Free Republic

The 8 keys to survival for runaway legislatorsThe "Texas 11" who fought Tom DeLay by fleeing to New Mexico have some advice for their Wisconsin counterparts By Teresa Cotsirilos Monday, Feb 28, 2011 20:30 ET The future of American unions might come down to a game of political chicken. Unmoved by historic demonstrations against it, the Wisconsin state Assembly passed Gov. Scott Walker's union-busting bill last Friday amid raucous protests by Democratic lawmakers. Now, all that's preventing public sector workers in the state from losing their right to bargain collectively are the 14 Democratic state senators holed up across the...

just got off the phone with Wisconsin State Senator Chris Larson, one of the Democrats who has left the capitol in order to stall the GOP's plan to rolll back the bargaining rights of public employees. Speaking to me by cell phone from an undisclosed location, Larson said he and his fellow Democrats would not return until the GOP takes its assault on organizing rights "off the table." "Each of us is in a secure location," he told me, confirming that they were not all together but were monitoring events on the Web and on Twitter. Larson refused to say...

Former DA Earle running for Lt. Gov. By Kate Alexander | Friday, December 18, 2009, 06:36 PM Former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is running for lieutenant governor of Texas. Earle, who retired last year after more than three decades as district attorney, filed paperwork with the Texas Democratic Party late Friday to seek the party’s nomination for the statewide office. The winner of the Democratic primary in March will probably face the Republican incumbent David Dewhurst next fall. At this point, Earle is the sole filer for the party’s nomination, but Austin deli owner Marc Katz is...

This is so potentially great, even greater than we thought it could be. For a while, ex-Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle talked about running for governor. That could have led to a November battle between Democrat Earle and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, now running against Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP gubernatorial primary. Earle v. Hutchison would have been a rematch of the battle previously known as The State of Texas v. Hutchison, a long-ago criminal case in which Earle was The State of Texas and he wanted to send Hutchison to prison for up to 51 years. The...

Court nixes part of Texas political map By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld most of the Republican-boosting Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay but threw out part, saying some of the new boundaries failed to protect minority voting rights. ADVERTISEMENT The fractured decision was a small victory for Democratic and minority groups who accused Republicans of an unconstitutional power grab in drawing boundaries that booted four Democratic incumbents from office. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060628/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_texas_redistricting Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said Hispanics do not have...

Texas Republicans were guilty of a naked political power grab when they re-drew congressional boundaries, the Supreme Court was told Wednesday in a case that could have a major impact on elections. Justices are considering whether the Republican-friendly map promoted by former Majority Leader Tom DeLay is unconstitutional. The 2003 boundaries approved by the GOP-controlled state Legislature helped the Republican Party pick up six seats in Congress, but it also led to serious woes for DeLay. He was charged in state court with money laundering in connection with fundraising for legislative candidates. He gave up his leadership post and is...

When more than half of Bexar County's delegation to the Texas House complains about being excluded from the legislative process, it's logical to conclude San Antonio's interests are not being served. Six Democratic lawmakers from Bexar County met recently with the Express-News Editorial Board to air the opinion that they were shut out of the debate during the just-completed special session on school finance. "We're being precluded from representing our school districts," Rep. Carlos Uresti said. The criticism, of course, is directed at House Speaker Tom Craddick, the first Republican speaker of the Texas House in modern times. Craddick's decision...

AUSTIN — An Austin judge acted too hastily last summer in deciding that state troopers have no authority to track down legislators absent from duty, a state appeals court ruled Thursday. In a partial victory for the Department of Public Safety, a three-judge panel of the Third Court of Appeals returned the question to state District Judge Charles Campbell. But the panel, headed by Chief Justice Kenneth Law, also sided with a legislator on one issue. The panel said the lower court can consider whether the agency destroyed documents from its search for more than 50 House Democrats who fled...

AUSTIN — The 2004 primary season may become known as the Democratic Party purge in the state House. Democrats on Tuesday rejected two more House incumbents, capping a primary season in which party loyalists showed their displeasure with members who cozied up to the state Republicans who hold majority power in the Legislature. Democrats ousted seven-term Rep. Roberto Gutierrez of McAllen and first-termer Gabi Canales of Alice in the primary runoff, sending both to resounding defeats. Neither managed to win even 30 percent of the vote in their races. "These two did not represent their districts well," Democratic Party Chairman...

Editorial Board AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, January 7, 2004 The decision Tuesday by a special panel of three federal judges that the new Texas congressional redistricting plan complies with federal law and the Constitution probably ends this long political war. At least several of the Democratic plaintiffs will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but getting the high court to take a case is usually quite difficult. This kind of fight over congressional redistricting, which included three special sessions of the Legislature and the spectacle of Democratic lawmakers fleeing first to Oklahoma and then to New Mexico, should not happen again....

Wolens says he won't seek re-election Longtime lawmaker makes announcement on first day of filing 09:13 PM CST on Wednesday, December 3, 2003 By TERRENCE STUTZ and ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News AUSTIN – Longtime Democratic Rep. Steve Wolens of Dallas announced Wednesday he will not seek re-election next year as the filing period opened for legislative candidates. The decision from Mr. Wolens came as several incumbents and other candidates filed for the 15 Senate and 150 House seats on the ballot next year. All must first secure their party's nomination in the March 9 primary. Republicans...

Senate approves redistricting measure, sends to governor 07:00 PM CDT on Sunday, October 12, 2003 Associated Press AUSTIN - A six-month battle in the Texas Legislature ended Sunday when the Senate passed a congressional redistricting plan in a third special legislative session. The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who is expected to sign it into law. The new map, approved in the Senate by a 17-14, likely will give Republicans the majority in the Texas Congressional delegation that is now ruled 17-15 by Democrats. Democrats have opposed every attempt by Republicans to pass a new plan, saying...

We won't see it in black in white in the paper -- or "red" and white -- but it doesn't take an investigative reporter to see the money trail into Texas to fund the Democratic walkout on the Texas legislature.

Janek motion provisionally lifts fines, penalties The eleven Senate Democrats who broke quorum in the second special session will not have to pay the $57,000 fines imposed on them by Senate Republicans - provided they do not do not stage another walkout. Following a tense floor debate this morning, the Senate approved a motion from Sen. Kyle Janek (R-Houston) that places the so-called Texas 11 on probation until the start of the next regular session in January 2005. Today's motion provisionally restored privileges withdrawn under a motion passed on Aug. 15. If the Democrats are absent for more than 72...

Angry that they are without Capitol parking spaces, denied access to staff members during floor sessions and forced to make do with fewer office supplies, several Democratic senators Wednesday demanded an end to the sanctions imposed for their 45-day runaway to New Mexico. "I think the sanctions are a moot point," a visibly irate Sen. Mario Gallegos of Houston told Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on the Senate floor. "We've come back to work, and our staffs are still [required to sit] in the Senate gallery. I can't write my constituency and tell them there's a redistricting hearing at 1...

Go to the link (its a PDF, bottom of the page)to see the Laredo Court's ruling when dismissing all Chicken-D complaints about how unfairly they have been treated by those evil Texas Weepubwikan Senators, Governor and Lt. Governor...

AUSTIN, Texas - Ten Texas Democrats who have been boycotting a vote on a GOP congressional redistricting plan are leaving their self-imposed exile in New Mexico and returning home for a court hearing and another special legislative session. State Sen. Judith Zaffirini said Tuesday that the Democrats agreed Monday night to attend the court hearing in Laredo. After that, "the plan is we would return to our home districts," to wait until Gov. Rick Perry calls another special session, Zaffirini said. Their decision was made after one of their Democratic colleagues, Sen. John Whitmire, abandoned the boycott last week and...

Texas Democrats criticize Bush in Florida02:55 PM CDT on Monday, September 8, 2003Associated Press DANIA BEACH, Fla. - Three Texas legislators visited South Florida on Monday to say Republicans have shown a "national pattern of abuse of power" by trying to scrap Democratic congressional districts and overturn elections the GOP lost. Texas state Sens. Mario Gallegos, Eliot Shapleigh and Gonzalo Barrientos, who left their state to block a vote on a Republican-backed congressional redistricting plan, were joined by several Florida Democratic legislators, who each wore small Texas flag pins. Monday's visit comes one day before President Bush visits Jacksonville...

...BUT will do so on the Texas Senate Floor. Sen. John Whitmire said Friday after returning to Austin that if a third legislative session is called, he'll stay to fight redistricting. AUSTIN - Sen. John Whitmire, whose abrupt defection this week from the band of rebel Democrats whose absence has crippled the Texas Senate for almost 40 days, said Friday that his opposition to redistricting remains firm but that he'll return to work if a third special session is called.Whitmire, a 30-year veteran of the Legislature and the longest-serving state senator, said the 10 Democrats who are continuing the boycott...

John Whitmire got out of New Mexico just in time. What began as a noble protest defending Texas Senate tradition has sunk to the level of a pathetic Bush-bashing Democratic presidential campaign stunt.His 10 fellow Democrats in the now-truncated "Texas 11" would be wise to end their world tour and come back to Austin. If they don't, the remaining Senate majority can now pass what could be an even more direly one-sided Republican congressional redistricting plan.When the Texas 11 left Austin for Albuquerque, N.M., on July 28, their protest was honorable and based on principle. Republican Gov. Rick Perry had...

Senator: Redistricting Should be Debated "On Senate Floor" LAST UPDATE: 9/5/2003 3:04:31 PM Posted By: Jim Forsyth (AUSTIN) -- One of the eleven Democratic Texas state senators who spent 34 days in New Mexico in an attempt to kill a Republican backed Congressional redistricting plan returned to the Capitol today, and vowed to continue the battle on the Senate floor. John Whitmire (D-Houston), the longest serving member of the Texas Senate, urged Governor Rick Perry not to call a third special session to discuss the issue, but he said if that happens, he will 'be present' in the Senate. Whitmire,...

WASHINGTON - Texas state Democrats brought President Bush (news - web sites) into their redistricting fight Thursday, accusing him of trampling minority voting rights and being part of a Republican national power grab. Three of the remaining 10 Democratic state senators who fled Texas over the redistricting dispute were in Washington to promote new radio and TV ads that will run in swing presidential states including Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Arizona, New York, Nevada and Texas, along with the District of Columbia. The ads, which will begin running within the next two weeks, were paid for from funds raised by...

From NM: 'We are undeterred' Some senators raise possibility of returning for difficult filibuster 10:19 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 3, 2003 By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Democrats who fled Texas to block efforts to boost Republican power in Congress said Wednesday that they intend to fight on, despite a defection that could hand the GOP a legislative victory on redistricting. "We are undeterred," said Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso. "We will take this fight to any arena, at any place, at any time to protect voting rights ... and our...

Posted on Wed, Sep. 03, 2003 Democrat wants hearing on redistricting impact on civil rights Associated Press WASHINGTON - A high-ranking Democrat and his colleagues have asked the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the potential civil rights implications of redistricting legislation Republicans are pushing in Texas. Rep. John Conyers, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, initiated the letter that was signed by eight other Democratic members of the committee and sent Wednesday afternoon to Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. Democrats said the Republican congressional redistricting efforts in Texas make matters worse for minority communities that...

Sen. John Whitmire said today he secretly spent the last five days in Houston, and that it is time for his fellow Democratic senators to end their boycott over congressional redistricting. "After being in my district for five days, I have concluded my constituents are opposed to redistricting, but they also believe the fight should be on the Senate floor," the Houston legislator said. "I am returning to New Mexico to keep my commitment to the Texas 11. I will discuss with my colleagues that we need an exit plan, and we need it now." Whitmire did not say where...

WHITMIRE SPENDS LONG WEEKEND IN HOUSTON... Returns to Albuquerque to advocate for an exit plan Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston) issued the following statement this morning: "I have been in Houston since 10:00am, Thursday, August 28th after getting up at 3:00am to take a 7:00am flight to Houston. I returned as I had always planned - not a bolt from the group, but a planned return after sine die on Tuesday, August 26th." "After being in my district for five days, I have concluded my constituents are opposed to redistricting, but they also believe the fight should be on the Senate...

For political junkies in Texas, this summer's cause célèbre has not been the California gubernatorial recall movement or Howard Dean's Internet fund-raising machine. Rather, it has been that mysterious "two-thirds rule" of the Texas Senate. It has become such a summer blockbuster that it is the centerpiece of a federal lawsuit against the governor and lieutenant governor, and the clincher for getting 11 AWOL Democratic state senators to return home. The defiant Texas 11 refuse to return from Albuquerque unless the two-thirds rule is restored, while an equally defiant Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst refuses to restore it specifically for the...

This is a fun, fun and well done song parody that I found on a Freeper thread from yesterday. Just the thing to brighten and lighten up a slow Sunday afternoon (tapping foot to "Locomotion"!). Thanks to Freeper lowbridge for the original posting (maybe he can enlighten us as to the original source). Top 5 signs Democrat Senators in New Mexico have lost their grip on reality

Many senators leaving NM Wary of new session, Democrats still staying away from home 08:56 PM CDT on Thursday, August 28, 2003 By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The 11 Democrats cooped up in an Albuquerque hotel boycotted themselves Thursday. The quorum-busting senators scattered throughout the country but didn't venture home to Texas. "It gives us an opportunity to relax and be out of the public eye," said Sen. Royce West of Dallas. "Sometimes you need a break from the rigors of all of this." The break for the Democrats comes after their first...

Panel to hear Democrats' remap lawsuit Judge sees no merit in voting rights complaint but agrees it's not frivolous 08:47 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 27, 2003 By PETE SLOVER and GROMER JEFFERS Jr. / The Dallas Morning News A federal judge Wednesday mourned the end of civility in the Legislature but said he doesn't see merit in the claim by absent Democratic senators that Republican leaders have violated federal law protecting minority voting rights. "I have serious doubts that the Voting Rights Act attaches at this point," U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen said at a hearing in Laredo...

ALBUQUERQUE — Claiming there's a plot to arrest them, the Senate Democrats abruptly cancelled their plans to return to Texas today for a court hearing in Laredo.As many as seven of the 11 Democrats who killed congressional redistricting by fleeing the state had planned on attending a hearing today on their lawsuit in federal court.But Democratic consultant Harold Cook said the group cancelled the trip after the Democrats obtained "credible evidence" that Gov. Rick Perry intended on calling another special session and "deputized officials" would try to detain the senators.Cook did not say what the evidence was, but said a...

Dewhurst can change Senate's two-thirds rule, Justice Department says Ruling comes day before Republicans and Democrats head to federal court AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Tuesday, August 26, 2003 As the Legislature ended its second special session on congressional redistricting today, all the players in the partisan standoff geared up to take their battle to a Laredo courtroom on Wednesday. But within hours of the session's end, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a ruling that raised new questions about whether the courts will have any authority to settle the dispute. The ruling found that the Senate did not need pre-clearance from the...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Texans and the rest of the nation soon will be hearing more about the 11 Senate Democrats who are boycotting GOP attempts to redraw the state's congressional districts. Moveon.org, an activist group founded in 1998 by two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, has raised almost $1 million via the Internet and within days will launch a national ad campaign featuring the Texas senators, said Glenn Smith, spokesman for the Internet group. He said the TV, radio and print ads will be different outside of Texas. There will be a broader national message accusing Republicans of trying to steal elections,...

What passes for a special session of the Legislature apparently will end Tuesday with the stalemate over congressional redistricting between Democrats and Republicans intact. Unfortunately, there's no compromise or resolution in sight. Gov. Rick Perry, who has now seen two of his special sessions go down in defeat, is expected to wait a few days and then call a third 30-day special session to redraw the state's congressional districts to elect more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives. If it, too, ends in stalemate, then yet another $1.7 million or more of taxpayer money will be squandered in the...

In its most challenging moments over the past 15 years, the Senate has turned to Sen. Bill Ratliff. The independent-minded Republican has rewritten the state's education laws, rescued the school finance system from the courts, guided the state through several budgets and led the 31-member Senate as lieutenant governor. But over the past four weeks, as 11 Senate Democrats boycotted the special session to prevent congressional boundaries from being redrawn, Ratliff has been sidelined. This weekend, in the waning days of a second special session on the subject, he's playing golf, tending roses at his Mount Pleasant home and contemplating...

"We're not the bad guys in this thing," says Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, in defense of the Senate Republicans' sanctions imposed this week (on top of the fines imposed last week) on the absent Democrats and their staffs. The quorumless Senate remains "at ease" until Friday, following a three-minute meeting on Tuesday afternoon. At a noon Tuesday press conference, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said no further sanctions are "on the table," but that the threat of a lawsuit by the Democrats for "official oppression" is without merit. From New Mexico, the Dems had warned that unless the sanctions were...

At the end of the fourth week of the Texas Senate Democrats' exile in New Mexico, it is important to ask a fundamental question: Why was this trip necessary in the first place? The answer to that question is very simple: After Texas Republicans changed the rules in the Senate, that was the only way they could stop U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and Karl Rove from taking the unprecedented step of redrawing congressional districts in the middle of the decade.In the past 50 years, according to the Congressional Research Service, no state legislature anywhere in the nation had voluntarily redrawn...

AUSTIN — Before the so-called Texas 11, before the Killer Ds, even before the Killer Bees' 1979 dash from the Legislature, there were 13 Reconstruction-era bolters. And their treatment when they returned apparently marked the last time state senators took dramatic action to punish a quorum-breaking colleague. The last time, that is, until last week, when Republicans imposed hefty fines on 11 Democratic senators who remain in New Mexico to halt action on a redistricting effort designed to send more Republicans to Congress. Some see parallels to the 1870 clash, which led to one senator's expulsion. "Whenever political power turns...

Contribute to MoveOn.org's "Defend Democracy" Campaign The following is a letter by Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis written from "exile" in New Mexico. Below the letter is complete background information on the situation. August 18, 2003Dear friends,I am writing to you from a hotel room in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I and 10 of my colleagues in the Texas Senate have been forced to reside for the past 20 days. If we return to our homes, families, friends, and constituents, the Governor of Texas will have us arrested.I know, it sounds more like a banana republic than the dignified...

Texas Senate Republicans are violating the free speech rights of 11 Democratic senators who fled to New Mexico rather than vote on a congressional redistricting, the Democrats claimed Wednesday in an expanded federal lawsuit in Laredo. Austin lawyer Renea Hicks, who's representing the Democrats, said the senators are making a political statement by boycotting. "It is undisputed that, in this instance, what we have is a politically based reason for leaving that ties directly to their (free) speech, that they and their constituents don't want a redistricting bill passed," Hicks said. The Democrats face arrest if they return to Texas...

Dear MoveOn member, Impeachment. The 2000 Election. The California Recall. The pattern is becoming clear: there's a group of men in power who will do anything to consolidate that power, including undermining our democratic institutions. We've got to fight back. In Texas, they are fighting back. And while the world is focusing on the California mess, they are fighting alone. They need our help.A partisan plan pushed by Karl Rove and Tom Delay will redistrict up to 7 Democrats out of Congress. Right now, 11 Democratic State Senators are hiding across state lines -- with the Texas Governor calling...

Republican leaders are seeking a quick federal review of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's decision to drop a state Senate tradition that killed congressional redistricting once before and could again if reinstated. Democrats on Tuesday accused Republicans of secretly trying to get the U.S. Justice Department to approve the rule change. Democrats contend that the change in Senate procedure hurts minority voting rights; Republicans deny that. "They probably believe the Justice Department will rubber-stamp anything that those partners in crime, (U.S. Majority Leader) Tom DeLay and David Dewhurst, submit," said Gerry Hebert, a lawyer for Texas congressional Dem- ocrats. The request,...

Absentees threaten retaliation May file suit over loss of privileges By RACHEL GRAVES Aug. 19, 2003, 9:43AM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Texas' Democratic state senators are threatening criminal and civil action against the governor and other Republicans if their parking spaces, cellular phones and mail service are not restored today. Republican senators have stripped these privileges and others from the offices of 11 Democratic senators in an attempt to force them back to the Capitol from Albuquerque, where they fled three weeks ago to block GOP-backed congressional redistricting. All but one of the chamber's 12 Democrats are in Albuquerque. The Democrats...

11 vow to sue over GOP penalties Democratic Senate holdouts in New Mexico say they want sanctions lifted today By Ken Herman AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Texas' out-of-state Democratic senators, who already have two lawsuits pending, plan to file a third if their Republican colleagues do not rescind penalties and fines today. The Democrats' argument: You can't legally penalize us without our participation. "The punitive measures . . . were voted on twice without a quorum present in the Senate, specifically targeting the Texas 11, after we broke quorum to represent the best interests of our constituents," the...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The 11 Texas Senate Democrats refusing to go to the Texas Capitol have sent a letter to their Republican colleagues asking that sanctions against their staff be lifted. The 11 Democrats have begun their fourth week of a self-imposed exile in Albuquerque to block a GOP-backed congressional redistricting plan in Texas. The Senate Republicans -- who do not have a quorum -- last week suspended mail delivery to the Democrats' offices. The Republicans also limited their postage to $200 a month, removed parking privileges for the staff members, and canceled cell phones and newspaper subscriptions. The Democrats...

By Security costs stir concerns over Texas Demos in New Mexico W. Gardner Selby Express-News Staff Writer Web Posted : 08/18/2003 2:30 PM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Perhaps the most bored people involved in the story of 11 Texas Democratic senators who are holding out in a hotel here to stop Republican legislators from redrawing congressional districts are the New Mexico state troopers providing around-the-clock security. Texas Democrats demand Republicans lift sanctions At a cost of more than $12,000 a month, the troopers could become a fiscal weight for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who asked for them, or the senators...

The title, of course, should be sung to the tune of Roger Miller's classic that begins with "trailers" rather than "Texans." The subject is the eleven State Senators from Texas who are holed up in a plush resort in New Mexico, afraid to return to their state for fear they would be arrested, dragged to the state Capitol, and forced to vote. Oh, the humanity. For those who might have missed this French farce played as cowboy comedy, here's a brief recap: Texas, like every other state in the Union, has an obligation to redistrict itself after every Census. Texas...

Category: Metro & State Democrats betting on race card By W. Gardner Selby Express-News Austin Bureau Web Posted : 08/17/2003 12:00 AM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Eleven Texas Democrats roosting here to stop Republican legislators from redrawing congressional districts describe themselves as stalwarts for minorities. Republicans call it "baloney," but starting in April, when GOP lawmakers in Austin announced they'd return to the drawing board to tinker with congressional districts settled by the courts in 2001, many Democrats have said the issue is all about race. The Democrats say they are fighting for 1.4 million Hispanic and African American residents now...

On Wed. August 13, 2003, State Senator Rodney Ellis, one of two African-American senators now in New Mexico, was interviewed by KLIF (Dallas) host Greg Knapp. Sen. Ellis, among other things, said that fines levied by GOP senators amounted to a "poll tax". Ellis tells Knapp several times to "shut up", and finally hangs up on Knapp. One post-interview caller to Knapp's show identified herself as an independent, who, after hearing the interview, says she will be voting a straight republican ticket in the future. When you click on the link below, the mp3 file of the interview will need...