Posted by lil' jimi on May 17, 2003, at 0:06:09
In reply to Re: more replies, posted by shar on May 16, 2003, at 21:33:39
hey shar ~
thank you for replying!
it is wonderful to hear from a political kindred spirit!
another yellowdog comrade-in-arms!> Well, thanks, lil jimi, that is what Killer Bees was all about ... about 10 years ago; but I could not have described it with the 2/3 majority info (or whatever you said)! I no longer have my finger on the pulse of the legislature.
>
> I know there is also the issue of legislation that has to do with cutting the Children's Insurance Program, about which one legislator (Republican) said "Well, maybe this will convince their parents to go back to their private health insurance..."
>
> AS IF !!!!!!
>
> Then, followed up by a legislator (Republican) who said there were churches and other agencies like that to help the kids who fell between the cracks. A lovely image, to be sure.
>
> While, at the same time, they are approving 10 million for corporate giveaways (attract business to Texas, that would naturally be good for the Repubs), and ... oh, dang, I'm having a senior moment, another bill that was similar in nature.
>
> If anyone wants names, I'll have to look up the article I read about it, which is at work, so it'll be Monday before I can get names for those fine figgers of politicians.
this budget deficit handed the republican ideologues their cover for declaring open season on social services, your example of the proposed cuts to the CHIPS program being among the most egregious.just what we need are these serious grim, depressing current events.... so i indulge in them and complain about it(?).
>
> In Texas, there are yellow dog Democrats. That means we'd vote for a yellow dog if that was the only Democratic candidate. Well, I'm one of those, and the recent performance of the Texas legislature is how come.
>
> It puts me in mind of a political cartoon I've mentioned here before. A D.C. politico-government type is being 'grilled' by the senate. The senator is saying "I thought your administration said it would not balance the budget on the back of the poor man."
>
> The grillee replies, "Excuse me, Senator, but I believe these cuts will mainly affect women and children." Welcome to the new Texas.
>beautifully said ..... much more tastefully to your point than my rambling diatribe... bravo!!
> Hey, Jimi, Hi from Austin!
>
> Sharhi shar ~
hello from our live music capital of the world !
~ yellowdog jimp.s. oh, and try this (it is very long!):
Fort Worth Star-TelegramParty trumps people in redistricting ploy
Linda Campbell
COMMENTARYMay 15, 2003
Once upon a time, Tom DeLay killed vermin and varmints and other disreputable critters for a living.
Now he's trying to prove that he remembers how -- by exterminating any remnants of bipartisanship in the Texas House.
Little does DeLay, the U.S. House majority leader, care if he incites a blood feud in Austin; he'd just as soon suck the Democrats dry in his lust to make himself master of the universe.
In his insatiable ambition to obliterate the two-party system, DeLay apparently expected Texas House Dems to roll over on their backs like roaches on Raid and let his water boys roar undisturbed through the Capitol with a new congressional district map.
When Democratic Texas House members hightailed it north of the Red River, it wasn't to avoid thorny problems still facing the state. It was out of exasperation that neither DeLay nor Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick would let earnest, hard-working lawmakers of both parties focus on the vital business that the Legislature ought to be spending its energy on as the session winds down.
By arm-twisting a hideous, probably illegal remap to the House floor, DeLay engaged in "an abuse of power that, at its core, evinces a fundamental distrust of voters, serving the self-interest of the political parties at the expense of the public good."
That spot-on definition of gerrymandering came from the panel of federal judges that had to draw new congressional districts for Texas in 2001 after the Legislature shirked its duty to do it after the 2000 Census.
DeLay and his supporters complain that the court's map doesn't give Republicans enough districts. After all, the GOP swept statewide offices in 2002 but managed only a 15-17 minority in congressional seats.
Well, hooey and rat poison.
Even a political scientist who advised Republican state leaders in the court case that led to the judge-made map said it contains 20 predominantly GOP districts. That voters in five Republican-dominated districts re-elected Democrats in 2002 demonstrates that those local folks care far more about constituent service than about "R" and "D" labels or about boosting Tom DeLay's political testosterone.
And if you're deluded into thinking DeLay's plan would oust Ted Kennedy-type "radicals" in favor of GOPers more in line with voters' thinking, then get real.
Rep. Charlie Stenholm, a Stamford farmer and ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, is as conservative as Democrats come -- and then some.
Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco, an Aggie, has been a budget hawk and an effective advocate for Fort Hood and military families. Plus, he's been honored as a friend of small business.
Rep. Max Sandlin of Marshall is an oil and gas man who opposes government fiscal excesses and has worked on laws to fight terrorism and improve national security.
But, by golly, in DeLay's worldview they're all cursed by the mark of the D-evil, so their districts must be reconfigured.
And state Rep. Phil King of Weatherford is just tickled to be leading the charge with a bill that plays havoc all around the state, and the heck with compactness, contiguity and communities of interest.
(King had better be getting some phenomenal perks for his district in exchange.)
Makes perfect sense to toss African-American neighborhoods of southeast Fort Worth into a district with suburban Westlake and fast-growing northwest Tarrant County.
Sure enough, Fort Worth's north side shares common concerns with Willow Park and the sprawling areas of Denton County.
Yes, indeed, let's combine a small chunk of east Fort Worth inside Loop 820 with Coppell.
Politics may be about rewriting the rules to favor your party when you're on top, but this attempt hardly promotes the overall public good.
What the party myopes refuse to acknowledge is that a huge swath of Americans -- and that includes Texans -- don't live and die by elephants and donkeys. They want government that makes sense for their lives, for their communities and for their vision of what their nation and state ought to be.
This week's antics show that the Tom DeLays of the world can only big-foot so far before they kick themselves in the shins. Problem is, the Texas House leadership let him kick all of us this time.
Linda P. Campbell is a Star-Telegram editorial writer. (817) 390-7867 lcampbell@star-telegram.com
poster:lil' jimi
thread:226565
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030506/msgs/227166.html