Texas Officials, Activists to Holder on Voter ID: If It's War You Want, It's War You've Got

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is responding quickly and forcefully to Obama Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to rope Texas back into the Voting Rights Act. The US Supreme Court just struck part of that law down.

I’ll fight #Obama‘s effort to control our elections & I’ll fight against cheating at ballot box. http://t.co/SsGS3hCc6e #tcot #txgop

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 25, 2013

A minute later, Abbott followed up with another tweet.

#SCOTUS already approved #VoterID; now #Obama trying to deny it in #Texas http://t.co/ecWOovGHbb #txlege #tcot #txgop

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 25, 2013

The facts are on Abbott’s side. Texas specifically modeled its voter ID law on Indiana’s. That law has already been taken all the way to the US Supreme Court and was upheld. The Texas law enjoys widespread support across all ethnicities in the state. Only the Texas Democrat Party and its allies oppose it.

The Obama administration has been very consistent about opposing laws that buttress election security, and it has been very consistent about punishing states that don’t get in line with Obama’s radical agenda. Holder’s lawsuit is just another example of both.

The lawsuit comes just after Abbott announced his run for governor. It will give him a major platform from which to oppose Obama and Holder, which will play very well in Texas. Frankly, Abbott was already heavily favored to win. Now he’s all but a lock.

Update: Texas Gov. Rick Perry posted the following statement on his Facebook page.

“Once again, the Obama Administration is demonstrating utter contempt for our country’s system of checks and balances, not to mention the U.S. Constitution. This end-run around the Supreme Court undermines the will of the people of Texas, and casts unfair aspersions on our state’s common-sense efforts to preserve the integrity of our elections process.”

Update: Land Commissioner and Lt. Gov candidate Jerry Patterson responds.

DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS – The latest federal attack on Texas has been launched today, and Eric Holder is back in his role as Barack Obama’s chief aggressor. There is no longer any pretense about hiding the partisan agenda to target our state. This latest attack is not about voting rights, and everything to do with destroying and diminishing the success of the Lone Star State. Our very existence is an affront to this administration, but we aren’t going anywhere, and we aren’t scared of a fight. Better dig in for the long haul, my fellow lovers of liberty – this is just the beginning.

Update: True the Vote, which is one of the victims of the scandals that President Obama called “phony” yesterday, responds.

True the Vote responds to Holder’s VRA announcement: “Texas will stand its ground in San Antonio – that’s a promise.”

— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) July 25, 2013

 Update: State Sen. Dan Patrick, who is also running for Lt. Gov. gets a bank shot on Wendy Davis.

.@WendyDavisTexas while you’re in DC, remind Eric Holder that you “Don’t Mess with Texas” and never with TX conservatives.

— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) July 25, 2013

Update: Sen. Ted Cruz reacts:

Attorney General Holder’s recent announcement is just the latest example of his politicization of the Department of Justice. Holder’s refusal to accept the judgment of the U.S. Supreme Court regarding preclearance continues the Department’s longstanding pattern of refusing to follow the law.

Likewise, Holder continues to attack voter ID laws, even though the Supreme Court has concluded that voter ID laws are supported by multiple interests that are “unquestionably relevant to the State’s interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process.”