Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) got Texas State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D), one of the Texas Democrats who fled the state to prevent the state’s legislature from doing its job, to admit during a House hearing this week that government-issued IDs are essentially needed in order to be a functioning member of society as an adult.
The following is a partial transcript of rapid fire questions that Mace asked Thompson during an Oversight Committee hearing this week:
MACE: Do y’all need IDs to buy alcohol when you’re purchasing at the store?
THOMPSON: Yes, to be sure that you are capable of doing that.
MACE: Right. Do you need an ID in Texas to buy cigarettes?
THOMPSON: You can’t buy them unless you’re at least 21.
MACE: But do you have to show an ID to buy cigarettes?
THOMPSON: You do have to show an ID.
MACE: Do you need an ID when you’re getting a job and trying to get on payroll in Texas?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID to go to the pharmacy and get a prescription in Texas?
THOMPSON: It depends on the prescription.
MACE: But do you need an ID for some prescriptions in Texas?
THOMPSON: Yes, you do. Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID to get social security services in Texas?
THOMPSON: You do.
MACE: Do you need an ID to rent an apartment in Texas?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID if you’re gonna buy a house and finance it via a mortgage in Texas?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID in Texas if you’re gonna board an aircraft and fly commercial?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Did you fly commercial or fly a private jet on the way to D.C.?
THOMPSON: A chartered plane.
MACE: Do you have to show an ID when you fly on a private charter jet?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: I wouldn’t know, I’ve never flown on one. So, did you need an ID to get into the building here today?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID in Texas to open a bank account?
THOMPSON: Yes.
WATCH:
TRANSCRIPT:
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): And I want to thank Miss Thompson. I was a state lawmaker for three years before I came to Congress. I represent the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina, and South Carolina has had its own history, very bad history, with black South Carolinians, black and brown and African Americans. I recently took a vote to move statues like Supreme Court Justice Taney, removing his bust out of the Capitol rotunda because he wrote the Dred Scott opinion, the one that said that black and brown and African Americans could not become citizens of the United States of America. I voted to move, you know, someone like Wade Hampton, who encouraged the murder of over 150 black South Carolinians during his run for governor. So, I appreciate your comments about the 60s. I was not around then. But I’ve watched and read a lot of the history and seen the videos and seen the moments of violence against black America. So I applaud your work on that. My understanding is you were elected in 1972 in Texas, is that correct?
TEXAS STATE REP. SENFRONIA THOMPSON (D): It is correct.
MACE: Right. And I applaud you for making history, I would imagine, in Texas and being a strong voice for black men and black women. Coming from South Carolina, we’ve got voter ID, and I’m assuming Texas is the same way. Do y’all need IDs to buy alcohol when you’re purchasing at the store?
THOMPSON: Yes, to be sure that you are capable of doing that.
MACE: Right. Do you need an ID in Texas to buy cigarettes?
THOMPSON: You can’t buy them unless you’re at least 21.
MACE: But do you have to show an ID to buy cigarettes?
THOMPSON: You do have to show an ID.
MACE: Do you need an ID when you’re getting a job and trying to get on payroll in Texas?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID to go to the pharmacy and get a prescription in Texas?
THOMPSON: It depends on the prescription.
MACE: But do you need an ID for some prescriptions in Texas?
THOMPSON: Yes, you do. Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID to get social security services in Texas?
THOMPSON: You do.
MACE: Do you need an ID to rent an apartment in Texas?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID if you’re gonna buy a house and finance it via a mortgage in Texas?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID in Texas if you’re gonna board an aircraft and fly commercial?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Did you fly commercial or fly a private jet on the way to D.C.?
THOMPSON: A chartered plane.
MACE: Do you have to show an ID when you fly on a private charter jet?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: I wouldn’t know, I’ve never flown on one. So, did you need an ID to get in the building here today?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: Do you need an ID to Texas to open a bank account?
THOMPSON: Yes.
MACE: …to cash you’re check if you’re working. Do you know, Representative Thompson, how many, what percentage of blacks in Texas, black and brown African Americans are registered to vote?
THOMPSON: Oh, a huge percentage. Uh–
MACE: 70%. Do you know what percentage of African Americans, black and brown Texans, have voted on average or in the last election?
THOMPSON: [About] 64%.
MACE: Correct. Do you know how many whites are registered to vote in Texas?
THOMPSON: Far more than African Americans.
MACE: 72%. You have 70% of blacks in Texas who are registered to vote; you have 72% of whites in Texas who are registered to vote. Do you know the percentage of whites who turned out to vote in recent elections?
THOMPSON: I want to say over 50-something percent.
MACE: 65%. Do you know what percentage of Hispanics are registered to vote in Texas?
THOMPSON: No, I do not.
MACE: 63%. Do you know what percentage of Hispanics voted in the last election?
THOMPSON: I think it was over 40%.
MACE: 53%. Hispanics are not voting in as high a number as blacks and whites in Texas. Do you know the percentage of Democrats who support voter ID?
THOMPSON: Would you repeat your question?
MACE: Do you know the percentage of Democrats who support voter ID in this country?
THOMPSON: I do not, but I don’t think it’s a whole lot.
MACE: 72%. Do you know the number of black and brown and African Americans in this country who support voter ID?
THOMPSON: No.
MACE: 75%. Do you know the number of Hispanics that support voter ID in this country?
THOMPSON: No.
MACE: 81%. Do you know where the state of Texas is ranked with black voter turnout in this country?
THOMPSON: With black voter turnout?
MACE: Do you know where Texas is ranked?
THOMPSON: Oh, 44%.
MACE: The latest numbers that I read this morning was that Texas is ranked 10th.