Statement of Senator Leticia Van de Putte Yesterday afternoon Republicans in the Texas Senate, without a quorum [whose fault is that!], levied a shameful and illegal poll tax on the Texas 11. In so doing, these white Republicans have levied a poll tax on every minority member of the Texas Senate.
The Republicans demand $57,000 per Senator. Ironically, this is the identical amount that Rick Perry's special sessions on redistricting are costing taxpayers per day. Here's an idea-call off these redistricting sessions, we'll forget about the fines, and we'll call it even.
[On what planet is that "even"?]
This isn't just a poll tax on us [It's not a "poll tax" at all, dearie]. It is a poll tax on our constituents. It is an illegal poll tax on the 1.4 million minority Texans they seek to disenfranchise through their partisan redistricting scheme.
To Lt. Governor Dewhurst, this $57,000 poll tax may not seem like a big deal. [Keep saying it, Letty, you might convince yourself.] But to the millions of Texans whose voices they are trying to silence, this is an insulting slap in the face.
This is a shameful return to the days of the Jim Crow laws designed to prevent the electoral participation of minorities in the South, and every single Republican who voted for it should be deeply ashamed.
We remain defiant and we remain committed to representing our constituents, no matter how hard Governor Perry and Lt. Governor Dewhurst, led by Republican powerbrokers in Washington, try to force us to abandon the 1.4 million minority Texans for whom we are making our stand.
[That must make your white constituents feel so special.]
We once again call on President Bush to repudiate the effort, led in part by his own staff, to disenfranchise millions of minority Texans through this partisan redistricting scheme.
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For More information, Contact: Chuy Gonzalez (956)645-5563
www.txdemocrats.org
This is a shameful return to the days of the Jim Crow laws [drawn up and passed by our Democratic forebears] designed to prevent the electoral participation of minorities in the South, and every single Republican [who were instrumental in the removal of Jim Crow laws throughout the South] who voted for it should be deeply ashamed.