Texas House Heads Into Another Redistricting Floor Fight

[Rose Siding]

Texas House Heads Into Another Redistricting Floor Fight
Lawmakers To Convene Monday Afternoon


AUSTIN, Texas -- Only a week after the start of the special legislative session, Republicans are pushing ahead with a plan to redraw congressional boundaries and boost their party's numbers in Washington.

The measure was headed to the full House on Monday where the fight is almost certain to get nasty.

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Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, has accused Republican lawmakers of trying to create "political ghettos" where minorities have no voice.

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But one black Democratic legislator, Ron Wilson of Houston, who is on the redistricting committee and a member of GOP House Speaker Tom Craddick's leadership team, has been siding with the Republican effort. He said favors GOP attempts to create a new minority congressional seat.

http://www.clickonsa.com/ant/news/stories/news-231480020030707-090754.html

The repub map is designed to give them 21 seats in the US House, instead of the current 15

[wtmusic]

1. Back to Oklahoma

They vowed to stay and fight but my money says they'll be back in Ardmore any day now.

[MidwestTransplant]

2. Ron WIlson should get a clue.

n/t

[Lone Texan]

3. Isn't Ron Wilson...

the guy that drives around in a Lambourghini? Yeah he's in touch with his constituents, isn't he?

[Mithras61]

5. Ron Wilson got into a verbal brawl

with Sheila Jackson-Lee at the redistricting hearing. He seems to think that the map would create a new black district in Houston with no losses to Blacks elsewhere. He doesn't see that it would also take away several other black or hispanic districts across the state. Beyond that, the map will likely fail the Federal Court's tests for several reasons, ranging from "communities of interest" (communities that have like interests usually have close geocraphic proximity) to "minority influence" (where minorities can influence or change the outcome of any given election in that district).

The map they have sent out from comittee is essentially the King map (the one that the 'Pukes claimed didn't exist) with minor variations on district boundaries in Waco and NE Texas.

Our best hope at this point is to either defeat it in the TX Senate, or to fight it in court. I'd prefer to defeat it in the TX Senate, since the cost of Federal Court intervention will run between $8M and $16M, and we are already several BILLION short in the state budget.

[leftyandproud]

4. lets be honest

If these were dems, we'd be cheering them...It's partisan politics as usual, nothing new.

[Mithras61]

6. I don't know about you, but

I'd be opposed to ANY redistricting effort that isn't fully in compliance with Federal laws. The "King Map" that the 'Pukes are pushing is most definitely NOT in compliance for several reasons, including those outlined in a 6/26/2003 SCOTUS decision.

[Dudley_DUright]

8. No, I would be against it anyway

since is suppose to be tied to the census every 10 years. If we open it up for a fight every time someone wanted to, there would be chaos. That is one of the major differences between us and them, we like to play by the rules.

[The Stranger]

9. No, actually the Democrats never did do what the Republicans are doing.

The Republicans are using the fact that they have a majority to try to change procedural rules and alter political boundaries so as to try to ensure they will always have a majority.

So, if we're being honest, you're wrong. We wouldn't be cheering the Democrats if they were doing this, nor were we ever before.

[mbperrin]

10. No, we wouldn't.

The reason the courts decided the issue last time is because Governor Goodhair refused to call a special session to deal with the issue after the 140 days allotted for regular sessions expired.

So the courts wrote it - Perry didn't want to write it.

But now DeLay wants to rewrite it, so voila - Perry wants to write it and calls the special session at a cost of millions to the taxpayer.

Also, school finance is not yet settled, either, but Perry says they can deal with it next year!

So the school children of Texas take it in the ass, while DeLay gets his rocks off bullying Perry and the Lege!

No, no reason to cheer here. Hopefully, the fuckers are near the end of their allotted actuarial period!

[OldCurmudgeon]

15. off the wall idea...

...now, if the TX dems could cut a deal "okay, we'll go along with redistricting to give you Repugs a bunch of seats....BUT there's a condition: you'll have to redistrict DeLay out of his seat".

Yeah, never happen. You can't negotiate with terrorists, you can't appease tyrants. But you can poke 'em in the eye now and then.

[Jack Rabbit]

14. This is not politics as usual

Politics as usual would be the census is taken, the districts are redrawn (generally to the advantage of the party in power) and then the process is put away and forgotten for ten years.

The Republicans didn't get their way last year and want to try it again this year. They want more seats. In California, they didn't get their way last year and now want a new gubernatorial election.

They are abusing the system.

Are the TV cameras rolling while the state troopers keep the Democrats bottled in?

[Metarie81]

7. gerrymandering

on all sides has got to stop in order for any election to be called honest. The Republicans are more guilty lately cause they've been in power.

[ibegurpard]

11. It has nothing to do with gerrymandering

And everything to do with revisiting redistricting every time there is a power shift in a legislature. In my opinion, there is NO way that this move should be legal.

[BrettStah]

12. All states should use the Iowa process...

Iowa has an independent commission (i.e., bipartisan) that is in charge of redistricting. They also (not surprisingly) tend to have pretty competitive elections.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

13. troopers cardon off texas state house...redistricting map vote tonight???

WHTF???

http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=76881

The vote will probably be held tonight. Local news is reporting that State Troopers have cordoned off the building.