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Special Session: Redistricting hearing schedule, summary, maps (from the Texas Legialtive Council) |
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Posted on 06/28/2003 6:58:49 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP
GOP accused of trying to fix remap hearing
06/28/2003
AUSTIN – Some of the behind-the-scenes wrangling over redistricting spilled onto the stage Friday when Democrats accused Republicans of secretly trying to rig a Dallas hearing with manufactured text and planted speakers.
State Democratic Party chairwoman Molly Beth Malcolm said an e-mail by Collin County GOP chairman Rick Neudorff sent to fellow Republicans was proof that legislative hearings on redistricting are "nothing but a sham."
Mr. Neudorff said his e-mail was only an effort to rally speakers and help prepare them for Saturday's all-day redistricting hearing at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
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Mr. Neudorff said his efforts were similar to Ms. Malcolm's handiwork this week when she sent a mailing to Democrats with suggested wording for letters to the editor in local newspapers.
"I'm not trying to pull a fast one," Mr. Neudorff said.
Request for volunteers
In his e-mail sent Friday morning to supporters in Collin County, Mr. Neudorff asked for volunteers to testify at the hearings.
"You can either write your own testimony, or our retained [volunteer] group of speech writers will be happy to draft remarks for you," he wrote.
He said that if supporters planned to go, they should let him know, "as I will need to get you a place in speaking order AHEAD of time," he said.
Ms. Malcolm said the e-mail shows that "Collin County Republicans and perhaps even the committee itself are rigging the process."
Speakers, except for elected officials, are usually taken on a first-come, first-served basis at such committee hearings.
Mr. Neudorff said about six people from Collin County answered his e-mail, telling him they wanted to speak. He said they will be not get special accommodations.
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"She's grasping for straws," he said of Ms. Malcolm.
He said GOP political committees were the ones wanting names so that they could make sure a wide geographical area was represented at the hearings. He said he had no contact with the legislative redistricting staff.
And Mr. Neudorff said helping speakers write out their remarks was a courtesy.
"A lot of people are extremely busy and don't have a time to sit down and write out a three- to five-minute presentation," he said.
Heading off protests
Mr. Neudorff also said in an interview and in his e-mail that he wants that the protests and yelling matches that shut down a redistricting hearing Thursday in Brownsville not to recur in Dallas.
"We must not let this happen in Dallas!" he wrote in his e-mail.
Sean Michael Byrne, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party, said he was not comforted by Mr. Neudorff's explanation.
"This still implies that there's some prearrangement with the committee that Republicans willing to testify will be given a set order," he said.
E-mail choppe@dallasnews.com
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Oh the horror, the horror.
An older Black gentleman got up to speak in support of the new plan and was shouted at by his very own people. He gave some very solid points as to why the old plan was bad and how the new plan would give blacks three more seats in Congress. (The powers-that-be in the Texas delagation don't want more black representation because they just might get stuck with some Clarence Thomas's, which would intolerable to them.) He also gave his testimony why he no longer was a part of the democratic party. I am sure he and Justice Thomas would get along famously.
I still can't get over how rude the dumbs were. Incredibly rude. If they were my children I would've clunked all their stupid fool heads together and taken away their playstations.
Put some ice on it baaaaby.
Trajan88
Dimocrats also whined and moaned about the special legislative session - they said it will cost the state $1.5 million. What was NOT mentioned - but certainly should have been - was that this special session would not have been necessary had the "Chicken D's" not fled to Oklahoma for 3 days near the end of the regular session.
Frankly, I'd send THOSE cowardly SOB's the bill for the $1.5 mil.
It sent Garnet into a frenzy (I don't think he punched anybody though as has been the case in the past when he looses his extremely short-fused temper) berating Wilson with the usual race baiter rhetoric. I don't know exactly what was said, but my guess is he probably implied that Wilson was a sellout or "uncle tom" or something like that. Wilson then pointed out that Garnet had a financial conflict of interest in redistricting itself because he makes money as a paid consultant to several people in the 'rat party who stand to lose power from redistricting. Add to that the usual remarks from Queen Sheila about Jim Crow this, segregation that, prejudice bigot homophobe everything else and the chaos is fairly evident.
I also heard that at one point a Republican stood up and echoed Wilson's comments by essentially telling the Dem disrupters that they should use the opportunity to participate and voice their input. They shouted him down and booed him for making such an "absurd" suggestion!
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