Rumored visit leaves Dems worried over bugs (Chicken Little Ds blame Tom DeLay, none found)

Houston Chronicle ^ | Aug. 21, 2003, 2:56PM | By RACHEL GRAVES

[weegee]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- After rumors swept the ranks of Texas Senate runaways that arch-foe Tom DeLay had been in town, the Democrats swept their Marriott hotel rooms Wednesday for electronic bugs.

They found no evidence of eavesdropping, but 11 Texas Democratic senators on the lam in Albuquerque took the possibility of cloak-and-dagger tactics at least somewhat seriously.

"There have been some clicks and some things like that," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus and a leader of the boycott of a special session on redistricting. She said staffers did not tell her they had had the rooms checked for listening devices, but she did not think it was a bad idea.

"Let's face it, it's happened in Republican administrations before," she said, alluding to the bugging effort central to the Watergate scandal that felled President Nixon.

U.S. House U.S. House Majority Leader DeLay, R-Sugar Land, is the mastermind of the congressional redistricting effort the Democrats are in Albuquerque to block. When Democratic state House members fled Texas in May to block redistricting in the regular session, DeLay tried to involve federal agencies in the effort to track them down.

The Democrats heard rumors that DeLay paid a visit to Albuquerque last week.

A spokesman for DeLay denied that, and called the Democrats paranoid.

"It's the latest offering from the conspiracy-theory-of-the-month club," Jonathan Grella said. "Sounds like someone is aggressively tapping the Marriott minibar."

[Cold Heat]

Probably did not bring their tin foil.

[BerniesFriend]

Oh my God..delusional along with being cowardly..have these people no shame...

[MEG33]

Paranoid little chickens.

[Erasmus]

This article about the Chicken Dems is preceded immediately by one whose headline is

Brain Injury Awareness in the United States of America

Concidence?

I think not.

[woofie]

I got a bunch of bugs at my house (mostly ants ) ..I'll stop by their hotel tommorrow and bring em some

[weegee]

They've got a complicant media willing to give this groundless charge some ink. It permits them to attack Tom DeLay (who the Chronicle has stated in a private memo that they would attack freely because of his stance against Federal funding of local commuter rail trollys) and Richard Nixon.

The Comical omitted the detail that LBJ used bugs too. Of course, the Comical was revealed to be a "dirty" paper when some of the LBJ tapes were released. The powers that be at the Houston Comical agreed to hold negative stories about LBJ in exchange for the LBJ administration allowing a Texas bank merger to go through.

Media bias BUMP.

[petitfour]

Are these RATS that stupid? They are in a town of spooks and ex-spooks. If someone wanted to listen in on their super secret stratergerizin', they could. They're stayin' at a Marriott. Haven't they ever read the stories about hotels having microscopic cameras installed so they can watch what's going on in the rooms? Sheesh.

[weegee]

Someone could just point a special laser at their windows and listen in too.

The sound waves generated by nearby conversation will cause the glass in a window to vibrate very slightly. If a laser beam is bounced off the window, its reflection will be modulated by the vibrations.

[petitfour]

Yep. And you could point a laser at that Marriott from atop Sandia or any number of places within Albuquerque and have a listen.

[BerniesFriend]

Thanks for the info on the comical..besides..one needs to think..why would DeLay..or ANYONE want to bug these people anyway..what info could they get.."Oh hurry..judge judy is on.."..or "The buffet didn't have popcorn shrimp"..?

[Squantos]

Man on man these POS socialists really think we friggin care what they say, think or plan. Sweeping their rooms for listening devices.........what a hoot ! They need to stay in ABQ and never come back to Texas. Nothing but a bunch of slimy crap burpin bottom feeding mouth breathin communist SOB's as far as I'm concerned !!

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Oh where to start, democrats and, tin foil hats, black helicopters, and gasp, clinks on the phone.

Oh how appropriate for it all.

[swilhelm73]

But the question remains, have they been wearing their tin foil hats religiously? Wouldn't want the Zionist, Republican, Templar mind control rays to affect their thinking now would they?

[supercat]

The fact that the Democrats are scared means the Republicans are guilty of being scary. It doesn't matter whether the Republicans actually did anything--the fact that the Democrats are scared is in and of itself proof that Republicans are mean and nasty people. [Standard liberal logic, applicable here as anyplace].

[weegee]

I wonder if they've seen any UFOs while in New Mexico.

[azcap]

why would DeLay..or ANYONE want to bug these people anyway..what info could they get.

Not that I buy this story but the serious answer to your question is time and place that any of the fugitive rats will be sneaking back into Texas. They are weak people. Sooner or later one of them is bound to try to sneak quick trip home for something. I am sure that knowing when and where would be of interest to the Texas law men. Personally, I want to know whatever happened to that bounty hunter guy "Dog" - can't Texas send him to NM. He seemed like a real winner.

 

[hocndoc]

There is the added evidence that someone - a liberal paper, no less - reported the fear of the Dems which is caused by the scarey Republicans.



BTW, I was at the Capitol, today. Half the east drive way was empty, except for orange cones. Over on the grass, beneath the shade of trees, were 2 gentlemen in white shirts that had "Texas Senate" patches on the left breast. I asked them whether they were guarding the cones, and each shook his head, "yes."

[martin_fierro]

[Let's Roll]

They're so easily controlled - just start rumors.

Let's see ... how about evil Texas pubs are pressuring their friends in the home mortgage business to foreclose on chicken D properties back home?

Cars will be repoed, phones at their day jobs disconnected, P.O. boxes closed, bank accounts and tax returns audited (that should do it)     ;-)