Abbott turns the rhetoric up to 11. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA/AP Leaving the state capital, and then leaving the state, to deny the majority party a legislative quorum to do outrageous things is not a new tactic in Texas politics . In 2003 , Republicans suddenly decided to conduct a second congressional redistricting way off schedule to boost the GOP’s odds of controlling the House. Democrats left Austin to protest the audacious move, which eventually succeeded after a standoff of about a