Free Republic

House Democrats have fled the state and abdicated their responsibilities as leaders. They have abandonded their constituents. Hoosiers who wish to Aim Higher implore them to return to the Statehouse to do the job voters elected them to do. If you are outraged by their behavior, call them at 1-800-382-9842 and tell them to get back to the Statehouse and do the job they were elected to do. Hear our new ad here. Won’t You Come Home? [Airing in Indiana]

AUSTIN -- In a surprise legislative twist Friday, the Texas Senate took the congressional redistricting bill hostage until the House votes on a controversial government reorganization bill. The House at 9 p.m. lacked a quorum to pass the government reorganization bill. The House put a call on the missing Republican and Democratic members and locked the chamber doors so those who were there could not leave. About 11 p.m., the House and Senate postponed any further business until Sunday. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the Senate was afraid the House would not pass the reorganization bill with Senate amendments. The...

Go here: http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us/ The proposed map is the last one listed: Proposed Congressional Districts - HB3 CCR 10-09-03, plan C01374 Current districts are the third option: US Congressional Districts, 108th Congres, plan C01151

Rep. Dan Branch of the Texas House was just on Gary McNamara's show on WBAP and he mentioned that Rep. Chris Harris is looking into lowering the quorum requirement(with the blessing of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.) Said that currently only a simple majority is required for a quorum in 45 states. The change would be put into an amendment to the TX constitution, which must first be ratified by the voters(simple majority), just like Saturday's election.

AUSTIN -- State Sen. John Whitmire plans to hold a news conference today in a Senate room he is barred from using until he pays $57,000 in fines levied against him by Republican senators. Whitmire, D-Houston, broke ranks with fellow Democratic senators earlier this week by announcing he was quitting a Senate boycott. He said he would return to Austin from Albuquerque, N.M., in an effort to negotiate a deal to end a stalemate in the congressional redistricting battle with Republicans. Whitmire's staff announced the news conference without booking the Lieutenant Governor's Press Conference Room. But Senate spokesman Mark Miner...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- State Sen. John Whitmire said he is returning to Houston tonight in a move that could potentially end the holdout of Texas Democratic senators who fled Austin on July 28 to stop a vote on congressional redistricting. Whitmire, who had not even unpacked his bags after returning today from Houston where he spent the Labor Day weekend, said his decision to return to Houston was not well-received by his fellow Democrats. "There were varying degrees of disappointment is all I can say," he said. "The bottom line is that, redistricting is real important but there are other...