On Tuesday, May 24, federal agents from the TSA visited the Texas legislature threatening to end air travel in Texas if the hugely favored anti-TSA bill, H.B. 1937, passed. The backlash from Texans and even members of the press stung Texas state senators, but not enough to prevent the lawmakers from tucking tail and running. The support the measure lost as a result of federal bullying wasnt regained in time to resurrect it for passage.
In an article published online yesterday by The New American, Alex Newman outlined an intimidating letter sent to Texas Senate leadership by U.S. District Attorney John Murphy warning the legislators to kill the bill or else.
The letter stated, among other things, TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew. Such a statement seems to imply that the TSA is guaranteeing safety now. Further, it’s difficult to believe that all air travel in and out of Texas would or even could be cancelled. Nevertheless, Lone Star Senators caved.
H.B. 1937 would have stopped TSA officials from invasive groping practices, making them liable to prosecution if they violated the law. After passing unanimously in all stages of the process up until Tuesday, the legislation stood ready for passage in the Senate with 30 of the 31 Senators in support. Newman described the measure as wildly popular in Texas, and he was right. But after Tuesdays fiasco in the Senate, Lone Star residents came unleashed.
The office of freshman David Simpson (the bills author) reported late Wednesday that phone calls, faxes, and e-mails from irate Texans had flooded the offices of Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and most Senators. The incident even prompted an angry group to show up at the Capitol expressing their displeasure with the Senators. And e-mail blasts from many grassroots organizations drove state residents to their phones. In fact, the bills success was bolstered all along by input from the bottom up. Committee hearings were also filled with people who had never before taken activist positions, but were driven to do so after horrific airport experiences. Instinctively, the average citizen knows that groping is wrong.
From Dallas, Bill Cherry, Development Officer of The John Birch Society, noted the importance of grassroots activity. The John Birch Society, Campaign for Liberty, We Texans, TSA Tyranny, and others kept the issue alive to the very end until spineless senators failed to show up for a quorum to pass the bill. Even Lt. Governor Dewhurst must have felt the pressure, as evidenced by his agreement to allow Senator Patrick [the Senate sponsor] to bring the bill back if he was able to recoup enough support. But our senators failed us. Texans pleas went unheeded.
Which didnt escape the notice of Washington Times reporter Richard Diamond. In his May 25 article, he observed,
The Texas legislature needs to grow a backbone. A state that prides itself on its independence and the slogan "Dont mess with Texas" ought not to be easily cowed as the upper chamber was Wednesday. It only took a scary letter from a Department of Justice bureaucrat to convince enough senators to hoist the white flag.
Not a few Texans agree.