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Posted on 08/11/2003 4:39:57 PM PDT by harpu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2003
CONTACT:
Dave Beckwith
512-463-0715
STATEMENT BY LT. GOV. DAVID DEWHURST
AUSTIN “I had hoped that the Texas Supreme Court would provide an immediate resolution to the legislative stalemate brought about by 11 Texas Democrat Senators leaving the state to break a Senate quorum. The ruling today eliminates that possibility, but does help provide us with better direction on how to resolve the underlying problem.
“The court’s denial of our writ clarifies that the issue is a legislative matter that only the legislature can and should resolve. The Washington-paid counsel for the 11 Democratic Senators, in opposing Supreme Court intervention, also stated today that the Senate itself has adequate tools to deal with this situation.
“I agree. Accordingly, when the Senate convenes on Tuesday, I expect that Senators will consider appropriate measures against absent members as authorized by the Texas Senate rules and by the Texas Constitution (Article 3, Section 10), for the purpose of compelling their attendance.”
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Rick Perry
Statement of Gov. Rick Perry on Supreme Court Decision
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today released the following statement on a decision by the Texas Supreme Court to deny the state’s mandamus action compelling 11 Democrat senators to return to work.
“I am very disappointed that the Supreme Court did not resolve this pending constitutional crisis. The gravity of the situation is obvious. I believe a court resolution of this issue is critical to the future of our democratic process. Without a legal resolution, this constitutional abuse will be used in the future to again bring our government to a halt.
“The bottom line issue remains the same: These 11 Democrats continue to abdicate their responsibilities. They need to return to Texas and get back to work on important issues facing Texas. I remain committed to addressing redistricting and firmly believe that the vast majority of Texans expected their elected officials to draw congressional district lines, rather than leaving the work to federal judges. Other important work affecting education, health care and transportation also must be addressed.”
Eaker
Eaker
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Texas ping list!. . .don't be shy.
No, you don't HAVE to be a Texan to get on this list!
Full Texas Ping List
This is what showed on "My Comments" page. Note, this is post #12 of 11.
Strange, but thanks for the ping Meek!!
Eaker
LOL! Hey, don't feel alone. I have seen that phenomenon before. It always occurs just prior to a GOP victory, lol !!!
By the way, here is The Dallas Morning News report ...
Democrats file lawsuit to block GOP redistricting plan08/11/2003
AUSTIN – The partisan fight over redistricting erupted on two fronts Monday, as Texas Democrats sued to block the Republicans' effort to redraw the state's political map and the Texas Supreme Court refused to order Democrats to end their Senate boycott.
Democrats were pleased that the Supreme Court stayed out of the political fight.
"The Republicans took their best shot, they picked the venue, most likely to side with them, and the court said no," said Leticia Van de Putte, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, referring to the largely Republican court. "The Texas Supreme Court today acted with integrity.."
Also Online
Texas Talkback: Should the Legislature proceed with redistricting?
|Maps:
• Current Texas Congressional districts
• House map, passed 7/29
• Senate map, proposed 7/23Special Session: Redistricting hearing schedule, summary, maps
(from the Texas Legislative Council)More Politics Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott – acting on behalf of Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, both Republicans – had asked the Supreme Court to order 11 Senate Democrats back from self-imposed exile in New Mexico. The Democrats' absence prevented the Senate from considering a GOP plan to redraw the state's congressional districts.
The court offered no explanation for the decision but said in a notation that the writ was denied without regard to the constitutional arguments.
"I am very disappointed that the Supreme Court did not resolve this pending constitutional crisis," Perry said. "The gravity of the situation is obvious. I believe a court resolution of this issue is critical to the future of our democratic process."
Perry said the Democrats need to return to Texas and get back to work on important issues facing the state. He said Texans expect elected officials to draw congressional district lines, rather than leaving the work to federal judges.
Dewhurst said the court's denial clarifies that the issue is a legislative matter.
"Accordingly, when the Senate convenes on Tuesday, I expect that senators will consider appropriate measures against absent members as authorized by the Texas Senate rules and by the Texas Constitution, for the purpose of compelling their attendance," Dewhurst said.
Those measures could include monetary fines, according to a source who wished to remain anonymous.
Before the Supreme Court ruling, the Senate Democrats moved ahead with a federal lawsuit, accusing GOP leaders of pushing their plan through the Legislature without adequately considering the views of more than 6,000 people who attended public hearings this summer.
"(Perry is) so drunk with power he needs to sober up and deal with reality," said Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen.
In their lawsuit against the state, Perry and Dewhurst, the Democrats claimed that GOP leaders violated the federal Voting Rights Act by dropping a traditional rule that requires two-thirds of the Senate to agree to debate a bill.
Democrats argue that the two-thirds rule is vital in protecting the representation of political and racial minority groups in the Senate. Without the rule, voting "practices and procedures" in Texas are changed, Democrats' attorneys say.
Such a change, according to the Voting Rights Act, must first be cleared by the U.S. Justice Department, said Renae Hicks, an attorney for the Democrats.
"It is a change in pattern and practice with respect to redistricting in Texas in a way that's never happened before," Hicks said.
"There is a direct link between the change the lieutenant governor is proposing and minority voters in Texas," he said.
After the rule was dropped, 11 Senate Democrats fled to New Mexico to block consideration of a GOP-backed redistricting bill, partly because they believed the plan would minimize the representation of minorities and rural Texans in Congress.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District court in Laredo, a heavily Hispanic and rural area of South Texas.
The Democrats who filed the lawsuit – ten of whom represent majority-minority Senate districts – claim that GOP leaders excluded minorities in the redistricting process by failing to appoint any racial or ethnic minorities to chair subcommittees on redistricting and failing to hold public hearings south of San Antonio. Hearings also were not held in far West Texas or East Texas.
About 97 percent of 3,103 people who attended House public hearings and 92 percent of the 2,982 who attended Senate hearings registered opinions against lawmakers taking up redistricting, the lawsuit claims.
Some Republicans, most notably U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, say voting trends show Texas should have more Republicans representing the state in Congress. The state's congressional delegation currently consists of 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans. By contrast, Republicans hold every statewide elective office.
The state's congressional district boundaries were redrawn after the 2000 Census. Two attempts to pass a new map have failed this year. The first occurred in the regular session when more than 50 House Democrats blocked a quorum by fleeing to Oklahoma. Another attempt failed in the first special session of the Legislature.
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/081103dntexredistrict.11af654fb.html
I imagine they are setting the stage to change the Senate rules on what constitutes a quorum to suit the situation and then proceed without the chickens. A Senate rule is an agreement among themselves, not a law they passed, and the rules are always controlled by the majority. The Dems will bellyache and raise hell but to no avail. Most Texans support the Republicans. After all, that is what this is all about - most Texans support Republicans. After all is said and done, a court must approve the redistricting map as fair, making this whole thing nothing but liberal politics.
Dewhurst is now saying that under the following provision in the State Constitution the Senators that are in attendance will not begin to set penatities for the absent members..... This can now get interesting.....
About time someone in government figured out that the legislature trumps the courts given the proper amount of testosterone.
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