lawmakers can be legally required to return. Approximately 58 Texas legislators reportedly left the state.
In a statement, Texas Governor Greg Abbott condemned the Democrats’ actions saying, "Texas Democrats’ decision to break a quorum of the Texas Legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve. As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state."
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