They scare the crap out of me when they are in power though.
Posted on 10/19/2003 7:31:56 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Redistricting petition Democrats press Ashcroft to reject plan
BY MARK HELM Hearst Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders on Thursday launched an online petition asking Attorney General John Ashcroft to reject the new Texas congressional redistricting map that could give Republicans up to seven additional House seats.
"This plan clearly violates minority votes rights and any fair review would reject it quickly," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "The review of this plan is a test of whether John Ashcroft can be trusted to enforce the law fairly."
Earlier this week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, signed legislation that redesigned the state's congressional districts. The new map puts Republicans in a strong position to dominate the state's congressional delegation in the 2004 elections and beyond.
The 32-member Texas delegation now consists of 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans. With the U.S. House currently composed of 229 Republicans and 205 Democrats - with one independent who usually votes with Democrats - the additional seats could become a major factor in determining which party controls the chamber after next year's election.
Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act requires that the Justice Department examine the redistricting plan to determine whether it lessens the political influence of minority-group members in the state. The law requires the department to make its determination within 60 days after a law has been signed.
Pelosi said Ashcroft should promise to allow career government officials in the department's Civil Rights division, rather than political appointees, to review the plan.
She said the petition - which calls for the Justice Department to reject the plan - would be presented to the department next week.
The online petition is available only on the Internet at www.democraticaction.org Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez, D-Texas, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said the plan hurts the political clout of black and Hispanic voters by reducing the number of "majority-minority" congressional districts - where minority voters make up a majority of the population - from 11 to 10.
"Make no mistake, redistricting in Texas would be one of the single greatest setbacks for minority voters in the 38-year-history of the Voting Rights Act, if it were allowed to take effect," he said.
But Jonathon Grella, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said minority rights were protected under the new map. Delay played a key role in helping Republican state legislators reach an agreement on their plan.
Grella predicted that the plan would increase minority representation in Congress by boosting the number of Hispanic representatives from six to eight and of black representatives from two to three.
This would result from the removal of many minority voters in several districts currently represented by white Democrats. By combining the minority communities into one district, a black or Hispanic candidate would likely be elected. The removal of minority-group members - who vote overwhelming Democratic - from the other districts means that those areas would tend to vote Republican.
"It defies logic to say that the plan hurts minority voting rights by boosting minority representation in Congress," Grella said.
He added that neither party should be attempting to "pressure" the Justice Department.
Justice Department officials could not be reached for comment.
Rep. Martin Frost, D-Texas, whose seat could be vulnerable under the new plan, said Democrats would challenge the law in federal court if the Justice Department failed to reject it.
"The federal courts are not controlled by anything the Justice Department says about the plan," he said.
Already, three lawsuits have been filed in federal court challenging the law. Two of the suits contend that the plan hurts minority voters, while the other contends that the state legislature could not legally create new districts in mid-decade.
The new district map was adopted by the state legislature after a fierce five-month battle that included two quorum-busting flights into exile by Democratic lawmakers.
Republicans argued that the redistricting was needed to reflect changes in the state's political landscape. They pointed out that despite controlling both chambers of the state legislature and holding every statewide political office, Republicans hold only 15 of the 32 congressional seats in Texas.
Democrats say Republicans are likely to gain up to seven seats under the new map.
Bob Stein, a professor of political science and dean of the School of Social Sciences at Rice University, said incumbent Democrats who could be vulnerable under the plan include: Charles W. Stenholm; Lloyd Doggett; Nick Lampson; Jim Turner; Chet Edwards; Gene Green; Chris Bell and Frost.
(Mark Helm can be reached at 202-263-6425 or at the e-mail address mark(at)hearstdc.com)
10/19/03
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Translation: Though we preach democracy, we really only want to count the votes of those who agree with us, no matter how few they are.
Hey Pelosi! I am one person who is voting for your immediate retirement. If the whims of a minority are so important to you, then show your commitment to my lonesome vote and lead by example and retire.
Any Federal Court challenges (and they are to be expected) will be uphill attempts to undo the process which has to proceed by mid-January 2004--the deadline for filing for the Texas primaries. This puts the courts under a lot of strain--having to decide to "cancel an election" after the DOJ has carried out its Statuatory function in certifying the new boundries.
I never understood why Rick Perry (Tx. Gov.) only moved the Primaries back one week--to mid-March from early March. I knew that even one week pushed Texas out of the "Super Tuesday" process which will likely cement the Democratic nominee for President. That's a good thing. Campaigning and advertising in Texas becomes much, much less important now.
But if Perry wanted 2004 to have the new Congressional Delegation, why not delay things for 3-4 months, still plenty of time to run a primary and an election. Now it seems that Perry is dumb like a fox, he delayed for a week to acknowledge that DOJ needs sixty-days (no more) to pre-approve, then the Federal Courts have a few weeks to decide to "cancel/delay the election" or else to let people file for the new Primary districts and then possibly change things after the campaigning truly starts.
They scare the crap out of me when they are in power though.
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