Some rebel Texas lawmakers surface in Oklahoma town - I'll hold my breath till my face turns red

Houston Chronicle ^ | May 13, 2003 | R.G. RATCLIFFE and POLLY ROSS HUGHES

[Consort]

Send out the bounty hunters and begin extridition procedures.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Buy = But

[weegee]

It's "their money" when they pull an obstructionist stunt like this but it's the taxpayer's money when President Bush flies out to sea on official business.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

You got it.

[risk]

This whole story is funny to an outsider like me!

Kim Jung Il has to be taking note. Texas Rangers being sent out to hunt down wayward legislators sends out a loud and clear message: Texans are serious! Don't mess with Texans!

[weegee]

I've heard that people in downtown Houston (office workers, etc.) walking around at lunchtime have occassionally been pulled in for jury duty when more prospective jurors are needed. I think that law enforcement does the snare.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Texans are serious! Don't mess with Texans!

Bump!!

[Flyer]

WANTED IN TEXAS

Get Your 2 Page PDF Wanted Poster here

[jagrmeister]

This is a GREAT story for the GOP to nationalize. Democrats look: weak, pathetic, cowardly.

Other points to emphasize:
*Fleeing from their jobs. Wouldn't it be nice if the hard-working American laborer could have this luxury to go on the lam....and still get paid!
*Gang of crybabies- round 'em up and have them explain to their bossess, the people, why they didn't show up for work. (Message to the voter: What would happen to you if you didn't show up for work? You'd be fired. Do the same thing to the cowardly Democrats who ran from their jobs and their responsibilities)
*Theme: "John Doe, Democrat, rather than working, fled to New Mexico to do his job. Does that sound responsible to you?"
*Dems running away from their responsibility to the people: legislature trying to fix the budget, improve education from the people, and Dems flee the scene.

[Greybird]

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.

Any other differences aside, I have to admire these Republicans in the Texas House. They're putting their cojones, and the rest of their carcasses, on the line -- literally -- to try to get past the effects of this tantrum.

Unlike the Republicans in the U.S. Senate, who for months have refused to do a single "overnight," to keep the Democrats who want to obstruct votes on judges actually talking! Some "filibuster"!

[Victoria_R]

This is a GREAT story for the GOP to nationalize. Democrats look: weak, pathetic, cowardly.

I don't think so. The stupid Idaho House (Republican) should have staged a similar walkout instead of letting Kempthorne (Republican) beat them into raising taxes. (They talked about it and then wimped out.)

I'm really annoyed with Republicans at the moment.

[jagrmeister]

Your logic doesn't follow. If I was a Democrat, I would lampoon the Idaho Republicans mercilessly had they walked out. The would face endless taunts of "So much for Personal Responsibility?" and "Lazy Republicans get a paycheck for hiding". I would highlight their cowardice and their refusal to do the job that people hired them to do. Do you stand and fight or do you hide in the bushes. Good strategists know this is a gold mine.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[Lockbox]

Time to call your local tax assessor’s office and tell them to credit your property taxes for the time these Libs are out.

If they can’t show up for their duty, we can’t pay our taxes.

[Jessamine]

***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. ***

Any Oklahoma Freepers avialable to serenade them in their motel rooms?
''It's my party and I'll cry if I want to''

[Jessamine]

Ping

[mewzilla]

Leave it to the Chron to confuse cowards with rebels.

[jimt]

The 'rats should not be allowed back in Texas without a DPS escort that takes them immediately to the House. Once there, they should not be allowed to leave.

I hope the Texas Republicans start playing real hardball with these clowns.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

This poolside image should play well back home.

Smiley N. Pool / Chronicle Rep. Joe Moreno of Houston, one of 51 Democratic lawmakers who walked out of the Texas House of Representatives Monday, makes a phone call from beside the pool at the Holiday Inn in Ardmore, OK, Tuesday.

House to stay shut, absentees vow***But Woolley said if Republicans surrender on redistricting, they empower the Democrats to do this again on other bills. The partisan wrangling played out rhetorically as Democrats called their legislators the "Killer D's," while Republicans referred to them as "Chicken D's." Two women dressed as chickens picketed the Capitol's south steps.***