MoveOn.Org Supporting the Texas Chicken D's - Letter from Senator Rodney Ellis

MoveOn.Org ^ | August 18, 2003 | Senator Rodney Ellis

[goldstategop]

And if the Democrats think its a "power grab" how come they're afraid of making their case to Texas voters? It really wins over Texans to see 11 Democratic State Senators on the run sunning themselves and living high on the hog in a plush Albuquerque hotel. Never mind that on a good day a majority of both houses would vote to send more Republicans to Congress. And here I always thought a power grab was making an unwarranted reach for something you weren't entitled to. That's not the case at all in the Lone Star State.

[MeekOneGOP]

Exile? What are they talking about? Ellis abandoned Texas -- Texas didn't "exile" him.

Typical media-type lingo to make the perpretrator of a misdeed sound
like he's actually a victim. Mean old Republicans, don't ya know ?? ...

[goldstategop]

Its good. If they can't get the news out, they'll crack. That's why Ellis wrote his pitch to MoveOn. The Democrats' move is backfiring on them. They need funds and etc to hold out and in this situation Republicans hold all the cards. And Arnold is our secret weapon. Talk about a tree in the forest that falls and no one hears it. The 11 Chicken Little D's are finding themselves bereft of the company and attention needed to keep their little jeremiad going. Thank heaven FOX NEWS is boycotting them!

[MeekOneGOP]

I haven't read the part about the 'background' from this article yet, but it would very likely be where some misguided LIBERALS would have conceived their information on this issue. Re: the Freepmail we exchanged ...

Again, I have NOT read that part, but I can imagine how twisted it likely is ...

... i guess i better read that part now. :O)

[MeekOneGOP]

I wish we could enlist Dog to bring them back one by one.

Good idea, lol! Well, it doesn't hurt to ask ! :O)

[ImFightingMad]

Ah, the power Senators! They have been elected to work and have abandoned their duties to the citizens of Texas.

If they want to know about the problems of this government they need to be in my shoes! I am a divorced father that is now involuntarily unemployed. My ex works as an RN and makes enough money to support her and our kids, the youngest being 17! The alimony and child support is more than the unemployment I receive. Since I cannot pay the alimony and child support the state of Floriduh is threatening to throw me in jail for being unemployed!

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks for that link to the Communist Party USA. Yep! Bigger than life, MoveOn.Org link right up near the very top !

I didn't know about IDT either ... sheesh !!

[swheats]

Well now since you put it that way. It is a good thing.

I'd like to be a fly on the wall at that motel. They're probably hating each other about now.

[davisfh]

"Quite frankly I hope the media keeps ignoring the Gang In New Mexico. Given long enough they'll break and Texans will finally get the congressional representation they want and deserve."

You're probably correct. I sure as hell hope so anyway. I believe that Texas is basically a conservative state and that my belief will eventually be borne out. These people who represent the so called "liberal" districts are eventually going to become irrelevant if they haven't already done so.

I predict that, for a time anyway, these runaway Democrats will continue to be reelected by the "my hand is out - please fill it up with taxpayer largess" crowd. That sort of dependency usually has a lifetime though and I think that sooner, rather than later, we'll see an end to it. In the unlikely event that it doesn't end, we may need to find another planet to inhabit so that we can cut these looters loose once and for all.

[Calpernia]

>>>I can understand no word from the other channels, but there's been nothing recently on FOX.

How can you say that about fox? Just this morning, they had a breaking news alert about our coastlines being vulnerable to terrorism

/sarcasm

[Calpernia]

MoveOn.org says it is a nonprofit. Yes, I couldn't find them listed at irs.gov

[Calpernia]

www.cpusa.org

[mathluv]

This is similar to what was in an e-mail from the DNC this am. The letter was part of it. Here is a copy.

Emergency: Democracy under attack in Texas

Impeachment. The 2000 Election. The California Recall. The pattern is becoming clear: there's a group of Republicans in power who will do anything to consolidate that power, including undermining our democratic institutions. It's time to fight back. In Texas, they've been fighting back, but with the world focused on California, they've been fighting alone. They need our help, and the Democratic National Committee and MoveOn.org PAC are partnering to offer these brave Democrats support.

A partisan plan pushed by Karl Rove and Tom DeLay in the Texas legislature will redistrict from 5 to 7 Democrats out of Congress. That's right. While George W. Bush talks about reaching out to new voters, his henchmen are attempting to pull off a disenfranchisement of historic proportions. But right now, 11 Democratic State Senators are hiding across state lines -- with the Texas Governor calling for their arrest -- to prevent this illegitimate plan from being strong-armed into law. They have put their reputations and careers on the line for all of us.

A letter below from State Senator Rodney Ellis explains the situation. Please read it, and then please help us launch a hard-hitting ad campaign to fight back in Texas. Whether you donate $5 or $5,000, you will be helping to hold accountable reckless Republicans who think they can get away with anything. Please contribute to this effort now.

Act now, because time is running out. The Texas special session that was called to gerrymander the Texas congressional districts ends early next week, and the pressure is building. These courageous Democratic leaders need to see real support now, or they won't be able to hold out.

We need to fight back effectively against these attacks on democracy. Please get even more people involved by forwarding this email to everyone you think would like to help.

[Dog Gone]

Wow, Newsweek sure has great reporters! Read this story and tell me if it's error free!

Texas Showdown

[MeekOneGOP]

Well, I read it and I can see it is a piece of propaganda ...

The Texas Legislature has traditionally been defined by a spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation. This issue has polarized the legislature in a way that threatens to destroy that tradition. The Republicans have effectively exiled their Democratic counterparts in a power play that makes our state look more like a banana republic than a dignified democracy. The arbitrary decision to discard the 2/3 rule in the Senate sets a precedent that undermines that body's tradition of consensus and cooperation. The deployment of state law enforcement officials to apprehend boycotting legislators erodes the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government, and diminishes legislators' ability to represent their constituents as they see fit. The unilateral Republican effort to penalize Democratic Senators and their staffs.

They seem to have missed some facts there ...

07-31-2003
Dewhurst: I'm honoring tradition and precedent
(Article exposes ‘RAT Lies!!)
Congressional districts in Texas today are essentially those drawn by a partisan Legislature in 1991. At that time, a national publication called the Texas map the most outrageously gerrymandered redistricting effort in the nation, resulting in Democratic strength in our congressional delegation well beyond its representation among voters.

Our congressional lines are even more outdated today. When the Legislature failed to draw new lines to accommodate Texas' two new congressional seats in 2001, the job fell to a federal court. The judges made the fewest changes possible to the existing 1991 map, in essence protecting incumbents.

07-19-2003
[Texas] Senators talk of boycotting any redistricting session
Mr. Dewhurst said he would be on solid ground in working around the Senate tradition requiring a two-thirds vote to take up a bill. The late Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, a Democrat, did the same thing in a 1992 special session on legislative redistricting, Mr. Dewhurst said.

07-15-2003
Ratliff joins Democrats to oppose redistricting
The state Republican Party was quick to point out that the [2/3rd’s] rule has been abandoned on occasion – such as when the Senate took up a state senatorial redistricting plan in 1992.

[Dog Gone]

Wait! Newsweek just raised the quorum rule to 3/4ths.

Because the state constitution requires three fourths of members to be present in the House or Senate for the chamber to do business, a handful of lawmakers can shut down the legislative process by simply refusing to show up.

[MeekOneGOP]

My GAWD !! That piece by PMSNBC/Newsweek makes the
New York Slimes look Fair & Balanced ! Man ! ...

[Calpernia]

More from Zack and the MoveOn team:

Dear MoveOn member,

In one day MoveOn members have contributed more than $400,000 for our
"Defend Democracy" campaign. We've been overwhelmed by the response.
The 11 Texas legislators who are right now risking everything for us
and for democracy are deeply grateful to receive this support.

Let's raise a $1,000,000 to make this our biggest campaign ever.
Let's take this campaign to national media outlets, and go deep with
Texas media. Let's take it to California. Let's connect the dots.
George Bush and Karl Rove have been counting on getting away with
these underhanded tactics -- on bullying their opposition into
submission, on playing every dirty trick in the book. With your help,
we can make it cost them dearly. If you can, please make a
contribution today:

http://moveon.org/texasads

We've added a progress graph to our contribution page so that you can
see how close we are towards our goal. Click above to see our
progress.

Our democracy has survived 227 years for one simple reason: when
confronted by extremism, Americans have always united in defense of
freedom. The redistricting fight in Texas is a piece of a larger
attack on democracy nationwide -- Impeachment; the 2000 election;
intimidation on Capital Hill; the California recall; and now
congressional redistricting at the whim of the Majority in Congress.

Texas is a first step. Next week, we will ask for your help to defeat
the California recall -- specifically, to recruit friends and family
in California who are angry about the recall and want to do something
about it. We can stop this attack on Democracy if we once again stand
united. We'll stop it in Texas, California, Washington DC and wherever
it occurs.

Sincerely,

--Carrie, Eli, Joan, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack
The MoveOn Team
August 21st, 2003


Once again, here is the letter from State Senator Rodney Ellis and
background information on the events in Texas.

(snip) The same letter from the Senator followed below.

[Calpernia]

Ping to post 53. And you were wondering on the Finest thread how close the Dems work with the Commies....

[MeekOneGOP]

ROFL !! Great reporting, Newsweek !