Editor’s Note: This article is the first in a two-part series about the Texas Democratic Party Convention held last week. Tomorrow, we will take a look at remarks delivered by speakers at the convention – including Senator Bernie Sanders.
At its state convention last week, the Texas Democratic Party adopted a slate of resolutions that signaled its commitment to promoting a far-left agenda on a broad range of topics, including abolishing ICE, ending cash bail, repealing the Electoral College, adopting a “Transgender Bill of Rights”, and other issues.
Here are some of the more notable resolutions adopted by Texas Democrats:
Abolishing ICE
In a resolution entitled “Abolishing ICE to Advance Border Security, Due Process, and Human Rights,” Texas Democrats condemned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and called for it to be abolished.
“ICE has become an agency that operates with violence, impunity and total disregard for human and civilian life,” read the resolution.
The Party also endorsed student protests of ICE, adopting a resolution entitled “students engaged in walkouts regarding Immigration Customs and Enforcement.” The resolution also “opposes punishments for students who engaged in walkouts over Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions” and “calls on school officials to coordinate with student organizers and the community as a whole to ensure the safety of students involved in walkouts and to ensure that these walkouts become a learning experience regarding civic and political organizing.”
Defending Transgender Procedures for Children
Texas Democrats took aim at actions taken by Republican lawmakers to outlaw the gender transitioning of minors, claiming that “the Texas Legislature and state leadership have increasingly targeted transgender youth and their families by restricting access to medically necessary, life-saving gender-affirming care, which is supported by every major medical association including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The resolution, entitled “Transgender Rights and Protections”, also says that “the Texas Democratic Party will actively recruit, support, and elect candidates who champion the “Transgender Bill of Rights” and who will fight to ensure that Texas schools and workplaces remain safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all.”
Championing DEI
Multiple resolutions regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs were adopted by Texas Democrats.
The Party’s “Resolution to protect Academic Freedom at State Universities” noted that “the Texas Legislature has passed legislation aimed to limit access to Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs.”
In a resolution entitled “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Democratic Party,” the Party affirmed its commitment to DEI.
“The Texas Democratic Party is committed to making all efforts that (1) fight anti black policies, (2) support diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging; and (3) urge our members, our candidates, our government officials, our legislators and our business partners to support diverse and inclusive programs and policies that reflect inclusion of diverse perspectives; and to resist the temptation to promote anti black rhetoric,” read the resolution.
In a separate resolution, Texas Democrats called for the creation of a mandatory ethnic studies curriculum in public schools, claiming that “current Texas textbooks have systematically whitewashed history, downplaying slavery, minimizing Indigenous genocide, and erasing the contributions of Latino, Asian American, and other communities.”
Ending Cash Bail
As part of a resolution entitled “Ending Mass Incarceration in Texas,” Texas Democrats called for cash bail to be eliminated.
The resolution included an allegation that “Black Texans are incarcerated at nearly four times the rate of white Texans, a disparity that reflects systemic bias at every stage of the criminal justice process” and called for “the elimination of cash bail in Texas and its replacement with pretrial risk assessment that considers public safety rather than personal wealth.”
Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants
Texas Democrats condemned the Texas government’s border security efforts and called on Congress to adopt a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants present in the United States.
The resolution, entitled “a Pathway to Citizenship and Protection of Immigrant Communities,” calls on Congress to “create a clear, fair, and timely pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have established roots in this country” and “opposes the militarization of the Texas border, condemns Operation Lone Star as a wasteful and inhumane use of state resources, and calls for its immediate termination.”
Replacing School Police with Social Workers
In a resolution entitled “Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline and Banning Police in Schools,” Texas Democrats claimed that the presence of police officers in schools does not improve school safety and called on school police budgets to be used to “hire counselors, social workers, and restorative justice staff at a ratio of at least one for every 250 students.” The resolution also calls for “ending the routine assignment of sworn police officers to Texas public school campuses.”
Radical Transformation of the American Political System
In its “Resolution in Support of Political Reform“, the Texas Democratic Party called for a radical transformation of the American political system – including abolishing the Electoral College – to “fight the fascist takeover of our state and nation.”
The resolution states, “RESOLVED, that the Texas Democratic Party support broad Political Reform that includes the enactment of: Ranked Choice Voting, Proportional Representation, Campaign Finance Reform, the enactment of an Initiative and Referendum system, the Abolition of the Electoral College, the amendment of the Reapportionment Act of 1929 (2 U.S.C. § 2a) to Uncap the United States House of Representatives, the removal of the Filibuster in the United States Senate, and the enactment of publicly funded elections through a “Freedom Voucher” Program, as these reforms are ways to fight the fascist takeover of our state and nation.”
