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Republicans have stepped out over the ledge and onto a slippery slope. The possibility of civil discourse -let alone sanity – was at the top of that ledge, with which they have now completely lost contact.

Texas Governor Rick Perry announced yesterday that he will no longer tolerate the democratic process in Texas, which he denigrates by calling it “anarchy” and “mob rule.”

Watch courtesy of CNN:

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At a special session Monday, called to express dismay that their misogynist agenda could be derailed by one courageous woman, Perry said,

Together we can do what they won’t. We can stand. We can stand up together. We can stand up for what’s right. We can stand up for Texas. Texans need someone who will stand up for their values.

Cheers were the sound of democracy dying in Texas.

Perry and his totalitarian supporters were upset that a crowd of people – Texans like Perry himself – shouted “shame! shame! shame!’ as the Republicans tried to sneak their anti-woman bill past the deadline. He claims Texans want what he is offering, saying,

Regardless of whether there is a vocal opposition …Texans and their views will prevail.

But he can push this fiction only so long as he does not let people exercise their First Amendement right of free speech.

As for uppity women like Wendy Davis, whom he previously accused of hijacking the democratic process, and the “unprecedented anarchy” of her perfectly legal and above-board filibuster, Texas’ new self-appointed dictator, Rick Perry had this to say in a statement:

“We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do.”

I suppose you can prevent the hijacking of the democratic process by just doing away with it altogether.

Journalists in Texas better watch out too, because the lieutenant governor threatened to throw them into jail for asking questions Republicans would as soon went unasked. As Media Matters reported yesterday, in a July 28 interview Lt. Governor David Dewhurst said,

We have reports and I have my staff taking a look at the video, the internet video that we keep, we store, on the proceedings that evening and if I find as I’ve been told examples of the media waving and trying to inflame the crowd, incite them in the direction of a riot, I’m going to take action against them. That is wrong. That’s inciting a riot. That is wrong. And we have a provision in our rules that if people do not deport themselves with decorum, they’re not respectful of the legislative process, one of our rules says we can imprison them up to 48 hours. Of course that was out of the question with that many people, but it is, we take a democratic policy seriously.

Outrage caused him to backtrack, but now we know how he and Gov. Perry really feel about democracy and the Constitution: It’s damned inconvenient being a totalitarian dictator when people insist on rights and freedom of speech.

Perhaps it would have been better for Texas had Mexican dictator Santa Anna won after all.