Posted on 10/23/2003 12:44:13 PM PDT by Theodore R.
Democrats donate $230,000 to party, fund
Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) - Since the redistricting fight erupted last spring, 13 of the 17 Texas Democrats in Congress have donated more than $230,000 to the state Democratic party and a political fund dedicated to re-electing state lawmakers.
Quarterly financial reports filed by the congressional Democrats last week show they donated $141,000 from their campaign funds to the state Democratic Party, The Dallas Morning News reported in Wednesday's editions.
The contributions ranged from $5,000 from Reps. Nick Lampson of Beaumont and Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston to $50,000 from Rep. Martin Frost of Arlington, dean of the delegation.
"I think all of us have realized that if you're going to be in the battle, you have to be there with everything you can. So sure, we talked with each other and said, 'We need to help these folks,' " said Rep. Gene Green of Houston, who has given $15,000 to the state party this summer and another $25,000 to the Majority Political Action Committee of Texas, or MPACT, formed this year to re-elect Democrats to the Texas House.
The reports also show that nine of the Democrats sent checks totaling $91,200 to MPACT, formed this year as a counterbalance to various GOP political action committees. The bulk came from three congressmen who each gave $25,000: Green, Chet Edwards of Waco and Ruben Hinojosa of Mercedes.
Some of the money has been used to rally public opposition to the redistricting effort, party leaders said, while much of it will be used to help re-elect Democrats in the Texas House who killed a redistricting bill by hiding out in Oklahoma.
Ted Royer, spokesman for the Texas GOP, said the donations show that "Washington, D.C., Democrats were majorly involved with the obstructionist efforts of Texas Democrats," and that Texas Democrats were hypocritical in complaining about Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, for his role in pushing the issue and negotiating a final bill.
"They screamed bloody murder if a Republican congressman ever came to Austin to talk about redistricting, while they were taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Democratic congressmen," Royer said.
Most of the incumbents also have put up $5,000 to $20,000 each for legal fees, and that is expected the grow. The last big legal fight over the state's congressional districts cost Democrats about $1.7 million.
Sean Michael Byrne, spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party, said none of the congressional campaign funds have been used to defray expenses incurred by House members who fled to Ardmore, Okla. for five days or state senators who holed up in New Mexico for six weeks.
10/23/03
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