Welcome to the beat. I'm Ari Melbourne. As we come on the air, we have an eye on what's happening in Texas,

and a bit of a fact check for all the people who said concerns about democracy or authoritarianism in

last year's campaign against Donald Trump were overblown. Quite the opposite. Indeed, you don't have to

take anybody's word for it. You can see it happening out of Trump's own mouth and in the action

on the ground in Texas. You can also look to the vocal backlash to what many people view as

an effort out in the open starting far earlier than some of Trump's last efforts when he was in

the first term, which were closer to the election. Now, we are long ways away

from the midterms, let alone another presidential. And yet, it's happening and earlier. And people

are against it, because democracy remains pretty popular. From town hall protest to Vice President

Vance and Defense Secretary Hegseth, now getting an earful today in Washington.

There are a range of concerns, and we can't always interpret booze exactly by their intent,

but democracy is one of the big issues.

Texas Democrats are also trying to stand up against something that most modern Republicans

would have criticized any time before the MAGA era and that they certainly still are

suing to stop when it happens to them in California. But this is what Republicans are doing. A blatant

power grab in an off year, unusual time to carry out what Trump demanded, to change the rules

in the middle of the game, to try to get more seats because they are worried about losing a free and fair election in these upcoming midterms. So California Democrats are saying

it's time or past time to fight fire with fire. If Republicans are able to strong arm these tactics in

Texas, California Dems, led by Governor Newsom, say they will cancel it right out using their powers in

real time. No more long-winded

speeches about precedent and declining Republic. They are going to do what they say they need to do

to blunt what looks like a very abusive precedent-breaking effort to redraw and kind of basically steal some of these districts in Texas.

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