Posted on 08/04/2003 4:35:05 PM PDT by 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
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