Posted on 09/03/2003 2:40:06 AM PDT by Libloather
Democrats' walkout stumbles
By Guillermo X. Garcia
Express-News Austin Bureau
Web Posted : 09/03/2003 12:00 AM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 37-day walkout by Texas Senate Democrats to stop redistricting started to unravel Tuesday when Sen. John Whitmire of Houston returned to Texas, saying he'd continue the fight there, not in New Mexico.
Whitmire, the dean of the Senate, spent the weekend in Houston, rejoined his colleagues here for several hours Tuesday, then flew back in the evening.
In an interview before conferring with the 10 other senators who fled the state July 28 to stop a GOP effort to redraw congressional districts, Whitmire said he was prepared to leave Texas again if Gov. Rick Perry calls another special session.
But he also said he might stay "to wage one hell of a fight" on the Senate floor against redistricting.
He acknowledged his statements were contradictory, and he declined to clarify them.
Stunned, several of the 10 senators who remain in self-imposed exile here said they couldn't predict what would happen next. Perry welcomed the development but continued to decline to say when he'd call another special session.
If Whitmire does return to the Senate for another special session, he'll provide Republicans with the quorum they need to conduct business and pass a redistricting bill. If that happens, the Democrats here said they would be forced to return to join the debate.
Whitmire said it was inevitable that a redistricting bill will eventually reach the Senate floor and that when it does, Democrats will be on the losing end. On returning to Houston, "by no means does this indicate I am throwing in the towel," he said.
"I am still adamantly opposed to redistricting, but while this issue is very important, it is not a life-and-death issue. There are other matters of equal or greater importance, including the collegiality of what used to be the Senate that I know and care deeply about," he said.
The remaining AWOL senators, now calling themselves the "Texas 11 minus one," said they didn't understand or agree with Whitmire's argument, but their criticism of his departure was muted and mostly limited to expressions of disappointment.
They were disappointed not just with his decision but "with the fact that he did not have the courtesy to tell us to our faces," said Sen. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo. "We had to learn of his plan through the media."
Sen. Eliot Shapleigh of El Paso, addressing a news conference in Spanish, said the Democrats "were not here to judge him; only God and his voters can and will do that."
The remaining Democrats said they would remain here for at least the next few days, "unless Perry calls a special session and (Whitmire) decides to go to Austin to answer the (special session) call," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, the senate Democratic caucus chairwoman.
In such a scenario, "we'll have to go back to the Senate," she said. "We can't be here, if there is a debate on the Senate floor."
Privately, several of Whitmire's colleagues here said they were informed Republican senators were trickling back to Austin on Tuesday, leading them to conclude Whitmire had been in contact over the weekend with Republican leaders and that Perry was about to call legislators back to Austin.
Whitmire denied he'd been in contact with Republican leaders. He told his colleagues of his intentions during a 31/2-hour meeting Tuesday afternoon that continued after he left to pack his bags and leave for the airport and a flight home.
Earlier Tuesday, Whitmire said he told his colleagues that he was planning to spend the long Labor Day weekend in Louisiana, but instead took an early morning flight Thursday to Houston, where he conferred "with colleagues from both sides and with my constituents."
"I believe it is time for a serious cooling-off period and a serious discussion for arriving on an exit strategy," he said.
Whitmire said he's confident Perry will not immediately call another special session.
"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," Whitmire said.
He denied that Republican leaders 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 long-standing Senate courtesy that allows 11 of the 31 senators the ability to block debate on a bill. The Senate Democrats used it 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."
Asked earlier when he'd call lawmakers back for another special session, Perry said, "I think that'll be their call, when they come back to the state and we can have a quorum."
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst released a 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."
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ggarcia@express-news.net
I can – the RATS are going to lose the redistricting vote, among other things...
They were disappointed not just with his decision but "with the fact that he did not have the courtesy to tell us to our faces," said Sen. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo. "We had to learn of his plan through the media."
I tell y'all I'm shocked, just shocked ONE Democrat would display such uncalled for behavior. In reality, I'm delighted at the schadenfreude presented by the entire situation. The Democrats break every rule as well as ethical obligation in the book and they have the nerve to lecture about proper behavior! The Chicken Little D's received their just desserts. There are enough of them to conduct a minyan - they should convert to Judaism and offer prayers of atonement during the upcoming Jewish New Year. Its would probably be the best thing they could ever do to make amends for Texas!
At least one Democrat realizes that he has already destroyed the senate as he knew and loved it. It will remain bitterly partisan for a long time to come.
What is this? Some form of ethical relativism? I recall from a thread I checked last night that the Dems had lifted the two-thirds "courtesy" rule in '71,'81, and '91. Suddenly they are ferociously opposed to the lifting of such a courtesy when it benefits their opposition.
I vote for arresting them when they finally DO show up at the senate. I don't even care what they are charged with, as long as it's enogh to send 'em to jail.
Mr.M
What? A Democrat who lied? Say it ain't so!
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