Posted on 09/12/2003 1:28:04 PM PDT by SolidSupplySide
Thanks to Whitmire's decision to break rank and attend, there will be a quorum in the Senate.
I just hope the Sargent-at-Arms is keeping close tabs on a few of the HOUSE Dims in case their feet get itchy ;-).
Tom Daschle: "I am saddened. Deeply saddened."
There are exceptions to this rule, including several on the US Supreme Court. But I note that ALL of the federal judges have been appointed because they were either wired into the Republican structure, or the Democrat one. Almost all were politically active before being appointed to the bench. And NONE of them were third-party or independent in their pre-court politics.
Therefore, absent the tendency of most judges to obey the law, I would never have won most of my federal cases which (with only two exceptions) for independent or third-party candidates. (The exceptions were Jerry Brown, Democrat, and George Bush, Republican.)
Congressman Billybob
Latest column, "Paying the Wrong Piper," discussion thread on FR. Article is also on ChronWatch.
LAREDO, Texas -- Democrat state lawmakers told a federal appeals court panel Thursday that the Republicans in the Legislature have violated the Voting Rights Act with their push to redraw Texas' congressional districts.
The three-judge panel did not immediately make a ruling, but the judges made it clear that they were reluctant to step into a summerlong political battle that included 11 Democratic senators fleeing Texas to thwart GOP redistricting efforts. The Democrats returned from their six-week exile this week.
"We have a duty as a federal court to walk gingerly into state issues," said U.S. District Judge George Kazen. The panel could make a ruling as early as Friday afternoon.
The GOP wants to redraw political lines to increase the number of Republicans in Congress. Democrats call the redistricting a right-wing power grab and say it would hurt minority representation in Congress.
They fended off the change in the regular legislative session earlier this year, as well as two special sessions this summer. A third session is set to begin Monday.
The Democrats' attorney, Paul Smith, argued that Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act - designed to protect minority voters - when they dropped a Senate rule requiring two-thirds of the 31 members to debate a bill.
"This is a very significant piece of how the Legislature operates," Smith said of the long-standing rule.
The elimination of the rule would have allowed the GOP to take up the redistricting issue without the Democrats, but their walkout denied the Senate a quorum . Last week, Sen. John Whitmire of Houston broke ranks and returned to Austin, saying he hoped to bring both parties together to resolve the issue.
Some of the senators expressed bitterness Thursday toward Whitmire.
"We're very angry because he unilaterally made the decision to break ranks," said Sen. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo. "He literally lied to us."
The appeals panel seemed comfortable with an argument by state Solicitor General Ted Cruz, representing Republican officials, that the Democrats were in court too soon because no redistricting has taken place.
"There has been no clear action. Nothing has been done yet," Cruz said. "At this point the Legislature is arguing back and forth about what it might do."
Two weeks ago, Kazen concluded that the Democrats' arguments had enough merit to call two other judges to Laredo to help him decide the issue, as required under the Voting Rights Act.
Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, the leader of the group, said she and the other Democrats most likely will not be in the Senate on Monday. She said they plan to wait until a redistricting map is proposed before making their appearance.
The case was whether TX redistricting violated the Voter's Rights Act, charging that consolidating or otherwise restricting what are now minority districts would weaken minority voices.
One Democrat returned from NM, allowing for a quorum, so the remaining are leaving NM in order to fight on the Senate floor. Many had already left NM, choosing to do a national promotional (fundraising) tour for the DNC, claiming that the TX redistricting was really a Bush porwer grab.
-PJ
The lines that are in effect now are from the 1990 census. Who is being unfair to the voters of Texas?
As for the fact that the courts redistricted instead of the legislature, I reject the notion that the court redistricting should stand because the legislature failed to do its job. If that were to be the failsafe, then a minority party would never agree to a new map, knowing that the courts will intervene. The only way to force the minority to deal in good faith is to take away the permanency of a court-instilled solution.
-PJ
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.