Democrat Van de Putte to Appear on C-SPAN, 9 a.m. EST Thursday

C-SPAN "Washington Journal" | 09-04-03 | Theodore R.

[Theodore R.]

State Senator Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, head of the TX Senate Democrat caucus, will be interviewed and take calls on C-SPAN from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Thursday. She is expected to attack Republican redistricting efforts as "unfair" to minorities.

[zygoat]

And from where will Van-de-Puke be holding her little projectile spewathon? Bet it ain't Texas!

[politeia]

The Republicans need to start getting more effective with their counter message to the Democrats spin on redistricting. First, because of the blantantly partisan message represented by Van de Putte and the statements she made about the "rules," they need to demand their own hour on CSPAN to rebut her spin.

The points they need to make are as follows:

The "rules" Putte kept talking about allow for redistricting by the "state legislature" not a federal court. Texans are not willing to allow a federal court to determine their state voting districts -- this is a state responsibility. The fact that the Democrats were able to throw redistricting into a court after the last census does not in any way legitimize the court ordered result. Only the legislature can do this. This is what self-government is all about.

If the rules of the Texas Leg did not allow for it to redistrict at this time, we can rest assured that the Dems would have brought this up, probably in a court since they prefer to govern through the courts. They did not do this, they ran away. Therefore it is obvious they are the ones not playing by the rules.

Many Texans have lived in districts gerrymandered by the Dems for 40 years. My district went all the way from Williamson county in central Texas down to the gulf coast. It was absurd but I accepted it because the Dems had a majority and that was how the system worked -- majority rule. They will just have to accept it as well.

Texas Legislators receive an outrageously generous retirement plan paid for by the taxpayers of Texas. They are also paid a salary and per diem stipend. Since Putte and her cronies flagrantly refused to perform the duties they were hired to do by the citizens of Texas, they should forfeit their salary and especially the more substantial retirement pay. Any honorable and decent person would voluntarily give up these benefits on principle if they really believed in the rightness of their stand. The fact that they have not done so shows they are mere opportunists willing to take benefits from the taxpayers while refusing to perform their duties. They are also trying to substitute autocratic rule by federal courts for democratic self-government.

These "Democrats" demand special treatment. Any Texas state employee who refused to show up for work would be fired. This "rule" should be applied even more stringently to public officials who are our employees. This is the real "rule" observed by Texans and everyone else. When the taxpayers hire you to do a job -- you show up and do your job, even if your party is in the minority and your preferred policies don't prevail. Anything less is a refusal to participate in self-government by and for "the people."

[Theodore R.]

The popular Van de Putte, a pharmacist, says she has six children to support and remaining so long in NM has taken its toll on her family. She said that she will remain in NM indefinitely to protect the "little people." She noted that some Republican voters continue to elect popular Democrats to Congress. She says the districts are not gerrymandered now to favor the Democrats.