Texas House Democrats Still Holding Out In Oklahoma

Houston Chron -- "You guys are my heroes," Sharon Copeland, who drove to Ardmore from her home about 60 miles away in Denton, Texas, said today as she threw her arms around Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth. "I sure am proud to be a Democrat today. I didn't even know this could be done."

The 51 lawmakers met privately today in a hotel conference room, discussing school financing, homeowners insurance, the state budget and other issues. Each representative will pay for his or her own room and other expenses, said Rep. Garnet Coleman of Houston.

Austin AS -- Police Escort One Democrat Back to House

Three Democrats missing Monday appeared Tuesday — two under their own power and one in the vehicle of a Department of Public Safety trooper sent to fetch her.

Rep. Helen Giddings, D-De Soto, said she called House Speaker Tom Craddick and asked for a private meeting to discuss the deadlock that has halted House business. Giddings said as she was about to get into her car, a plainclothes officer approached her, flashed a badge and asked her to accompany him.

"We have a message for Tom DeLay: Don't mess with Texas," said House Democratic Legislative Caucus leader Jim Dunnam of Waco. "We did not choose the path that led us to Ardmore, Oklahoma. Tom DeLay chose that path."

Lawsuit Filed To Prevent Consideration of Delay Redistricting

State Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, filed a federal lawsuit Monday to block legislative attempts to redraw the state's congressional districts.

In documents filed in federal court in Laredo, Raymond said the plan violates the federal Voting Rights Act because notices about public hearings were not printed in Spanish.

Jim Ellis, an aide for DeLay and executive director for Americans for a Republican Majority, worked behind closed doors with Republican state lawmakers to draw a map that prompted Monday's walkout by the Democrats.

The new congressional map, approved by the House Redistricting Committee, would split Travis County four ways and would probably turn a 17-15 Democratic advantage in the congressional delegation into a 20-12 Republican majority.

It made the BBC and Voice of America

They're nicknamed the "Killer D's," although their actions may suggest otherwise.

Dallas News -- With hundreds of exotic animals roaming its scenic Oklahoma locale, the Arbuckle Wilderness is one of the hottest tourist attractions near the otherwise quiet city of Ardmore. But the rare herd of Texas Democrats feeding at the local Denny’s is drawing all the attention these days.

“I think we are all very pleased they are here,” Patti Harris, executive director of the Ardmore Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Tuesday. “They discovered a great destination.”

Though she’s not spotted one of the elusive legislators herself, Ms. Harris said a fleet of television satellite trucks encircling the local Holiday Inn is clear evidence that the migrants are nearby.

Molly Ivins, Working for Change -- They just went too far, that's all. This session of the legislature has been as brutal, callous and indifferent to the welfare of the weakest, the most frail, youngest and oldest Texans as it is possible to get. The level of pure meanness is stunning. They have just gone too damn far.
The session was pretty well summed up by Rep. Senfronia Thompson when she illustrated what was going on by taking the House rulebook to the podium with her and dropping it on the floor. There is no rule of procedure, fairness, common sense or decency that has been observed by the Republican majority in the Texas House.

This is not about partisan politics -- although that has certainly reared its ugly head. In case you hadn't noticed, every major newspaper in this state has criticized the plans and performance of the legislature this session, often in harsh language. Those wild-eyed radicals at the Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle are just disgusted with the tacky display these people have been putting on.

Most of us thought it was pretty funny when Rep. Debbie Riddle popped out with her now-classic statement: "Where did this idea come from that everybody deserves free education, free medical care, free whatever? It comes from Moscow, from Russia. It comes straight out of the pit of hell."

The latest flap is over a congressional redistricting map that is so bad it's actually funny. Of course, the thing was passed without public hearings, because as Rep. Joe Crabb explained, "The rest of us would have a very difficult time if we were out in an area -- other than Austin or other English-speaking areas -- to be able to have committee hearings or to be able to converse with people that did not speak English." Sometimes you have to wonder what planet these people are from.

The creepy thing about the far-right Republicans, who are definitely in the majority in the House, is not that they are dismantling government because they won't raise taxes, they're dismantling government because they think it shouldn't help people.

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry Won't Intervene - "If we're going to do battle with Texas, we prefer that it be on the football field."

San Antonio Express-News - Democrats Vow To Stay Away "As Long As Necessary"

Previously in the Houston Chronicle -- GOP Expert Calls DeLay's Map Unconstitutional

"The overall nature of the proposed plan is troubling," said John Alford, a Rice University political science professor. "It is a pro-Republican partisan gerrymander on top of an already pro-Republican existing plan.

To increase Republican seats, crafters of the House plan pack Democratic voters in fewer districts, reducing districts with Democratic majorities from 12 to 10 and making all Democratic districts into minority districts, Alford said.

Also, the plan shifts more minorities into districts where minorities already are the majority. The plan stretches boundaries many miles and in odd configurations to draw in minorities from separate areas of the state, he said.

"The focus, in other words, is on the ethnicity of the representative, not the ethnicity of the voters and their ability to elect their candidates of choice -- the test under the Voting Rights Act," Alford said in his report.

The Supreme Court has previously rejected districts that were irregularly drawn and overly race conscious, including some in Texas, Alford said.