Posted on 08/23/2003 6:02:55 AM PDT by Libloather
Ad blitz set for AWOL Demos
By Guillermo X. Garcia
Express-News Austin Bureau
Web Posted : 08/23/2003 12:00 AM
AUSTIN — A liberal activist group says it has collected almost $800,000 online for a nationwide advertising and informational campaign to bolster Texas Democrats' ongoing effort to short-circuit the Republican push for congressional redistricting.
The group, moveon.org, earlier this week set a $1 million goal for what it terms an extensive outreach effort that will focus on the 11 Democratic senators holed up in Albuquerque to prevent a Texas Senate redistricting vote.
Friday, two days after its "Defend Democracy" campaign was launched on the Internet, the group's Web site indicated it had collected more than $790,000. Founded by two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs during the Clinton impeachment fight, the group claims a nationwide e-mailing list of 2 million people.
"I've never seen any grassroots fund-raising group raise this much this quickly," said Glenn Smith, a political consultant representing the group's Texas effort. He predicted the $1 million goal "is gonna get reached pretty quickly."
He said almost 27,000 people, including about 2,000 from Texas, have contributed to the campaign, which he envisioned as a national radio, TV and print blitz, as well as an organizing campaign in select cities around the country.
The senators left Austin on July 28 to prevent a Senate quorum, killing debate on a bill that would redraw the state's congressional boundaries to benefit Republicans. They vow to remain out of state beyond Tuesday's end of the second special session of the summer called by Gov. Rick Perry for redistricting.
Perry and other Republican leaders have promoted the redrawing of the state's congressional districts at the behest of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, who wants to increase the Republican majority in Washington.
DeLay and others say the state's voters increasing preference for Republican candidates should be reflected in the Texas congressional delegation. Currently, there are 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans in the 32-member delegation.
Maps drawn by Republicans in the Texas House and Senate are attempts to virtually guarantee the state sends 19 to 22 Republicans to Congress.
Friday, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he'd prefer that the Legislature take time off before beginning a third special session on redistricting, which Perry has promised to call. Dewhurst didn't say how long he thinks the break should be, and said Perry has not informed him of when the third session will begin.
San Antonio Republican Sen. Jeff Wentworth said he also favors a cooling-off period.
"I think it'd be helpful and beneficial, cleansing maybe even," Wentworth said. "I think it'd be helpful if we all sat down and talked instead of these dueling news conferences with more and more strident language."
The strident language continued Friday.
Dewhurst predicted the runaway senators would return early next week, "possibly Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday," based on information that he would not elaborate on.
"This is the same lieutenant governor who said that redistricting was a contagious flu that we were going to avoid," responded San Antonio Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, the Democratic Caucus Chair. "He needs to understand how firm we are about not returning."
Let the RATS continue to live in New Mexico...
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