ECW
01-23-2007, 05:15 PM
It appears that the Tom DeLay influenced effort to redistrict the Congressional seats in order to elect more Republicans has come back to shoot them in the foot in a major way. DeLay was successful in getting his lackey, Rick Perry, to go along with this idea and it has cost Texas influence and power in the 110th Congress. You see, DeLay and his crowd, never stopped to think that Democrats would regain power in Washington. He didn't frankly care about that possibility and now we Texans are paying the price for his arrogance with a reduced profile and less opportunity to accomplish things that are important to Texans in this Congress.
Hey, DeLay has his pension. What does he care?
WASHINGTON — Texas Democrats scolded Gov. Rick Perry on Friday over the mid-decade redistricting plan that eliminated senior lawmakers and drove a partisan wedge into the state's congressional delegation.
Democrats used a private Capitol Hill meeting to vent their lingering frustration with Perry, who called three special sessions in 2003 to win approval of a GOP-friendly redistricting plan that has stripped the state of clout in a Democrat-controlled Congress.
"There are still a lot of hard feelings," said Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, who attended the 8 a.m. meeting with Perry.
Several lawmakers politely characterized the meeting as a "frank and honest discussion."
Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Houston, told Perry that redistricting tore the entire congressional delegation apart.
Lampson lost his seat after redistricting, but was elected in November to replace former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, who engineered the redistricting effort and later resigned under indictment.
Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, said Democrats called Perry to the meeting to "repair the severe damage wrought in recent years by three unprecedented special sessions."
Reyes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is the only Texas Democrat to head a full committee.
He said redistricting cost Texas political clout when Democrats took over.
Former Reps. Martin Frost, D-Dallas, Charlie Stenholm, D-Stamford, and Jim Turner, D-Houston, likely would have been chairmen of committees on rules, agriculture and homeland security.
Turner decided not to seek re-election after redistricting. Frost and Stenholm were moved into new districts and lost in the general election to Republicans.
"Gov. Perry reassured the Democratic delegation today that there would be no future special sessions for redistricting during his tenure," Reyes said.
Perry was in Washington to meet with Secretary Mike Leavitt at the Department of Health and Human Services. He returned to Texas on Friday.
Robert Black, a Perry spokesman, confirmed that the meeting was unusually candid.
He said the governor told the Democrats the same thing he has relayed to Texas state lawmakers and the public: "The election period is over."
"He is working with anyone who will put partisanship aside for the good of Texas," Black said.
Perry plans to meet with Republican members of the Texas congressional delegation in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex today.
Perry was re-elected last year with 39 percent of the vote, defeating two independents and a Democrat.
The state's Democratic congressional delegation, meanwhile, increased by two members with the resignation of DeLay and the defeat of Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio. Republicans still hold a 19-13 advantage in the Texas delegation.
Democrats won control of the House and Senate for the first time since 1994, giving them control of the legislative agenda and oversight of federal funding.
After venting their frustrations with the governor, Democrats said they agreed to work with Perry and Republicans to boost border infrastructure, highway funds, improve Hispanic high school dropout rates and find funds necessary for base closure recommendations at military installations.
But the policy discussions clearly were drowned out by political acrimony.
As a peace offering, Perry told Democrats before the meeting that the state had canceled its contracts with two private lobbying firms, the Federalist Group and Cassidy and Associates.
Democrats complained that the firms were unneeded, handpicked by Republicans, and ineffective.
Altogether, the firms won bidded contracts totaling just $550,000, Black said.
The contracts with the lobbying firms were canceled after the Democrats seized control of the House and Senate, a concession "that things in Washington have changed," Black said.
Democrats drove that point home, criticizing Perry for campaigning against Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, who easily won re-election despite campaign contributions from the Federalist Group to Edwards' opponent.
Edwards, recovering from larynx surgery, typed out a statement that a staffer read to the governor.
Other Democrats used the private meeting in the office of Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, the longest-serving member of the Texas delegation, to vent their frustration at Perry for "poisoning the well" for all of the state's lawmakers in Washington.
"This damage is a consequence of political scheming at the hands of Tom DeLay, who worked in his own political interest when he convinced Gov. Perry to call the special sessions," Reyes said.
"What happened with redistricting, we just hurt Texas," said Rodriguez, who lost his House seat in 2004 after the 28th district was redrawn.
He defeated Bonilla in a December runoff after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Bonilla's district, the 23rd, should be redrawn again to include more minorities.
Rodriguez said Republicans should have embraced a political system that produced long-serving representatives from both parties in Washington, where seniority is rewarded.
"It is to the advantage of the business community to have senior members, Democrats and Republicans," Rodriguez said.
~link~ (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/stories/MYSA012007.01A.Perry-Scolding.1c1a977.html)
Hey, DeLay has his pension. What does he care?
WASHINGTON — Texas Democrats scolded Gov. Rick Perry on Friday over the mid-decade redistricting plan that eliminated senior lawmakers and drove a partisan wedge into the state's congressional delegation.
Democrats used a private Capitol Hill meeting to vent their lingering frustration with Perry, who called three special sessions in 2003 to win approval of a GOP-friendly redistricting plan that has stripped the state of clout in a Democrat-controlled Congress.
"There are still a lot of hard feelings," said Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, who attended the 8 a.m. meeting with Perry.
Several lawmakers politely characterized the meeting as a "frank and honest discussion."
Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Houston, told Perry that redistricting tore the entire congressional delegation apart.
Lampson lost his seat after redistricting, but was elected in November to replace former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, who engineered the redistricting effort and later resigned under indictment.
Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, said Democrats called Perry to the meeting to "repair the severe damage wrought in recent years by three unprecedented special sessions."
Reyes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is the only Texas Democrat to head a full committee.
He said redistricting cost Texas political clout when Democrats took over.
Former Reps. Martin Frost, D-Dallas, Charlie Stenholm, D-Stamford, and Jim Turner, D-Houston, likely would have been chairmen of committees on rules, agriculture and homeland security.
Turner decided not to seek re-election after redistricting. Frost and Stenholm were moved into new districts and lost in the general election to Republicans.
"Gov. Perry reassured the Democratic delegation today that there would be no future special sessions for redistricting during his tenure," Reyes said.
Perry was in Washington to meet with Secretary Mike Leavitt at the Department of Health and Human Services. He returned to Texas on Friday.
Robert Black, a Perry spokesman, confirmed that the meeting was unusually candid.
He said the governor told the Democrats the same thing he has relayed to Texas state lawmakers and the public: "The election period is over."
"He is working with anyone who will put partisanship aside for the good of Texas," Black said.
Perry plans to meet with Republican members of the Texas congressional delegation in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex today.
Perry was re-elected last year with 39 percent of the vote, defeating two independents and a Democrat.
The state's Democratic congressional delegation, meanwhile, increased by two members with the resignation of DeLay and the defeat of Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio. Republicans still hold a 19-13 advantage in the Texas delegation.
Democrats won control of the House and Senate for the first time since 1994, giving them control of the legislative agenda and oversight of federal funding.
After venting their frustrations with the governor, Democrats said they agreed to work with Perry and Republicans to boost border infrastructure, highway funds, improve Hispanic high school dropout rates and find funds necessary for base closure recommendations at military installations.
But the policy discussions clearly were drowned out by political acrimony.
As a peace offering, Perry told Democrats before the meeting that the state had canceled its contracts with two private lobbying firms, the Federalist Group and Cassidy and Associates.
Democrats complained that the firms were unneeded, handpicked by Republicans, and ineffective.
Altogether, the firms won bidded contracts totaling just $550,000, Black said.
The contracts with the lobbying firms were canceled after the Democrats seized control of the House and Senate, a concession "that things in Washington have changed," Black said.
Democrats drove that point home, criticizing Perry for campaigning against Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, who easily won re-election despite campaign contributions from the Federalist Group to Edwards' opponent.
Edwards, recovering from larynx surgery, typed out a statement that a staffer read to the governor.
Other Democrats used the private meeting in the office of Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, the longest-serving member of the Texas delegation, to vent their frustration at Perry for "poisoning the well" for all of the state's lawmakers in Washington.
"This damage is a consequence of political scheming at the hands of Tom DeLay, who worked in his own political interest when he convinced Gov. Perry to call the special sessions," Reyes said.
"What happened with redistricting, we just hurt Texas," said Rodriguez, who lost his House seat in 2004 after the 28th district was redrawn.
He defeated Bonilla in a December runoff after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Bonilla's district, the 23rd, should be redrawn again to include more minorities.
Rodriguez said Republicans should have embraced a political system that produced long-serving representatives from both parties in Washington, where seniority is rewarded.
"It is to the advantage of the business community to have senior members, Democrats and Republicans," Rodriguez said.
~link~ (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/stories/MYSA012007.01A.Perry-Scolding.1c1a977.html)