As these intrepid individuals continue their virtue-signaling tantrum, it is easy to see why this whole farce will backfire on the Texas Democratic Party. Even though activist media outlets like NBC and MSNBC are reacting to the actions of these state lawmakers with thunderous applause, this week-long stunt will only alienate the people who really count: Texas voters.

First, they traveled to the Capitol building to ruthlessly butcher a song that was iconic to the civil rights movement. The merry band of virtue signalers sang “We Shall Overcome,” which was a popular marching song for civil rights activists in the 1960s and their performance was so godawful bystander’s dogs began howling in agony.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, they even met with Vice President Kamala Harris, who gushed at how brave these people are. Mr. Magoo could see that this entire series of shenanigans was planned from the get-go. As RedState’s Brandon Morse wrote: “The reason that this all comes off as really bad acting is that it is.”

But wait! It gets even better.

These Democratic lawmakers will still be getting paid while they are on their little vacation in D.C. RedState’s Nick Arama pointed out:

But it turns out that not only are they receiving their salaries while doing this; the Democrat state representatives are also receiving a special stipend (or per diem) of $221.00 per day for every day the legislature is in session, even though they aren’t actually there, according to Fox. So they’re getting paid extra while working less, on the taxpayer dime.

What’s even worse about this whole affair is that the Texas Democratic Party lied about the fact that these individuals are being paid to signal their virtue in the nation’s capital. Arama also explains that Cara Santucci, the communications and strategy director for the Texas Democratic Caucus, falsely claimed that taxpayers’ dollars are not “going into this work.” To be fair, one member of the group tweeted that she planned to turn down the extra cash.

FYI: Representative Beckley will not be accepting any per diem payments and will return any per diem that has been paid to her each day that she has not been in Austin since the quorum break. #txlege #freedomtovote #righttovote pic.twitter.com/zLfNraDGR8

— Michelle Beckley (@BeckleyforTX) July 14, 2021

While this move is sure to make these Texas Democrats famous among the left-wing intelligentsia, Democratic and independent voters who don’t buy into the whole “Jim Crow 2.0” narrative won’t be happy about this absurd display. For starters, nothing that these people are doing is going to stop the Texas legislature from passing laws the left doesn’t like. There is absolutely no chance that these antics will get them closer to victory.

Moreover, these people were elected to represent their constituents and fight for the policies they favor. Fleeing the state during important proceedings is not exactly a good look. What if there are more critical legislative priorities that require their input? They will not be able to address these issues because they are too busy playing footsie with Vice President Harris, Joaquin Castro, and media activists.

To put it simply, this is was absolutely the dumbest action they could have taken.

Yes, it might make them feel like they are doing something important. Nobody can discount the value of that warm tingling sensation one feels when they are engaging in mindless political theater. For some, it’s like a shot of espresso to the soul.

But in the end, they will have accomplished a heaping pile of nothing, and they will have done so on the taxpayer dole. For some, it may not damage their chances for re-election. But it is difficult to believe that this game they chose to play might cause trouble for their future political aspirations.