Editorial: The Political Shenanigans Need to End!

By Angie Pereira

What is becoming of this great nation? It has become like watching a horrible movie that just won’t come to an end. At every turn, you think it can’t get worse, but it does.

We have mass chaos happening in various parts of the country. We have watched people destroying private property under the guise of protest. We have watched an array of insanity within our government. We have watched as people with terrible intentions attack police officers for no specific reason, just a claim, once again, of protest. And we are now seeing political protests across the world demanding the very freedom we currently have here, yet, so many here do not respect or appreciate. Do we want to continue this way?

It is one thing when the citizens misbehave, but now we have elected officials acting in ways that are entirely unbecoming of any elected office.

We have federal legislators demanding the end to the filibuster that has been in existence for many years and used repetitively by both parties, yet when it does not suit the controlling party, they want it banned.

What happens should the opposing party regain control of the legislature in the future? Will the party demanding its end now turn around and demand it be reinstituted when they see the need for it?

This is not the way our system should work. It is a tactic to silence and stagnate one side, and it is a form of censorship within our own governing body. This is not how our Republic works.

Then we have our current situation right here in Texas, where we have state legislators acting like young children that did not get their way, so they are throwing a Texas sized hissy fit.

Refusing to appear at the special session ordered by the governor to address the issues they refused to address during the regular session by taking their ball and going home with a sad and pathetic “walkout” because they feared defeat on legislation they did not want to pass. This kind of behavior is not only immature and unbecoming of the office in which they hold, but it is an extreme slap in the face of disrespect toward all their constituents who they are charged with representing.

Whether you are of opposing views of your elected official or in support, you should be furious with the actions of those who have walked out and left on a taxpayer funded trip as a means to negate obtaining a quorum during this special session or simply refuse to appear. It denies you the right to be represented in our government.

They have taken their duty and decided they can spit right in our faces and do whatever they wish. Those in support of these officials’ views should be appalled at their refusal to stand up and fight for what they believe. Regardless of the outcome, they should still stand and have their view accounted for.

Their blatant refusal to come to the session and represent those ideals or views is a denial of our constitutional rights to be represented. For those in opposition, this is a denial of the right to a due process of sorts.

We are being denied the right to have all views voiced in the official capacity of the regular or special session. Whether you like the person who represents your district or not, you should still demand they be present to do the job they were elected to do.

This insidious act of refusing to appear at the special session in order to invalidate the session by negating an ability to form a quorum needs to be reprimanded. All involved need to be sanctioned. All voters need to remember this childish and unprofessional dereliction of duty and either vote them out at the next election or consider the process of recall.

Here in House District 45, we are dealing with our own representative, Erin Zwiener, being childish and refusing to appear and honor her obligations to the district and people she is duty bound to represent. It is nothing less than disgraceful and shameful. This we must remember, regardless of party lines.

She has made it known, by this act, that she is not willing to stand and deliver for her constituents (namely those who are supportive of her ideals/ views); she lacks in professional demeanor and respect for our system of government, and she is willing to spit on the rights of those who elected her to represent them by denying them a voice in the Capitol. In my opinion, she did this while breaking decorum and standards of constitutional ethics of an elected official.

We deserve better, and we need to demand it.