When Democratic legislators in Texas returned to work on Monday after going AWOL for a couple of weeks, a small group of supporters at the chamber shouted, “This is what democracy looks like.”

One must agree, if not for the reason that the partisans intended. Elected representatives going to work to do what they were elected to do, cast up or down votes, and have them tallied against those of rival elected representatives is, indeed, what democracy looks like. Voters distribute power and balance the parties according to their views, and the chamber reflects that in deciding policy.