'Buckle Up, Pilar Schiavo' - CA Assembly GOP Has a Warning for Dem Protecting Illegal Alien Pedophiles

In the California State Assembly, the Democrat supermajority rules with an iron (and illogical and retaliatory) fist. For years they've done things like cut the mic of Republican legislators who say things they don't like (such as Sen. Janet Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee who objected to the body honoring Hanoi Jane's ex-hubby Tom Hayden) and engage in character assassination of Republicans who get a little too vocal in their criticism of Democrat corruption and policies (such as former Asm. Lorena Gonzalez's constant harassment of then-Asm. Kevin Kiley).

After the Dems' latest retaliatory measures - unilaterally removing GOP Asm. Bill Essayli from the Judiciary Committee after he forced Democrats to go on record supporting keeping sanctuary state protections for illegal alien pedophiles, and the publishing of hit pieces against him - Republicans on the committee boycotted Tuesday's Judiciary Committee meeting in protest. The Democrats have gone too far, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher tells RedState, and have ushered in a new day in Sacramento - a day in which Republicans are united and fight back. Gallagher told RedState:

"They’re trying to silence us, and we had to send a message that we’re not gonna kowtow. We’re an integral part of the process. This is a pretty unprecedented action, and it’s because we’re attacking them.
"The bottom line is, it’s not gonna work. We’re not gonna stop attacking them and their bad policies."

Gallagher also had words for Asm. Pilar Schiavo, the Dems' attack dog against Essayli, whose seat is in jeopardy (she won her first term in 2022 by only 522 votes):

"Pilar Schiavo better buckle up."

Gallagher is no stranger to fighting back against Democrats, so his warning has credibility; in 2020 he and Kiley sued Gavin Newsom over his COVID-19 Elections Code changes and won, at least at the Superior Court level.

So, what led up to this brouhaha, and what do the Democrats have to say for themselves?

For much of the last decade, Democrats have refused to give most Republican-sponsored legislation even a committee hearing, meaning that unless a Republican kisses the ring their bills will all die in committee. Occasionally they'll allow a Republican bill that they don't find to be too "extreme" to get through committee, but only if they need to butter up that Republican for some sinister reason or use the Republican for cover. Over the past five years, a few gutsy Republican legislators have taken the drastic - yet procedurally okay - measure of bringing a critical bill straight to the floor for an up-or-down vote after Democrat committee chairs have refused a hearing. These measures have almost always failed, but have the benefit of putting legislators on record on hot-button issues.

During the May 21 floor session, Essayli made such a motion to suspend the Assembly rules so he could bring a bill he authored which would revoke sanctuary status for illegal aliens who commit sex crimes to the full Assembly for a vote since the deadline for legislation to pass out of the house of origin was just days away and Public Safety Committee Chair Asm. Reggie Jones-Sawyer refused to give the bill a hearing.

When Essayli started speaking his mic was cut, and then the motion to suspend the Assembly rules failed. Every single Democrat voted against the motion or abstained.

Assemblyman @billessayli trying to force a vote on #AB2641, which would revoke sanctuary status for undocumented people who commit sex crimes.
His mic was cut and a motion to suspend the rules fails 14 - 36. End of video you can see how your legislator voted. pic.twitter.com/KRL4wAR6s0
— Denise Aguilar (@InformedMama209) May 21, 2024

Over the next few days Essayli made the media rounds talking up the issue as there were still a few days left before the crossover deadline of May 24 and if there was enough public outrage the bill might have a second chance to come to the full Assembly and eventually pass - just like Republican Sen. Shannon Grove's child sex trafficking bill did last session after massive public outrage forced Gavin Newsom to lean on Rivas and the Public Safety Committee to get it done.

Because of Essayli's media appearances and social media presence, Dems who either abstained or voted against his motion were targeted with questions about why they possibly would vote against bringing Essayli's bill to the floor, and they didn't like that one bit. Schiavo, who's done social media battle with Essayli before (and lost badly), was especially incensed and fired off an ill-conceived opinion piece to be published in her hometown paper on May 28 - a hometown with a huge population of active and retired law enforcement officers. (She's not that smart, clearly.)

Schiavo's hit piece claims that Essayli's effort to have AB 2641 heard by the full Assembly was somehow against the rules and is a masterclass in gaslighting, saying it's Essayli's fault the bill died in committee and accusing him of lying to the public. She describes the normal procedure and the importance the various committees play in refining legislation before it gets to the full body - as if she and her fellow Dems don't regularly vote to suspend rules related to the number of hours a bill has to be in print before a vote is taken so they can "gut-and-amend" dozens of bills every summer. It's quite nauseating, really.

Then she went into victim mode, as if this debate was about her and her kids and some social media dispute instead of dangerous illegal alien convicted pedophiles being released from California prisons, straight to the streets, because the state won't acknowledge an ICE detainer:

I said it before and I will say it again: it’s disgusting. As a survivor myself and as a mother, I would never support dangerous pedophiles over our children. And I will not be silenced as children who have suffered the trauma and fear I also went through are used by a disingenuous legislator who has a legislative record of getting zero bills passed and signed into law.

Schiavo conveniently leaves out that Essayli hasn't had any bills passed and signed into law because the Democrat supermajority refuses to have Essayli's bills heard in committee so they can then continue through the process. Then she, of course, ties in "MAGA extremist" and pivots to her opponent, Patrick Gipson, a fabulous candidate we've written about previously.

Having served with Asm. Essayli for nearly two years, these tactics don’t surprise me. I was, however, incredibly disappointed to see that Patrick Lee Gipson, my opponent in my upcoming re-election, supported this behavior....
We have seen these same tactics with Trump and his MAGA extremist supporters on the national stage. They are dangerous, result in further division between political parties and our community, and do absolutely nothing to help people who need it.
What I do know is that if my opponent wants to model himself after a do-nothing, aspiring social media star who is more interested in clicks and likes than effective leadership, I’m confident that will not be good for our community or for our state.

Gipson didn't fall for her gaslighting, responding (in part):

"Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo seems to believe that voters are easily deceived. Her recent explanation for failing to vote on a California Assembly bill that would deport convicted child rapists and sex traffickers who are in this country illegally is an insult to our intelligence."

The piece didn't go over well, and the next day Essayli also hit back - with receipts showing when Schiavo had voted

Pedophile Protector @Pilar4CA claims she voted against my bill #AB2641 because it would have violated our “rules” to hear the bill without first going to committee. (It wasn’t heard in committee because the Dems refused to set it for a hearing.)

Well it turns out that @Pilar4CA… pic.twitter.com/0JVVZyq4N8
— Bill Essayli (@billessayli) May 29, 2024

Apparently Schiavo shrieked to Rivas after that, because the following day Essayli arrived at work to find that he'd been taken off the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Last week Democrats silenced me for forcing a vote on the Floor to end sanctuary state protections for pedophiles. Today they are punishing me by stripping me of my seat on the Judiciary Committee. I will not be deterred by their threats and intimidation.

"The ultimate measure… pic.twitter.com/Qje8mmtCl0
— Bill Essayli (@billessayli) May 30, 2024

Rivas' press secretary, Nick Miller, disputed Essayli's claim that the shift happened as payback for his motion to suspend the rules and take up AB 2641, telling Politico:

“Venomous attacks and malignant lies that target our elected officials may seem innocuous. But in this day and age, they are truly dangerous. The Speaker feels a personal responsibility to improve safety for all Californians, including those who serve, and there is zero tolerance for disinformation assaults against his colleagues, which can do real harm to members and their families.”

Venomous attacks and malignant lies like the ones Pilar Schiavo published in a newspaper about Essayli? It looks like those don't count.

The same day, Rivas engaged in a malignant attack of his own after the guilty verdict in Donald Trump's Manhattan trial.

Democracy: 34 Trump: 0 pic.twitter.com/HBaNIn6kyB
— Speaker Robert Rivas (@CASpeakerRivas) May 30, 2024

And then we have Democrat Asm. Alex Lee, who literally still lives at home with his parents, with this disrespect for his Republican colleagues after the Judiciary Committee boycott:

Wow! It’d be an incredible show of solidarity if all the republicans continued to boycott and not show up for work until the end of session. Then we’d really hear your point. Keep up the boycott!! https://t.co/CTpEaY38jF
— Alex Lee 李天明 (@alex_lee) June 4, 2024

Republican members of the Judiciary Committee who stood up for proper governance and for their colleague by participating in the boycott are Asm. Diane Dixon and Kate Sanchez from Orange County, and Asm. Joe Patterson from Placer County. Sanchez told Politico that Rivas' actions weren't about any kind of decorum but were about "silencing dissent" and added:

"We all represent hundreds of thousands of people, and the voices of our constituents must always be heard in this democratic process. When he shuts down those with valid critiques, he’s standing in the way of democracy."

Patterson told RedState:

"At the end of the day, I think the Republican Leader should choose Republican members of committees."

Unfortunately, the Republican boycott didn't prevent the Judiciary Committee from reaching quorum for its meeting Tuesday, but the Democrats were forced to search the Capitol halls to round up a few stray members to do so. The bigger problem for Democrats is that Gallagher (who only recently became caucus leader) has signaled that it's a new day in Sacramento and that Republicans are finally going to fight hard - and that's a huge problem for Democrats because it's only through the apathy of some Republican members and a Stockholm Syndrome mentality in others that they've been able to meet some of their legislative goals and retain seats in purple districts.

If Gallagher's caucus can stay united and fully support its members who are willing to go hard against Democrats and take the flak while exposing the extreme agenda of Newsom and his minions, not only can the California Republican Party flip more than a few seats in November, but the bad publicity can hurt Democrats nationwide.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece has been updated to reflect that Janet Nguyen is a current California State Senator.)