Posted on 05/12/2003 11:25:44 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
AUSTIN -- A group of Democratic lawmakers who threw the Legislature into turmoil when they went into hiding to block a Republican congressional redistricting plan turned up Monday evening in Ardmore, Okla.
House Speaker Tom Craddick announced in the state Capitol Monday night that most of the missing Democrats were at the Holiday Inn in Ardmore and that officers of the Texas Department of Public Safety were arriving to offer to escort them back to Austin.
More than 50 Democrats skipped the legislative session scheduled for Monday morning, depriving the body of the two-thirds majority required to conduct business. The tactic threatens to kill dozens of bills besides the redistricting measure, and possibly trigger a special session.
House rules allow for the arrest of members who thwart a quorum, although the act carries no other criminal or civil sanction. But Craddick, who earlier Monday had ordered the missing members arrested and returned to the Capitol, said the DPS officers did not have arrest authority in Oklahoma.
He said he was seeking federal assistance to arrest the lawmakers.
More than 90 House members agreed to spend the night in the Capitol in case enough Democrats returned to achieve the 100-member quorum required to conduct business.
But later Monday night, Craddick said the DPS reported that none of the Democrats agreed to return from Ardmore, and he dismissed House members present until 9 a.m. today.
In a phone interview with the Chronicle, state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, said he was in Ardmore with several other Democrats from Harris, Fort Bend and Galveston counties.
Coleman said none of the legislators with him felt in danger of imminent arrest.
He said the lawmakers were working on budget-related legislation and other measures. "It's a serious mood," he said. "It's a mood that goes along with strong convictions."
The runaway Democrats planned a news conference for 1 p.m. today in Ardmore, Coleman said.
The legislative walkout erupted from months of growing tension that the Democrats described as the "tyranny of the majority," resulting from the Republican takeover of the House for the first time since Reconstruction. But Craddick said it was the Democrats who ended the era of bipartisan cooperation in Austin.
This is the third quorum-busting walkout in modern Texas history. The most famous was the "Killer Bee" episode in 1979 that killed a bill to change the party primary date.
The errant House Democrats issued a statement saying a walkout was the only way they could protect current congressional district lines from being changed solely for political reasons.
"We won't be present today -- or any day -- that the House plans to consider this outrageous partisan action," the Democratic statement said.
But Craddick described the Democrats as sore losers now that they are in the minority.
"How do you think the Republicans felt for the last 130 years?" Craddick said.
"I've been in the House for 35 years and I've lost some, but I've never walked off the floor like these Chicken D's."
Among the Democrats in hiding is Craddick's predecessor as speaker, Rep. Pete Laney, D-Hale Center.
Eight of Harris County's 11 Democratic representatives participated in the walkout. Reps. Al Edwards, Sylvester Turner and Ron Wilson did not.
Turner said he stayed mostly because he is one of two Democrats on the House-Senate conference committee that is writing the final version of the state budget, and that it was more important to fight budget cuts than to walk out over redistricting.
But Turner said he was sympathetic with his Democratic colleagues frustration over the redistricting bill.
Turner, who is expected to announce as a candidate for Houston mayor, said the politics of that race did not figure into his decision to stay in Austin. He said opponents could turn his actions against him whether he joined the quorum-busting Democrats or stayed in Austin.
While the walkout was designed to kill the redistricting bill, it also was killing dozens of other House bills. One measure in jeopardy was a government reorganization bill that would have created $227 million in savings to help balance the state's budget.
Without a budget, Gov. Rick Perry would be forced to call a special legislative session. He called the walkout a "childish prank."
"These legislators have been elected and paid to come to work by hard-working Texans," Perry said. "They are asked to work for 140 days every two years -- not hide out because they don't like the way the debate is going."
The walkout was triggered by a congressional redistricting plan being promoted by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. The plan would give Republicans an opportunity to win four to seven seats now held by Democrats and erase the Democrats' 17-15 congressional delegation majority.
Craddick and his lieutenants have been power-driving the plan through the House process during the past two weeks. A floor vote was set for Monday, and the bill was expected easily to pass the House with its 88-62 Republican majority.
"This misbegotten plan is a monument to Tom DeLay's ego," the Democrats said in their statement. "No one benefits more than Tom DeLay. He believes he should choose who represents Texas in Congress, not the Texas voters."
Jim Ellis, a political aide to DeLay who advised House Republicans on how to draw the new maps, said the Democrats were operating in the interest of the national party rather than the state.
"It's unconscionable for them to shut the House down on their narrow partisan agenda, clearly on orders from Democrat leaders in Washington and San Francisco," Ellis said in a reference to U.S. Rep. Martin Frost, D-Dallas, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco.
Even if the redistricting bill gets out of the House, it may still face problems in the Senate.
Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, said Monday he has a dozen senators committed to blocking Senate debate. Senate rules require that two-thirds of members present vote to debate -- 21 votes if all 31 senators are present.
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said the House walkout may give wavering Democratic senators the courage of their convictions if the plan gets out of the House.
"It may help to give us a bit more backbone," Ellis said.
DeLay believes the Texas congressional districts should match voting patterns that have given the GOP control of the legislature and every statewide office.
"What's at stake here is the most effective and accurate representation for Texans," DeLay said Monday. "Republicans are the majority party in both Washington and Austin and are best able to deliver on Texans' priorities and represent their beliefs."
The House partisan meltdown occurred less than three years after then-Gov. George W. Bush successfully campaigned for president with a theme of bringing Texas' bipartisan working relationship to Washington.
"The Democrats did a great job of dividing the House," Craddick said, contending that Republicans were cooperative when they were in the state House minority, and that Democrats have not been.
But Democrats said the blame falls on Craddick and the Republican-dominated House, which has run over the Democrats time and again on issues such as state spending and putting caps on lawsuit damage awards. Republicans mostly refused to debate the Democrats on the budget, voting down one Democratic amendment after another.
"Redistricting was the last in a series of outrageous, iron-fisted power plays by Speaker Tom Craddick," said state Democratic Chairwoman Molly Beth Malcolm. "If Mr. Craddick wants to know who caused this, he should look in the mirror."
The legislative walkout apparently is the largest in Texas history. Forty-two House members shut the chamber down for an hour with a 1991 walkout to get a commitment from then-Gov. Ann Richards to help them restore funding in the state budget for prekindergarten programs.
They don't have convictions or backbone they only have lies and sneaky tactics.
Can he do that in spite of the no-quorum? If so, he should do so immediately. Let the Dems sulk in Ardmore if they want.
The TRUTH About Temper TantrumsYou're witnessing your toddler's second temper tantrum of the day. It shows no signs of stopping, and the supersonic, ear-shattering, teeth-jarring screams pierce the air. Your first instinct is to run away and join the circus, but of course this isn't a real option. There must be a better way.
Temper tantrums range from whining and crying to screaming, kicking, hitting, and breath holding. They are equally common in boys and girls and usually occur from age 1 to age 3. Some children may experience regular tantrums, whereas for other children, tantrums may be few and far between.
"Children's temperaments vary dramatically," says Dr. Heidi Feldman, Director of General Academic Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. "Children come into the world unsocialized with their own temperaments, and some are more prone to tantrums than others." How can you cope with your child's tantrums? Keep reading for tips and tactics on how to minimize tantrums and how to deal with them when they occur.
Tantrum Causes
Even the most good-natured toddler has an occasional temper tantrum. Tantrums are a normal part of development and don't have to be seen as something negative. "Children don't have the same inhibitions or control [that adults have], and the fact that they feel negative emotions is normal," Dr. Feldman explains. "Tantrums should be seen as opportunities for education, not as catastrophes."There are several basic causes of tantrums that are familiar to parents everywhere: the child is seeking attention or is tired, hungry, or uncomfortable. In addition, tantrums are often the result of a child's frustration with the world: she can't get something (for example, an object or a parent) to do what she wants. Frustration is an unavoidable part of a child's life as she learns how people, objects, and her own body work.
Imagine not being able to communicate your needs to someone. Imagine how it feels when you are determined to program your VCR and not being able to do it, no matter how hard you try, because you can't understand how. It's pretty frustrating - do you swear, throw the manual, walk away, and slam the door on your way out? That's the adult version of a tantrum. Children use the only tools at their disposal for venting frustration.
Before age 2, a child begins to develop a strong sense of self. She wants a great deal of independence to express that self and a great deal of control over her environment - more than she is actually capable of handling. The conditions are right for power struggles as the child thinks "I can do it myself" or "I want it, give it to me." When a toddler discovers that she can't do it herself and that she can't have everything she wants, the stage is set for a tantrum.
Isn't the Rat party the same team that was berating President Bush's administation for not being able to negotiate diplomatically?
***Isn't the Rat party the same team that was berating President Bush's administation for not being able to negotiate diplomatically?***
Bump!
"Yesterday the DemocRat elected representatives of Texas had a temper tanrum..."
The roach motel.
Let that be the element of this story that grows legs.
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