"Quiet, ya daft bitch!"
Posted on 09/02/2003 3:44:34 PM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- State Sen. John Whitmire said he is returning to Houston tonight in a move that could potentially end the holdout of Texas Democratic senators who fled Austin on July 28 to stop a vote on congressional redistricting.
Whitmire, who had not even unpacked his bags after returning today from Houston where he spent the Labor Day weekend, said his decision to return to Houston was not well-received by his fellow Democrats.
"There were varying degrees of disappointment is all I can say," he said. "The bottom line is that, redistricting is real important but there are other equally important issues such as allowing the Senate to function as it always has where people respect each others opinions. That is not the current situation.
"It's my job and my responsibility as dean of the Senate to attempt to restore some civility to the Senate and that's why I think we need closure to this matter."
Whitmire indicated he would keep his options open as to whether he would flee again if Gov. Rick Perry calls another special session to deal with redistricting.
Whitmire was among 11 Texas Democrats who bolted for Albuquerque July 28 to break the Senate quorum to kill a Republican plan for congressional redistricting during two special legislative sessions.
Even though the second special session ended on Aug. 26, the Democratic senators have feared that Gov. Rick Perry would quickly call another session if any of them returned to Texas. Once a session were called, any six senators could put a call on the Senate, and order that colleagues in Texas be arrested and forced to the Capitol if they did not come voluntarily. The return of one of the New Mexico Democrats would give the Republicans a quorum in the Senate and the ability to pass the redistricting bill.
Whitmire said he had always planned to return to Texas after the Senate adjourned because he saw no compelling reason to stay in Albuquerque over the holiday weekend.
"I woke up at 3 o'clock Thursday morning, and at about 3:30 I said, `This is nuts, staying in Albuquerque over Labor Day when there's no session?' " he said.
"I called Continental and they had a 7 o'clock flight, and I said, `What a neat deal. I can get out of this hotel, and nobody will see me,' so that's what I did," he said.
He said his staff was keeping him abreast of developments in Austin, and he had an exit plan laid out to leave Houston if necessary.
"I don't for the life of me understand why everybody wasn't back home," he said. "Now, there was some concern about being apprehended. I have a great staff, it is very hard to start a special session and get six senators on the floor to put out a call without your staff knowing about it."
He said he was back in Houston by 10 a.m. Thursday, had lunch at Carter & Cooley in the Heights, had his cell phone repaired and slept in his bed at his Timbergrove home that night.
He spent three days, including all day Friday, in his district office, where he returned calls to colleagues and constituents. On Friday night, he said he met state Rep. Rick Noriega of Houston and Councilwoman Carol Alvarado for a drink in downtown Houston.
"That was the biggest risk I took over the whole deal. I had a Coke in Warren's Friday evening at about 6, and I was concerned that we were right in the shadow of the Chronicle," he said. "It was a big to do when I walked in."
He said he plans to discuss the possibility of an exit strategy with his fellow Democrats today because he believes it is unrealistic for them to stay in Albuquerque indefinitely.
The governor indicated today that the timing of a third special session on redistricting will depend on how quickly one or more of the Democratic senators return to Texas from New Mexico.
Perry even left some doubt today by saying, "if I decide to call another special session."
When asked whether that meant he might not call a session, Perry said, "Everything is possible. I'm not here to handicap the odds, though."
The boycotting Democrats, headquartered at a hotel in Albuqueque, N.M., have wanted to return to Texas ever since the session ended. They have asked Perry to give them 72 hours notice before a new special session begins.
Perry ruled that out today.
"I promise to do my job if they'll do their job," Perry said.
Whitmire set off a firestorm among the self-exiled Democrats last week by saying that he planned to return to Houston for the Labor Day holiday.
That led to Democratic caucus Chair Sen. Leticia Van de Putte to declare loudly behind a closed door that Whitmire was betraying the group. Van de Putte said Whitmire agreed to stay in New Mexico and planned to spend the weekend in Santa Fe.
Whitmire, in a statement, said he did not abandon the group.
"I returned as I had always planned -- not a bolt from the group, but a planned return after sine die (the official adjournment of the Legislature) on Tuesday, August 26," Whitmire said.
LOL, I just love the mental picture of that screaming harpie blowing a gasket, busting the eardrums of the weasel reporters with the ears to cups pressed against the wall...
"I called Continental and they had a 7 o'clock flight, and I said, `What a neat deal. I can get out of this hotel, and nobody will see me,' so that's what I did," he said.
The earliest flight from Albuquerque to Houston on Continental is 9:00 a.m. I wonder why the little fib . . .
Very interesting. This just solidifies my suspicion he slinked back in to just thumb his nose at Perry and all Texans that the bRATS can still get by with anything.
"Besides, I miss my mommy. my puppy, and sleeping in my own bed!"
Prairie
Can anyone make this story work? Whitmire said he flew Continental. Perhaps this was a mistake. But there is no way that anyone leaving Albuqueque in the morning can arrive in Houston by 10 a.m. using commercial airlines.
Either he flew a private plane or he is lying. Actually, he is lying even if he flew a private plane. This is no mistake.
"Quiet, ya daft bitch!"
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=1049148
Category: Metro | State
UPDATED: Texas 11 senator plans return to state
By Guillermo X. Garcia
Express-News Austin Bureau
Web Posted : 09/02/2003 3:04 PM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The 37-day Democratic protest against redistricting by 11 Texas senators appeared to be unraveling Tuesday after one of them said he was planning to return to Texas today.
Sen. John Whitmire of Houston, the dean of the Senate, said he wanted to go back to Austin for what he realizes would be a losing fight with the GOP majority over redistricting — but that he was prepared to flee the state again if he couldn’t make that happen on his own terms.
“I believe it is time for a serious cooling-off period and a serious discussion for arriving on an exit strategy,” Whitmire said.
He spoke as he arrived at the hotel where his 10 fellow Democrats have been since July 28, when they fled Austin to prevent the Legislature from taking up the latest Republican push to redraw the state's congressional districts.
Whitmire, who spent the Labor Day weekend in Houston “conferring with colleagues from both sides and with my constituents,” said he has an airline reservation to return to Houston this evening.
It was unclear how his fellow Democrats would react. None were immediately available for comment. They were at a working lunch when Whitmire arrived.
He said he planned to talk with them “about going back to Texas, because there is no exit strategy to remaining in New Mexico indefinitely.” But he also said he remained adamantly opposed to redistricting and committed to fight against the effort.
“But the time has come to return, put up one heck of a fight on the Senate floor” and then hope that the redistricting bill the Republican leadership wants will be ruled unconstitutional in federal court.
Whitmire, who said he decided at 3 a.m. last Thursday that he would board an early morning flight to Houston, said he is confident Gov. Rick Perry will not immediately call another special session, which would be the third this summer.
“But if he does, my spies will notify me. I have an escape plan, and if need be, I'll leave (Texas) again. I have not given up, I have not surrendered.”
He said he feared that “the bipartisanship that has been the hallmark of the Senate has been damaged almost beyond repair. I as the dean have a duty to see that does not happen, and I intend to do all I can to prevent that.”
He denied being in contact with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst or other Republican leaders or that they influenced his decision.
“I am working on a plan that will restore the collegiality to the Senate, and I am fearful that if the two-thirds rule is permanently removed, the Senate will no longer exist as we know it,” Whitmire said.
The rule is a longstanding Senate courtesy that allows 11 of the 31 senators the ability to block debate on a bill. The Senate Democrats utilized that rule to block the chamber from considering redistricting during the first special session.
The 11 Democrats fled Austin when Dewhurst announced he was suspending use of that rule for the recently concluded second special session.
Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said of Whitmire, “The governor would welcome him back, along with his other Democrat colleagues.”
Dewhurst issued a brief statement saying he hoped Whitmire's comments “will result in a plan that leads our Senate colleagues back to Texas and back to work on a number of important issues.”
Perry, in a morning interview, again declined to say when he would call lawmakers back for a third special session.
“Again, I will allow you all in the media and the public to know at the appropriate time when I decide – if I decide – to call another special session,” the governor said.
ggarcia@express-news.ne
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