Remap fray envelops Dewhurst
'Mr. Inclusion' sees role turn into 'Mr. Hardball' in state fight
08/04/2003
AUSTIN – It's been a trying month for the man who many consider the most powerful elected official in Texas.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, widely praised by Democrats and Republicans for his smooth running of the Senate in the regular legislative session this year, has seen his bipartisan image tarnished in the bitter fight over which party should have the most congressional seats in Texas.
Mr. Dewhurst, a Republican, was compelled to take up his party's fight over congressional redistricting in special sessions over the last month after largely avoiding the issue in the regular session.
In a departure from those early days of his term, "Mr. Inclusion" has become "Mr. Hardball." He has joined GOP senators in repeatedly attacking the 11 Democrats who fled the state to New Mexico to block a quorum in the Senate and thwart Republican-led efforts to redraw the political boundaries in their favor.
"By abandoning the state and considering legal action when they don't get their way, the Democrat minority is doing damage to Senate traditions and to the Senate as an institution," an increasingly impatient Mr. Dewhurst said last week.
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U.S. Rep. Jim Turner, a Democrat from Crockett in East Texas whose seat could be threatened in redistricting, said the about-face by Mr. Dewhurst won't go unnoticed by the public.
"It's hard to understand how the lieutenant governor could have attempted to establish himself as a bipartisan leader in the regular session and now move away from that and try to polarize the state through this partisan redistricting," said Mr. Turner, a former member of the Texas Senate.
Some wonder whether this is a sign of things to come in the state's upper chamber, which has shied away from Washington, D.C.-style politics in the past.
Political experts caution that redistricting is different from virtually all other types of legislative debates.
'No middle ground'
"There is no middle ground on redistricting. You're either a Democrat or Republican in one of the biggest legislative brawls that you can think of. It is the political equivalent of bare-knuckled boxing with no rules or referees," said Tony Proffitt, a political consultant who worked for former Democratic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and former GOP Gov. Bill Clements.
Mr. Proffitt doubts any long-term damage to Mr. Dewhurst's leadership in the Senate, suggesting that if the Republican were doing nothing to promote the GOP agenda, he might be perceived as weak.
"As long as he remains cordial to the Senate Democrats and keeps open the line of communication, his leadership mantle won't be too damaged," he said. Mr. Dewhurst has, in fact, telephoned some Democrats.
Sen. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria, the only member of his party in the Senate not to leave the Capitol, predicted that there would be no fallout as far as the public's perception of Mr. Dewhurst, because the public has no real interest in the issue. He suggested that problems with some senators should dissipate once redistricting is resolved.
"He has been very open about wishing we didn't have to deal with this. None of us want to be here, but it was the governor's call," Mr. Armbrister said, referring to Gov. Rick Perry's decision to call back-to-back special sessions on redistricting. "Given a choice of walking through hot coals or doing this, I think he would probably take the hot coals."
The Democrats in New Mexico are not complaining about their treatment by Mr. Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, appoints its committees and controls the flow of legislation through the chamber.
"I can't tell you there are no wounds here, but the wounds can heal as long as this does not get personal," Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said in a telephone interview from Albuquerque.
'Professional manner'
"The lieutenant governor has handled the disagreement in a professional manner. As long he continues to do that, it won't cause long-term problems."
Still, Mr. West said he was surprised that Mr. Dewhurst changed his position on the long-standing practice of requiring a two-thirds vote of the 31-member Senate to consider any piece of legislation. Mr. Dewhurst observed the two-thirds requirement in the first special session but said he would not invoke it in the second session after Democrats and one Republican used it to block redistricting in the first session.
"Without question, he brought people together during the regular session and forged coalitions on tough issues that were far more important to the citizens of Texas then redistricting," the Dallas senator said. "That's why his recent actions are surprising to me."
Mr. Dewhurst said he just decided to handle redistricting the way previous Senate leaders did, setting aside the high threshold for bringing a bill up in the Senate because of the unique and volatile nature of the issue.
Under the "two-thirds rule," the 11 Democrats could normally keep legislation from being taken up. The rule has been set aside on rare occasions, such as when a judge ordered lawmakers to redraw state Senate boundaries in 1992.
Republicans are seeking to dramatically increase their representation in the state's congressional delegation, which now has 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans.
Mr. Dewhurst, elected lieutenant governor in November after a bruising battle with Democrat John Sharp – who predicted partisan warfare if his opponent was elected – said the bipartisan ways of the Senate will return once congressional redistricting is out of the way.
"We started this session with 31 friends and colleagues, and we will end this session with 31 friends and colleagues," Mr. Dewhurst said, adding he is "looking forward" to again working with Democrats on issues important to Texas.
E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com
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