Here's a good description of what I saw and heard on the internet broadcast of the session (which lasted less than one hour). The article is from a paid service called Gallery Watch
http://texas.gallerywatch.com/index.gw I wonder whether Ratliff will be fined in the same way that the Democrats are.
<*> GOP senators approve more sanctions on Dems
By: J .Lyn Carl (Friday, Aug 15, 2003)
AUSTIN (8/15/03) - The latest salvo in the legislative "food fight" over congressional redistricting includes additional sanctions approved today by Republican members of the Senate over their Democratic colleagues in New Mexico. The Democrats, who are in their third week of being holed up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to bust a Senate quorum and prevent the redistricting issue from coming before the Senate, already are facing fines levied earlier this week by the GOP senators. Today's additional sanctions approved on a motion on the Senate floor include the following: suspending all purchasing privileges; suspending all mail privileges except $200 per month for responding to constituent needs; suspending all travel; allowing no reservations for Senate conference, press conference or meeting rooms; allowing no parking for members or staff on the capitol grounds; allowing no subscriptions; allowing no printing including newsletters; allowing no cell phones; and allowing no floor passes for the missing members' staff. The suspension of privileges relative to the members' offices also relate to their respective committee offices. These sanctions are to be imposed until the members pay fines being levied against them as long as they are absent. Earlier this week, the GOP senators approved a motion to levy a $1,000 per day fine, doubling daily but not to exceed $5,000 per day on the missing Democrats. Levying of those fines began at 4 p.m. Thursday. The missing Democrats said they would not pay the fines. Noticeably absent from the Senate floor proceedings Monday as well as today was Sen. Bill Ratliff (R-Mount Pleasant). Ratliff stormed from the Monday meeting with his fellow Republicans and Democrat Ken Armbrister and did not participate in the floor vote. Today he released a one-sentence statement, "I will not be a party to any of this." Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said today there were 16 members of the Senate on the floor voting on the motion, with three other members sending letters of support. Ratliff was not among them. Senate President Pro Tempore Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) offered the motion saying, "We don't want to penalize our colleagues," she said. "Their loss of privileges is what we felt were defined privileges that could be removed without impacting the ability to do their duties as senators." "These actions are to encourage the absent members to return home," said Sen. Todd Staples (R-Palestine). "In so doing, it's enforcing the previous action we've taken." Staples said the Republican members want to be respectful of their Democratic colleagues, and to allow them to continue to perform services for their constituents. "Our whole intent is to encourage their return." Staples called the fines and the new sanctions approved today a "reasonable, measured response to the situation they have placed us in" but added, "it is our duty to compel them to return." "This is sad," said Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan) of the sanctions approved by the Republican senators. "There is not a single person here who wants to do this and we should not have to do it." Ogden said the missing Democrats are "setting a terrible example in failing to voluntarily comply with the oath they took to uphold the constitution" and to uphold the rules of the Senate. "That is wrong." "We just want our colleagues to come back," said Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville). "It's a bad example to our children to see our state senators run away from an issue and not stay and fight." Deuell denied that Congressman Tom DeLay is running the redistricting show in Texas. He again reiterated the GOP statement that the U.S. Congress should better reflect the voting trends of Texas. Deuell also said allegations by some of the absent Democrats that race is involved in the redistricting efforts and in the sanctions being imposed is incorrect. Some of the Democrats have described the fines as a "poll tax," which Deuell called "ridiculous." Other Democrats, he said, said they are being fined for representing their districts. "They are not being fined for representing their districts," he said. "They are being fined for not representing their districts." Sen. Craig Estes (R -Wichita Falls) said he and his fellow GOP senators have no malice toward their Democratic colleagues. "We have charity," he said, "but we do have firmness." He said the Senate should continue its work on the many important matters before it. "With God's help we will heal the wounds of this chamber and go on to brighter days." "This issue is not longer really about redistricting," said Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio). He said the issue now is "about the way we run representative democracy." "Is a minority going to control the way we do business around here?" he asked. "That's the bottom line." Wentworth said the majority of elected representatives should set policy of the state and the ongoing battle over redistricting says to future legislators that if a group of legislators see they are about to lose an issue of importance to them, "They can just leave the state." Wentworth said the Democrats in Albuquerque have said if the governor will drop redistricting from the call of the second special session, they will come home. "They say if you say from Austin that you all lose, even though you're the majority...if you'll just wave the white flag of surrender, we'll come home. We're not going to do that. We're not going to surrender." Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano), who chairs the Joint Committee on Public School Finance, said she fears what impact the impasse over redistricting and the hard feelings that have resulted between Democrats and Republicans will affect future deliberations on public school finance. "My grave concern is the future," she said. "I am very fearful that what has happened to this body over the redistricting issue will spill over into public school finance decisions. "I'm not concerned about Republicans and Democrats on the issue of public school finance. Our governance procedures have been destroyed...they have been tainted." She said her fears are that "this will not become an issue of just the past, but of the future." "We need our members to come back because of other important issues," said Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan). He said the Republican senators have been struggling with how to compel the attendance of the absent senators. "We should not have to do this," he said.
© Copyright GalleryWatch.com, Inc. (1999-2003).
Ouch. It hurt my eyes to read that, but it contained some interesting quotes.
I don't think Ratliffe has left Austin, so he's not going to be subject to these sanctions. He is proving himself to be a Democrat, though, and I hope the GOP takes revenge by financing a primary opponent.