Rebel Texas Democrats to Hold Conference

As you may be aware, I am an atheist. I believe we are subject to follow our conscience, which has been refined by experience and evolution through the ages. The law reflects man's shortcomings along with his high aspirations, as even good law is manipulated constantly by the ones in authority, regardless of party. In a pinch, I will set my conscience above those who interpret laws according to their personal agendas.

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edgarblythe wrote:

In a pinch, I will set my conscience above those who interpret laws according to their personal agendas.

While I am not an atheist, I can agree completely with you on this.

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I not only am exceedingly proud of these Democratic lawmakers, I also think this is funny. Tom DeLay thinks he can push us around and we'll just sit there and take it. But he's mistaken. Let's hope this is the first of many such protests if this becomes a pattern for the Republicans. (What's that you say, it's already a pattern? Why, yes it is.) The tide has to turn and something has to be done to make the American people see the heavy handed, manipulative methods of this administration. I'm disgusted by DeLay's tactics. I see the humor in it, yes I do. And more power to them. DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS DEMOCRATS!

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And it was this same Tom Delay who sent aides in his office down to Florida in chartered buses to heckle during the late Florida festival. I remember one who was interviewed laughing about it, and saying "hey, this was like a paid holiday, you know?" He was young, said they came from deLay's office, and got hotel room and meals. What a guy.

And Edgar talks about personal agendas?

Thanks, tartarin, for the list. Took some courage, and courage of conviction, to do what they did.

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God, I love Molly Ivins:

Quote:

Legislators on the lam. You can tell how grave this situation is by the news that Texas's last few remaining elected Democrats have bolted to Ardmore, Okla. If they were doin' this for fun they'd be in Mexico, drinkin' margaritas. This is serious.

Okay, so it's Texas politics and so naturally it's got this weird hitch in the get-along. But we are looking at something grave, portentous, weighty and fateful. (I just consulted the thesaurus.) Just because Texas always has this ridiculous pie-eyed quality of exaggeration (Ann Richards recently observed that the price of gasoline has gotten so high that Texas women who want to run over their husbands have to carpool) is no reason to ignore the deeper meaning in this semi-ludicrous caper. Creepin' fascism. That's what we're lookin' at.

<snip>

During a committee meeting, Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Houston) demanded earnestly, "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." Rep. Joe Crabb explained why no public hearings were held on the now-infamous redistricting bill: "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 to be able to converse with people that did not speak English." The guy's talking about South Texas.

What planet do these people come from? Carl Parker of Port Arthur used to say, "If you took all the fools out of the Legislature, it would not be a representative body anymore." When one confronts such people with facts -- such as that free education was established in the United States long before there was ever a Communist revolution in Russia, or that people in South Texas speak English quite fluently (some of them are even college graduates) -- it does no good. These folks are not stupid, they're like members of some weird cult. You can't dent their worldview with reality. It's like trying to talk to the people who followed David Koresh.

Bucking the Texas Lockstep

Debbie Riddle represents a district near where I live in H-town.

Carl Parker (when he was in the Senate) represented the area where I grew up. He was a burly, salty, Yellow Dog Democrat.

There are polar extremes represented in the Texas Legislature; Riddle and Parker don't even represent the ones farthest apart.

What IS representative is the extremism on display by the New Conservatives.

And it's on display in your capital, and in Washington as well.

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PDiddle,

Molly Ivins, I love her too. And facists? Yes they are.

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It says a lot about the condition of the Democratic Party in Texas when their best exercise of power is fleeing to Oklahoma.

I'm pretty certain that they've accomplished their objective: the bill expires in regular session.

It appears there will be a special session called, at which the redistricting matter will resurface.

I'm wondering what they will do then.

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Er - I am a little confused about all this.

Are the Democrats hiding (!!!!) to avoid there being a quorum for a vote on the re-distribution of electoral boundaries?

Would the posited re-distribution lead to what we would call here a gerrymander - ie would keep the Republicans in power even if a clear majority voted against them? (We have had spectacular gerrymanders here.) Is this posited gerrymander, (if it is said to exist), agreed by independent assessors to be real?

Can the Republicans bring the bill back to a special session and push it through there, despite anything the Democrats do?

Do you guys in Texas not have an independent body which sets electoral boundaries?

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Deb:

Yes.

Yes.

Quite possibly.

No.

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Thank you, PDiddie!

Ok- if the bill is quite clearly wrong and unfair, then I consider an act of civil disobedience to be justified - but not if it is just one the Dems disagree with, but do not have the numbers to defeat.

The latter is democracy, and we have to "cop it sweet' when people we do not like are voted in.

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It's both, Deb, depending on one's POV.

The real disagreement is in the area of timing. Congressional redistricting by tradition occurs every ten years as a result of new census data.

The Republicans have been the minority party in the Texas statehouse since Reconstruction. They are attempting to re-draw the lines in a blatant powerplay.

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edgarblythe wrote:

I have no confirmation, but, I have been told the Repubs used anti-terrorism forces to track down the Dems in OK. If that's true, the Repubs have done a far greater wrong than the Dems anyway.

If this is true, then switch shoes. Republicans bolted and Democrats asked for anti terrorism forces to hunt them up. Do you think the Bush family would have sent 'em ? Laughing

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Posted in the "Ashcroft Explains Patriot Act" thread:

Weren't we told, back on the eve of the passage of the PATRIOT Act, that the Homeland Security apparatus would never, ever be used for domestic spying? Didn't they promise? Weren't all the people who voiced those concerns labeled as 'conspiracy theorists?'

Well, they lied:

Quote:

One federal agency that became involved early on was the Air and Marine Interdiction and Coordination Center, based in Riverside, Calif. -- which now falls under the auspices of the Homeland Security Department.

The agency received a call to locate a specific Piper turboprop aircraft. It was determined that the plane belonged to former House Speaker Pete Laney, D-Hale Center.

The location of Laney's plane proved to be a key piece of information because, Craddick said, it's how he determined that the Democrats were in Ardmore.

"We called someone, and they said they were going to track it. I have no idea how they tracked it down," Craddick said. "That's how we found them."

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Thought I'd tell you the latest. Willie Nelson has sent whiskey and red bandannas to the Democrats up in OK.
There is a candlelight vigal at the Capital tonight for the Democrats who had to leave their families behind. This is ridiculous. Rolling Eyes

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This is fabulous is what it is.......

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Page 1 of the Democrat Rulebook:
If you can't win by playing by the rules, to heck with the rules.

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The publicity about initial Republican failures to "exhibit leadership" and subsequent use by the idjits of Federal officials for political gain (see Watergate) is worth every bit of blubbering and whining on the sidelines we've heard here from Republican supporters. Delighted -- just delighted!

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Democrats had a little party last night at Threadgills. Great meatloaf, lousy chicken fried steak...............

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Scrat wrote:

Page 1 of the Democrat Rulebook:
If you can't win by playing by the rules, to heck with the rules.

The rules are, you gotta have a quorum to vote.

Looks to me like they are playing by the rules.

Page 1 of the Republican Rulebook:
Since we don't like the rules, let's change 'em, right in the middle of the game, to suit us. By force, if necessary.

If you can link me to your Rulebook, I'll link you to mine. :wink:

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Why is using a majority "force"? Tis democracy.

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Rebel Texas Democrats to Hold Conference

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