Posted on 05/17/2003 7:36:36 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Democrats say retreat reinvigorated party
BY TRICIA CORTEZ Times staff writer
AUSTIN - Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives quickly showed their Republican brethren Friday morning they were serious about tackling the legislative calendar.
Some also commented, "finally, the Texas Democratic Party is showing some backbone."
"I want to thank Tom Delay for galvanizing the Democratic Party," state Rep. Aaron Peña (D-Edinburg) said Friday morning before entering the Capitol for 9 a.m. roll call. "He has done what we Democrats have been unable to do for a couple of decades-unite and excite the party."
State Rep. Jessica Farrar, a five-term Democrat from Houston, agreed.
"This has given the Democrats a new birth. It has taught us a lesson and helped us become a solid voice. A lot of us saw and felt the safety we have in our numbers, something we had not done before," Farrar said.
The 150-member Texas House is split between 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats.
Peña and Ferrar are two of 55 Democrats known as the Killer Ds who closed ranks this past week "to put a stop to the heavy-handed and ram-it-down-your-throat style of leadership and legislative agenda of the Republican House leadership this session."
The Democrats, anxious to resume the legislative process, urged supporters in the Gallery, who showed up to welcome back the Killer Ds from their self-imposed exile, to exercise decorum and respect in the House chamber.
"There are 18 days left (in the session), and there is a lot of work to do and many things to accomplish. Hopefully, we can get things back on track," House Democratic Caucus Chairman Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) said right after a Friday morning rally.
State Rep. Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin) said he did not fear reprisals from Speaker of the House Tom Craddick (R-Midland) or other GOP House leaders on upcoming bills backed by Democrats.
"I don't think that will happen. There has been too much publicity. Speaker Craddick will look even worse than he did if there were to be any retribution," Naishtat said.
Meanwhile, questions abounded over the potential fallout from the week's unprecedented events. Some questioned whether Craddick has been damaged politically by the Democrats' exodus to Oklahoma and his uncompromising position on the controversial and divisive redistricting 'midnight map.' Farrar said she was "not surprised" that Craddick didn't budge on the issue.
"We've been dealing with that type of attitude for five months. I'm glad that the rest of the state, the country and even the world has had a chance to see that," she said. "My main qualm with the redistricting bill is that it took priority over our budget, people being removed from elderly homes and health care services and our schools losing money."
During a Friday press conference, two hours after roll call, the Speaker replied that the perception of Texas may have been damaged by the political imbroglio but stressed that things were going smoothly.
"I think it's going very well out there...The foundation of the House is built on relationships and not politics," Craddick said. "I think this House needs to be united in that respect. I think it has done that."
During the press conference, the Speaker stated that he "did not know" that House Redistricting Chairman Joe Crabb (R-Atascocita) did not want to hold public hearings in South Texas because only two committee members spoke Spanish.
Craddick said the House GOP leadership does not espouse that type of attitude or mentality.
Before the Friday session started, Craddick announced that he would not allow a suspension of the House rules, meaning that members could not vote to bring back those bills that had died Thursday midnight for lack of a House quorum.
As such, State Rep. Norma Chavez (D-El Paso) said she has staff "working 'round-the-clock looking for all kinds of Senate bills, so we can attach these House bills."
Chavez, a four-term representative and chairwoman of the newly created Border and International Affairs Committee, described the "precarious situation" she found herself in with the Killer Ds standoff.
"When you take on the responsibility of being a committee chair, you have to make difficult choices. I chose not to go with them to Ardmore, but I did choose to stand with them in solidarity," she said.
Although the speaker asked Chavez by phone to return to Austin, she said she could not do so because "the calls were overwhelming from my district about the situation.
"This has been the most difficult session I have witnessed. The power structure has shifted in this state, so the values and priorities have shifted. My role is to work within the power structure that exists, so I can deliver and advance the agenda for the border community, so it can become self-sustaining," Chavez said.
She noted that 76 percent of NAFTA trade comes through ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border.
"We are the arteries of commerce for this country, yet the infrastructure is not there. My job is to educate the rest of the state about this and get the most that I can for the border," she added.
Despite these duties, Chavez said she had to support her Democratic colleagues. "This was no disrespect to Speaker Craddick. It was a call to action, and I had to stand with them."
On the floor, Juan M. Escobar, the new Democratic state Rep. from Kingsville who was elected to fill the position that belonged to the late Irma Rangel, said "I got sworn in on Friday and left for Oklahoma on Sunday."
Around him, Democrats and Republicans walked around the House floor "making peace." State Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston) joked with Dunnam of Waco, "I felt less tension during the prayer than I did the week before we left to Oklahoma."
(Staff writer Tricia Cortez can be reached at 728-2568 or tricia@lmtonline.com.)
05/17/03
Well said.
They are celebrating now, but I believe the Democrats will regret their actions soon.
Well put. ;)
Aside from the sympathetic press coverage, how is this flaunting of the law going over in law-and-order Texas?
I can't see them winning many friends with this utterly stupid tactic.
Sick.
If Democrats are this willing to go against the will of the voting public to thwart the legislative process, are they also just as willing to engage in vote fraud to gain or stay in power? Just one of many questions that comes to mind about the integrity of Democrats.
JJust like the French BEFORE the war, we'll see.
I don't understand WHY NOT????? There must be plenty bills that could be taken up and just avoid theirs, they should understand why it was done. Especially if they think they have won.
but yes, they will lose big time in the next election, IF there is a Republican candidate!!!
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