GOP wants quick ruling on legality of Senate rules (fighting Voting Rights Act abuse)

AUSTIN -- Republican state officials are asking federal authorities for an expedited ruling that the Voting Rights Act does not apply to the Senate rules that prompted 11 Democratic senators to flee to New Mexico.

"Our goal is to get this resolved as quickly as possible," said Texas Solicitor General R. Ted Cruz.

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, Senate Democratic Caucus chair, said Lt. Gov. DavidDewhurst's change in Senate procedure "discriminates against voters protected under the Voting Rights Act."

She said the state's lawyers are "belatedly and secretly" seeking U.S. Justice Department approval.

In a related matter Tuesday, a deadline passed that the runaway Democrats had set for Republicans to rescind sanctions against them, without the Democrats taking their threatened legal action.

The 11 senators -- two blacks, seven Hispanics and two Anglos who represent minority districts -- fled to Albuquerque July 28 after Dewhurst changed a procedure so a Republican congressional redistricting plan could pass when Gov. Rick Perry called a second special legislative session.

The procedure, traditionally in place in the Senate, allows a third of the Senate's 31 members to block a bill from coming up for debate. With the rule in effect during the first special session, Democrats were able to block redistricting. Without it in the second session, they could only prevent a vote by breaking quorum.

The Democrats filed a federal lawsuit in Laredo claiming Dewhurst violated minority voting rights when he changed the procedure without first obtaining permission from the Justice Department. The case is before U.S. District Judge George Kazen.

In filings with that court and with the U.S. Justice Department, the state attorney general and secretary of state argue that the Voting Rights Act does not apply to the Senate's internal rules.

But just in case it does, Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey Connor asked the Justice Department to bless Dewhurst's actions as legal because the federal law is intended to protect "the ability of voters (as opposed to legislators) to vote."

Both filings argue that the Voting Rights Act does not apply to state Senate rules governing the flow of legislation.

Van de Putte said changing the Senate procedure "prevents us from protecting the rights and political participation of the millions of Texans they (Republicans) seek to disenfranchise."

The Democrats had set a 3 p.m. Tuesday deadline for the Republicans to rescind sanctions and fines or face possible civil or criminal action.

"Be assured, we're going to act," said Sen. Royce West of Dallas. "But we'll dictate the timetable."

Dewhurst said the two official misconduct criminal statutes that Democrats are threatening to use against Republican senators do not apply.

"These are only cases in which a public official knowingly and intentionally violates state law," he said. "Everything we've done in the state Senate is with the advice and counsel of the attorney general."

Dewhurst said a civil law on race discrimination does not apply because the sanctions were based on the missing senators' absence, not on the fact that nine of the 11 are minorities.

Also on Tuesday, Sen. Bill Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, said he has been so upset by the Senate's leveling sanctions against the missing members that he thought about resigning. Ratliff served as lieutenant governor in the 2001 legislative session, after Perry was promoted to governor when George W. Bush was elected president.

Ratliff said bad feelings caused by the redistricting debate will not heal easily. "If I thought that it was all going to blow over when it's over, I wouldn't be nearly as distraught about what's going on. I don't think it's going to blow over. I think it may be a generation before the scars from this are healed and that's what bothers me about it."

Here is a list of recent articles on Redistricting:
FR Search: Keyword "Redistricting"

This was written by Freeper Congressman Billybob ...
08-18-2003
"Texans for Sale or Rent"

[To the Roger Miller tune, Trailers for sale or rent] ...
Texans for sale or rent / Having our room service sent / Lounging ‘round by the pools / Playing our whole state for fools ....
We know every lawyer in every court / And all of their partners, and all of their torts / And every hangout, in every town/ And every lock that ain't locked when no one's around ....
Texans for sale or rent ....
With my apologies to the good Freepers and lawyers here. No offense intended ...
And that article is a LOT more than that little song parody, too !
08-15-2003
Texas democrats. Radio interview with
Sen. Rodney Ellis, runaway senator.

This is one of the Texas Chicken D's holed up in Albuquerque, N.M. He calls the fines 'Poll Taxes' and RUDELY hogs the conversation with this radio show host, then HANGS UP on him !!
G-r-r-r-r-r !!
Unbelievable Conversation with Senator Rodney Ellis
by Greg Knapp 08-13-2003
You’ve GOT to hear this to believe it ! (13 min., 47 sec)
http://mrgrumman.home.comcast.net/GregKnapp-Interview-SentatorRodneyEllis-081303.mp3
08-15-2003
Runaway Democrats shun deadline, defy fines - 'RAT sign: 'Republican Poll Tax: Day 1 $1,000'

08-13-2003
Fleeing Texas Democrats face new probe

08-12-2003
AWOL senators face fines

08-04-2003
Demo senators strike note of defiance in maintaining holdout
(Chicken Run Official Song...)

Excerpt (Freeper comeback lyrics):
"The Killer D's of Texas"
Tune: "The Yellow Rose of Texas"
Words copyright 2003 SChad Fairbanks

Oh, the killer 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 killer D's of Texas
are afraid of Tom Delay.

8-4-2004
Van de Putte says she expects redistricting measure to pass
(Texas Van to Van de Putte Freep meeting)

08-04-2003
Walkout leader blasts Perry -
Democrat Van de Putte says governor's push for remap has been divisive

08-03-2003
Each side has its spin on redistricting standoff

08-03-2003
Dewhurst's reputation depends on 11 who fled

08-02-2003
Senators' letter asks Dewhurst for help --
Dems get diapers, `nasty' phone calls

07-31-2003
Dewhurst: I'm honoring tradition and precedent
(Article exposes ‘RAT Lies!!)
Congressional districts in Texas today are essentially those drawn by a partisan Legislature in 1991. At that time, a national publication called the Texas map the most outrageously gerrymandered redistricting effort in the nation, resulting in Democratic strength in our congressional delegation well beyond its representation among voters.
Our congressional lines are even more outdated today. When the Legislature failed to draw new lines to accommodate Texas' two new congressional seats in 2001, the job fell to a federal court. The judges made the fewest changes possible to the existing 1991 map, in essence protecting incumbents.

The Dallas Morning News coverage this morning ...

Leading GOP senator disputes party's actions
11:13 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 19, 2003
By TERRENCE STUTZ and GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News
A leading Senate Republican on Tuesday disputed his party's argument that 11 Democratic senators have no constitutional right to boycott the Senate and questioned whether the penalties imposed by his GOP colleagues are even legal.
Sen. Bill Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, acting lieutenant governor in 2001 and 2002, also said it was a big mistake for Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to scrap the long-standing Senate tradition of requiring a two-thirds vote to take up legislation during the current special session on redistricting.
Mr. Dewhurst set aside the rule in late July, prompting the Democrats to flee to New Mexico because their bargaining power on congressional redistricting was essentially lost. The Senate has 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats.
Mr. Ratliff, who had declined to comment on the redistricting fracas until Tuesday, also disclosed that in the summer of 2001 he was asked by Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land and current U.S. House majority leader, whether he, as acting lieutenant governor, would suspend the Senate's two-thirds rule so the GOP could push through a favorable congressional redistricting plan during a special session.
"I said, 'No,' I would not agree to that," he said, adding that the subject was not brought up again while he was the state's No. 2 officeholder.

Also Online

Texas Talkback: Should the Legislature proceed with redistricting?
|

Maps:
• Current Texas Congressional districts
• House map, passed 7/29
• Senate map, proposed 7/23

Special Session: Redistricting hearing schedule, summary, maps
(from the Texas Legislative Council)

More Politics

Mr. Ratliff said the redistricting fight is very distressing. "I think the people of Texas understand this is doing great harm to what many people saw as a superb deliberative body. They see much of that being destroyed," he said.
In a related development, Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott asked the U.S. Justice Department to review Mr. Dewhurst's decision not to use the Senate's two-thirds rule to avoid having Democrats block consideration of redistricting.
The request asserts the action is not subject to provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act, which generally requires prior approval of any actions affecting the voting rights of minorities.
State officials "believe that the internal operating rules and procedures of an elected legislative body – the Texas Senate – are not covered by the Voting Rights Act and do not require federal approval," said Angela Hale, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.
In Albuquerque, N.M., the self-exiled Democrats blasted Republicans for going to the Justice Department after Democrats filed a federal lawsuit in Laredo last week challenging removal of the two-thirds rule.
"Clearly they have undermined their own case in federal court," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. "They know that to remove the two-thirds rule on this one issue, to the detriment of every minority member of the Texas Senate, is illegal and discriminatory."
Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said the Republican maneuver takes away from the credibility of their court argument.
"It shows how disingenuous they are," she said. "On the one hand they stand there and argue that the two-thirds rule does not need pre-clearance. On the other hand they seek it secretly and outside of the court."
The Democrats plan to travel to Washington from Albuquerque next week to voice their objections to Justice Department lawyers.
The Democrats also said they plan to seek a court order overturning the fines and other sanctions levied against them by their Republican colleagues last week. As of Sunday, each absent Democrat is being fined $5,000 a day and will owe $57,000 a apiece by the end of the current special session Aug. 26.
Mr. Dewhurst asserted Tuesday that the fines and sanctions – including cutting off cellphones, travel allowances and parking space – are legal. He produced a letter from Mr. Abbott backing up his claim.
Mr. Dewhurst also said there probably won't be any additional penalties between now and the end of the special session.
"We've done what we can, and we expect our senators to come back," he said. He dismissed as "groundless" the Democrats' complaint that minorities are being targeted by the GOP in the redistricting battle.
Mr. Ratliff is the only Republican senator who has publicly disagreed with Mr. Dewhurst and other GOP leaders about the right of the Democrats to block a Senate quorum and bottle up redistricting. The state constitution requires that a quorum of 21 of 31 senators be present for the Senate to conduct business.
Although Mr. Dewhurst and the attorney general say there is no constitutional right to block a quorum, Mr. Ratliff disagreed.
Noting he advised the Democrats not to leave, he insisted, "This is a free country. You can leave the state of Texas if you want to. And they left because the rules were changed."
Regarding the fines, Mr. Ratliff, a member of the Senate since 1989, said he does not support them and is "not sure we had authority to do what we did."
E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com or gjeffers@dallasnews.com

Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/082003dntexredist.75ad2.html

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.