Demo senators strike note of defiance in maintaining holdout (Chicken Run Official Song...)

San Antonio Express ^ | 8/04/03 | W. Gardner Selby

[Libloather]

UPDATED: Demo senators strike note of defiance in maintaining holdout

By W. Gardner Selby
Express-News Staff Writer
Web Posted : 08/04/2003 3:15 PM

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Eleven Democratic senators entered their second week away from Texas in a local hotel today by singing a song crediting them with outsmarting U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

DeLay, the House majority leader, has been blamed by Democrats for pressuring Gov. Rick Perry to call repeated special sessions for the purpose of imposing more Republican-leaning congressional districts.

Several senators sang along with visiting guitarist Steve Brooks, who wore a “Killer D’s” T-shirt referring to the flight to Oklahoma of 51 House Democrats in May to stop congressional redistricting during the regular legislative session.

The song, sung to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas," begins: “Oh, the Killer D's of Texas are going on a tour. Don't bother trying to find them down on the Senate floor. They crawled across the border, down Albuquerque way, and the Killer D's of Texas put the sting on Tom DeLay.”

Jim Ellis, executive director of DeLay’s political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority, reacted: “It doesn’t surprise me that the 'cowardly D's' would sing a childish song because it typifies the childish antics."

A few minutes later, the senators emphasized their intent to stay out of Texas — keeping the 31-member Senate from having a quorum — unless Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst relents and restores a tradition of requiring a two-thirds’ majority vote of the Senate to take up measures.

Dewhurst stuck to the two-thirds tradition in the first special session called by Perry, and a congressional redistricting plan never drew enough support for floor debate.

But Dewhurst planned to require only a majority of Senate votes to bring up measures in any second or subsequent sessions. Republicans, who hold a 19-12 margin in the body, would presumably control the agenda with the shift.

But all but one Senate Democrat left for New Mexico on July 28 as Perry called a second 30-day session on redistricting and other topics.

“We remain unalterably opposed to redistricting,” said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, who heads the Senate Democratic Caucus.

“We are stronger and more resolved than ever,” said Sen. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo. “You can see it in our demeanor; you can hear it in our voices. We intend to stay here because ours is a winning strategy. We are not looking for an exit strategy. We are not considering a losing strategy. We are here to win this fight. And fight we will, and win we will.”

Van de Putte and other senators took issue with a comment by Sen. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria, suggesting most Texans are unaware and do not care that lawmakers have been asked to redraw congressional districts during a special session.

In the past century, Van de Putte said, no state has changed congressional districts in the middle of a decade without a court order to do so.

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, said Armbrister and others need to hold town hall meetings with constituents on the importance of redrawing the 32 districts.

“Go back to your communities and ask people what they think,” Whitmire said. “We know they will agree with us: It is a total waste of money, time and energy.”

wselby@express-news.net

08/04/2003

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

[Chad Fairbanks]

Turn that frown... upside down!

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Sorry, I can't. I just found out I can't be an honorary Chippewa Indian!!!

[austingirl]

Great lyrics. I like yours a lot better than the 'rats version.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Thank ya kindly :0)

[lowbridge]

Could post that like this now ??

Great! :-)

[wysiwyg]

ROFL! That's great, but how about changing "Killer" to "Chicken?" LOL

[Chad Fairbanks]

Excellent suggestion!

[Chad Fairbanks]

"The Chicken D's of Texas"
Tune: "The Yellow Rose of Texas"
Words copyright 2003 Chad Fairbanks


Oh, the Chicken D's of Texas,
Are running away.
They don't act like real Texans,
so who needs 'em anyway.
They fled across the border,
to avoid a little fray.
And the Chicken D's of Texas
are afraid of Tom Delay.

When the governor of Texas
was expecting maturity.
all he got from democrats,
was an infant mentality.
So they slipped across the border,
before the session got underway,
Cuz the Chicken D's of Texas
are afraid of Tom Delay.

They crossed the old Red River,
& holed up on the public dime.
Getting paid to represent Texans,
while they have a grand old time.
Protected by state troopers,
to keep the public at bay.
The Chicken D's of Texas
are afraid of Tom Delay.

Back in the STate of Texas,
the work ain't being done.
While everyone else is working hard,
the democrats are having fun.
They, too, should be in Austin,
but they all ran away,
cuz the Chicken D's of Texas
are afraid of Tom Delay.

Far from the state of Texas,
The D's have gone on strike,
like their commie union brothers,
claiming to care about voting rights.
All they know is obstruction,
it's their method of normal play,
cuz the Chicken D's of Texas
are afraid of Tom Delay.

Now, Democrats of Texas,
you've got a Yellow Streak.
It's about a mile wide,
and does it ever reek.
You'll lose the next election,
cuz crime no longer pays.
Yeah, the Chicken D's of Texas
are afraid of Tom Delay...

[Chad Fairbanks]

Further suggestions welcome :0)

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[hocndoc]

Did anyone notice that the author of the article changed the wording in his report - it's different from the wording in the side bar.

"" They crawled across the border""

vs.

""They've gone across the border""

Be sure and take a look at my report (post #2) on this thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/958095/posts

[GOPcapitalist]

Brilliant rewrite! Towards the end of the civil war a final stanza was added to the Yellow Rose of Texas about the troops heading home. It read:

And now I'm going southward
for my heart is full of woe,
I'm going back to Texas,
to see my Uncle Joe.
You may talk about your Beauregard, and sing of Bobbie Lee,
But the gallant Hood of Texas played hell in Tennessee.

To that end and if I may propose it, the following could be used as a final stanza at the time they surrender to authorities and return to Austin:

And now they're heading homeward
Their hearts are full of woe
We'll drag em back to Texas
In cuffs and chains you know
You may talk about your Hildebeast, and sing of Gov'nor Gray,
But the Chicken D's of Texas, they're afraid of Tom DeLay

[jimt]

My only comments this morning regarding the Chicken Ds are not postable.

[Dog Gone]

The eventual victory we will score over these Rats is going to be much sweeter because of the way they have behaved. I could almost scrape up some sympathy for the Dem Congressmen who are going to be out of a job when this is over.

Not now. No mercy.

[Dog Gone]

According to the Dallas Morning News, one of the Democrats, Eddie Lucio of Brownsville, said Monday he plans to ask Dewhurst for a "pass" so he can return to Texas for a meeting in Fort Worth next week of the Southern Legislative Conference. Lucio was appointed by Dewhurst last week to serve on the conference's agriculture and rural development committee.

This could get interesting.

[jimt]

Thanks for the good news !

I'm so tired of the scummy 'rats doing whatever they want, aided and abetted by the 'rat presstitutes, I want to start pounding the wall.

There is no tactic too low, too disreputable, too dishonest, too dishonorable that a 'rat in pursuit of power would avoid it.

There used to be a Democrat party, with respectable politicians (some!) who I could agree or disagree with, but could respect as principled people. All there is now is a group of sluts who would eviscerate their children in public if it would advance their 'rat agenda. SCUM !

[Froggie]

I suspect in true Republican fashion, that the Governor will cave -- but, I heard from someone that met with him on an unrelated issue last week that he says he's sticking to his guns on this one...sure hope so!

[Dubya]

LOL. Good post. Thanks for the ping.

[ricer1]

The Dallas radio station, WBAP, has been playing this tune lately...

http://rope.wbap.com/audio/albuquerque.wma

It's a great parody!