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| 7/9 |
| 2005/8/24-25 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/California/Arnold] UID:39253 Activity:very high |
8/24 We should go back through the motd archives and dig up all the
arguments that Ah-nold was going to be above corruption:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20050824/ts_latimes/nonprofitscloakdonorstogovernor
\_ Shrug. I voted for Ah-nold because (a) Davis deserved punishment,
and (b) his wife spoke up for him after people pointed out he was
a groper.
I didn't vote for him because I thought he would be a great
governor, or do a better job than Davis.
I /am/ going to vote him out next election, because purpose (a) has
already been served.
\_ What, people don't like Arnold, I didn't vote for him and I think
he has done WAY better than any reasonable expection. -phuqm
\_ I still have not heard anyone say why Davis 'deserved punishment'
\_ He was an idiot who sold the state out to his pet
campaign donors, like Edison. He sat on his hands and
\_ntm Ellison
did nothing as the power crises escalated.
\_ Davis didn't sign deregualation.. He pushed for long
term contracts to staunch the bleeding. Then when the
causes became more clear he went to court to try and get
those contracts renegotiated.
\_ I thought selling the state out was done by Pete Wilson
and the legislature BEFORE Davis became governor.
\_ Because he allowed car registration fees to go back to what
they were before the brief CA tax surplus years.
\_ http://csua.com/?entry=10325
See second response. Eh, to answer your question, it was
mainly the hugeness of the budget deficit combined with the
hiding of it until the last moment. Energy brokers and
special interests too, as someone else wrote.
\_ CA government is fucked anyway. Governors can't fix it.
http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=16350
\_ I voted for McClintock becuase Arnold was a scumbag groper and
wasn't really conservative. I'm disappointed that he's been taking
money in hand over fist considering his promises. He hasn't gotten
my vote and won't in the foreseeable future.
\_ Did anyone on the motd actually make that argument? On the
other hand, if Arnold can get that Gerrymandering law passd,
he's my hero.
\_ He wouldn't be my hero, per se, but it would be a really great
thing if that were passed, I agree.
\_ How do you figure?
\_ I went with this editorial
http://csua.org/u/d58 (Wash Post)
\_ An editorial which presumes corruption. What corruption
can you point to in the process? The "no seats changed
hands" argument doesn't hold water without evidence
\_ "replace the state's corrupt system for drawing state
and federal legislative districts with a cleaner one
in which a panel of retired judges -- rather than
the very politicians who have to run for office --
would draw lines without regard for protecting
incumbents"
I believe they're saying they just don't like
politicians doing the districting, even if they were
benevolent politicians. You could say we have a
system that invites corruption, if it wasn't already
present.
\_ Can anyone point to a arguments _against_ this?
\_ If it didn't call for an immediate redistricting, I MIGHT
support it. If it were to pass, whatever plan they decided
on would take effect without voter approval for the 2006
elections. Ludicrous.
\_ What's ludicrous is Republicans openly being against it
because it might be unfavorable to them right now. Way
to think about justice and the future there boys. Anyone
making that kind of comment publically should be
automatically blacklisted for reelection.
\_ What kind of comment?
\_ Even given that it might take effect immediately, I
think that's better than the situation we have now.
\_ Then you're an idiot.
\_ Cram it with walnuts, ugly. Our legislature is
dismal. And our lines have been drawn such that in
the last election not a single seat changed parties.
We have a horribly unresponsive and unrepresentative
democracy. I'm willing to put up with a lot to make
it more responsive and representative.
\_ This is as foolish as the more idiotic arguments
for term limits. Show me where on the map they
drew broken, unreasonable lines. For comparison
look at TX's current map. If you want a more
responsive democracy, find some way to get the
voters to actually get interested.
\_ Are you asking if there is anyone who is pro-gerrymandering?
\_ Anyone who believes unelected judges are slimier than
elected officials. I think only elected officials believe
this and then never with a straight face.
\_ Tom DeLay is pro-gerrymandering. At least when it creates
more GOP seats.
\_ The whole gerrymandering debate is overblown; in the
states which have judges draw up the districts, no
seats changed hands in the 2004 elections. It just won't
\_ Um, the 2000 map was judge-drawn, the 2003 map was
Republican-drawn. R's gained from their own map.
make that much difference. -tom
\_ In TX, R's gained 6 seats from a judge-drawn map
\_ No, you have it backwards. When they went from
a judge drawn map, to the DeLay Gerrymandered one,
they gained six seats:
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040106-115653-7008r.htm
http://csua.org/u/d56 (Wash Times)
\_ "We will look at an unaccountable, arrogant,
out-of-control judiciary that thumbed their nose
at Congress and the president...The time will
come for the men responsible for this to answer
for their behavior." T. Delay
\_ Oop. You're right. My brain is tired.
\_ BTW, has anyone done research on algorithmic ways of
redistricting that involve as little human input as
possible?
\_ Consider the source, the LA-Times hates Arnold and has been, and
continues on a quest to make him look bad and keep him
out of office. -ax
\_ Fuck Arnold and his quest to reduce the quality of life
in California via tax reduction, infrastructure quality
reduction, and Republicanism. |
| 7/9 |
|
| news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20050824/ts_latimes/nonprofitscloakdonorstogovernor Arnold Schwarzenegger is benefiting from millions of dollars raised b y a network of tax-exempt groups without revealing that the money comes from major corporations with business before his office. The groups are run by Schwarzenegger's closest political allies, who also represent some of California's biggest interest groups. Unlike the gove rnor's many campaign funds, the nonprofits are not required to disclose their contributors and can accept unlimited amounts. One group controlled by a powerful corporate consultant pays the $6,000-a -month rent on a Sacramento hotel suite used by the governor, who is a m ultimillionaire. Others have funded media events and political rallies f eaturing Schwarzenegger and helped pay for his foreign travel. So far, f ive tax-exempt groups aiding Schwarzenegger have collected $3 million. Other elected officials also raise money through nonprofit groups. But Sc hwarzenegger campaigned on creating an open government answerable to the public. His use of the nonprofit groups has the opposite effect, ethics watchdogs said. State and federal laws allow groups performing a broadly defined "public benefit" to operate tax exempt. But the lack of disclosure requirements means potential conflicts of interests between the governor and his cont ributors remain hidden, allowing powerful donors to curry favor with Sch warzenegger behind the scenes, they said. "This is an end run around the campaign finance laws," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington. "It does away with the contribution limits and it avoids disclosure, and it's a way for the special interests who are supporting him to buy acce ss and buy influence." Rob Stutzman, the governor's communications director, said Schwarzenegger has asked the nonprofits directly helping him such as the foundation paying his rent to disclose their donors. In any case, he said the gov ernor pays little attention to who donates to the nonprofits. State law requires that politicians disclose contributions to nonprofits made at their "behest," but Schwarzenegger's attorneys say it does not a pply to the donations at issue. Although the groups have not disclosed donors on their own, three of them provided information to The Times after repeated requests. One of the organizations, the California Commission on Jobs and Economic Growth, has raised $1 million from corporate donors and staged events in California and abroad featuring Schwarzenegger as a way to boost econom ic development. The group is run by a San Francisco lobbyist, Mark Mosher, whose corporat e clients include Motorola, Clear Channel billboard company and Verizon Wireless. The commission's board of directors includes such business exe cutives as Gap Inc. Chairman Donald Fisher, Edison International Preside nt and Chairman John Bryson and Fox Entertainment Group Chairman and chi ef executive Peter Chernin. The $1 million came from a variety of firms affected by state actions. We lls Fargo Bank, which regularly lobbies the government on mortgage issue s, student lending and identity theft, gave $100,000. This year, Wells F argo is pushing for or actively opposing two dozen bills in the Legislat ure, state records show. Catholic Healthcare West, a group of 40 hospitals in California and the S outhwest, also gave $100,000 to the jobs commission. Last year, Schwarze negger issued an emergency order to relax nurse-patient ratios at hospit als a move meant to reduce the financial burden on a hospital industry facing a nursing shortage. The move set off a political maelstrom for the governor, led by a nurses union that favors more nurses in emergency rooms and certain other hospi tal wards. The court ruled that Schwarzenegger had overstepped his aut hority as governor. In another case, last September, Schwarzenegger's aides said the governor would not accept contributions from Pacific Gas & Electric and other ut ilities to avoid any appearance of conflict as he drafted a state ener gy policy. But the jobs commission took a $100,000 donation from PG&E a month later. The commission also received $100,000 from Southern Califor nia Edison. The jobs organization has staged splashy events with the governor as the centerpiece. It arranged for the move of a 14-employee company from Neva da to California in an 18-wheel truck dubbed "Arnold's Moving Co." It co mmissioned a billboard campaign featuring Schwarzenegger promoting the s tate and helped pay for events in Japan when the governor visited. Previous governors also used nonprofits for political and personal suppor t Gov. Gray Davis used them to collect at least $2 million from corporate donors for his ho using, travel and a lavish party for Democrats during the 2000 national convention in Los Angeles. George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Davis benefited from a ta x-exempt nonprofit that helped defray the cost of their Sacramento housi ng. All three lived in a home purchased by supporters of Deukmejian; Davis' fund paid tens of thousands of do llars for repairs, maintenance, cable television and parties. Schwarzene gger's residence fund pays for an 1,800-square-foot Hyatt Regency Hotel suite. One of the directors of the Governor's Residence Foundation is Bob White, who runs a Sacramento consulting firm that has substantial business bef ore the state through his firm, California Strategies. White, a former c hief of staff to Wilson, is one of the most powerful figures in Sacramen to. in its sale of coastal prop erty to the state and the California Hospital Assn. on seismic safety an d overturning state regulations requiring more nurses on duty. Schwarzenegger's campaign committees paid his rent until Jan. So far, the residence fo undation has raised $35,000 from three entities, said attorney George Ki effer, another director. The donors are: Lewis Investment, one of the co untry's largest private developers; Tejon Ranch lobbies in the Capitol on issues such as fish and game regula tions, cultural preservation and water quality rules. is also lobbying on a host of regulations and potential new laws , including environmental controls and the governor's effort to curb chi ldhood obesity. Kieffer would not reveal the individual amounts donated. But he said the governor has never solicited money for the funds and doesn't know the na mes of the three donors paying his rent. He noted that other states have official residences for their governors but California does not. "The irony is," Kieffer said, "your desire to print this is the only way the governor will learn who the contributors are." Last year, the California Protocol Foundation, which is affiliated with t he California Chamber of Commerce and raised more than $1 million in 200 4, picked up about $32,000 of the cost of Schwarzenegger's four-day trad e mission to Tokyo. The trip created widespread media coverage for the governor as he judged a cooking contest, toured a supermarket and appeared before an oversized video showing images of his movies and California food products. Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce and a me mber of the foundation's board, said the group's aim is to help reduce g overnment costs. He would not release the names of the donors, and said Schwarzenegger doesn't know who they are. "There are a lot of people who want to be anonymous about this," Zarember g said. He added: "There may be people who want to support the governor's mission of international trade," Zaremberg said. "But to expect something in re turn would require the governor to be aware that they're a participant. And he's not aware unless someone tells him, and he may or may not remem ber." A similar group created before the 2003 recall election spent about $50,0 00 on three rallies featuring Schwarzenegger early in his administration . The Small Business Action Committee organized rallies at shopping mall s in San Diego, Tracy and Bakersfield soon after the governor took offic e, as he was putting pressure on the Legislature to pass a state budget. Joel Fox, a close Schwarzenegger ally who formed the committee, said the governor never solicited contributions and n... |
| csua.com/?entry=10325 Vote for who you think presented the best plan to restore California's economy and job situation: Arianna: "Bush is bad!" I'm voting Yes on Recall, and I'll be voting for, between Arnold and McClintock, who is more likely to get more votes. I wouldn't be upset, though, if Bustamante won -- the main point is Davis gets booted. Two weeks from now he better not be gloating over the failed recall and then going back to business as usual. And even after the debate is over, who "won" is almost entirely a matter of media spin - cf George Will coaching Reagan for a debate, and then praising his performance in a later column. We got to see Arnold wasn't a complete buffoon, Say what? We got to see that Ahnold believes that if _/ you shout louder and repeat your words more, you can silence the opposition. That's not going to change anyone's opinion of him as a buffoon. This would result if he were timid, became red-faced and started shouting obscenities, or demonstrated a level of political knowledge less than the average Californian (which is pretty darn minimal already). You just deleted a post expressing an opinion because they language used was too spicey for you despite the fact that the motd is covered in similar language every fucking day. Will do wield the Puritan Axe of Censorship on this now, too? You're much better off deleting the "arianna is a c*nt" comment and writing "That language doesn't belong on the motd". This is much more reflective of what you're really thinking. I lost a lot of respect for her vindictive attacks against Arnold. She really brought some important issues to the table in previous debates and news conferences, but yesterday with all the candidates at the table and issues to discuss, she dropped the ball and came to the table in order to try to destroy Arnold. As an independent, and someone whose voice is suppose to be different, she sounded like most of the drivel that is spouted in tabloids and the hallways of sacramento. Arnold held his own against her, but it wasn't pretty and kinda sad that two grown ppl had to display such school yard antics. Whether you agree with their politics or not, Camejo and McClintock were the only ones that made a real impression on me. can't compete with men in politics so you're a \_ someone overwrote this, I put it back for you I think of Boxer or Feinstein, and I don't think they \_ thx. I think of Boxer or Feinstein, and I don't feel they operate in this way. I'd rather have an inclusive circus, than the exclusive 2 horse pony of the usual democrats/republicans fiasco that we usually have. If we had a more open political process, then we wouldn't have had 2 such distasteful politicians to choose from last election. We need a change in politics to make elections like this the norm, instead of the exception. If Rhiordan ran instead of Simon, I would have voted for him as a member of the fat sysadmin/sheepfuckers party. |
| www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=16350 Grieving anti-Bush Mom fits their agenda Imposing story regardless of politics Sheehan being manipulated by the Left, media Sheehan is the Omarosa of the anti-war left Vote Now! Is it the legislature that created the perpetual problems with Cal ifornia such as annual budget deficits, gerrymandering, poor performing public schools, recurring energy crises, and out-of-control public retir ement pensions systems? major California newspapers, you would be made to believe that California is a medieval state ruled by a king who appointed dukes to run his fiefdoms for the benefit of his per sonal treasury And you would be made to believe the king could dethrone each duke at his whim and figuratively cut their head off if they didnt carry out the kings will. And you would believe the citizens were mere v assals in a feudal state who had no power to overrule the royal sovereig n Nothing could be further from the truth. It might be desc ribed as planned bureaucratic chaos or called "democracy by bureaucracy. " Unlike the President of the United States, the Governor of California doe s not appoint the heads of each executive branch; The gove rnor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasur er, controller, superintendent of public instruction, and insurance comm issioner are all governors. Imagine Rome being simultaneously ruled by e ight Caesars. Or think of a large corporation run by eight department ch iefs who do not need to report to the CEO except to get budgetary out lays each year. The governor can only appoint those on the public utility commission and other commissions. The governor and other heads of departments cannot in troduce legislation into the state legislature. The governor cannot hire or fire the heads of each of the states departme nts, and can only appoint people to these positions in the event of an u nexpected vacancy. Former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Bil l Honig (Democrat) was convicted of fraud, removed from office, and sent enced to serve jail time by the courts. Former Insurance Commissioner Ch uck Quackenbush (Republican) resigned after inquisitions held by the sta te legislature into his questionable use of public funds for political p romotion. Former Governor Gray Davis (Democrat) was recalled due to squa ndering the budget surplus on special interests instead of saving it for a rainy day such as the then looming $10 billion jolt of the energy cri sis. The governor has only limited powers over the states purse strings. Prop osition 98 which passed in 1988 mandates that at least 40% of the state budget be spent on education, further limiting the governors and legisla tures powers. On paper, the governor has the authority to craft a unified budget and ca n exercise his right to a line item veto. The legislature can override a budget line item veto but rarely does so. In reality, what happens is t hat the Big Five of the governor and four state legislative leaders meet behind closed doors to deliver a take-it-or-leave it budget to the legi slature, contrary to the process spelled out in the state constitution. If the governors political party is not in power in the legislature, abou t the only thing he can do to change existing laws is to get initiatives and referendums on the ballot and use the bully pulpit of his office to promote them. Once again, imagine a corporate CEO who wants to lower prices to consumers to keep his business competitive but can only do so by pleading with his department heads to stop overspending. All he can do are TV spots asking his customers to put the pressure of pubic opinio n on his corporate department heads to cut costs; scoffed at by the media Imagine budgeting when each department head has an incentive to run defic its to get their share of next years anticipated increased tax revenues. Budgeting becomes a paper exercise with little connection to reality. Each department head has a perverse incentive to run deficits. If the ec onomy doesnt generate the anticipated tax revenues the next year, the st ate will precariously run a deficit or borrow until the economy can reco ver. While the governor and other executive branch positions are elected at la rge, the legislature might as well be a House of Lords with their own li ttle fiefs which loyally return them to office until they term limit; wh ereupon they are given lucrative positions on artificial commissions or boards like Calpers, or they trade positions with another fief holder. S o the legislature and the bureaucracies have nothing to lose obstructing anything which they find inconvenient; as unfounded scandals about a rumored courtesan The media ca n be likened to the entertainment world of pro-wrestling. The referee ( the media) wears a striped shirt and pretends to be looking from the wro ng angle and not notice any flagrant fouls or faked fighting. He wont tell you how the game of California politi cs is played. The famous sociologist Max Weber once wrote that all bureaucracies are fo rmed around a secret. And that secret is that California mostly operates as a bureaucratic state that is impervious to control by the governor a nd only sporadically by the electorate. Conceivably the legislature coul d make the bureaucracies more accountable and responsive to the will of the people. But like in our wrestling analogy, that would be like appeal ing to the World Wide Wrestling Federation to rule on the side of full d isclosure and real competition. Unless the customers demand refunds, it is not likely to happen. About the Writer: About the author: Wayne Lusvardi worked for 20 years fo r the Metro Water District of So. |
| csua.org/u/d58 -> www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/20/AR2005082000990.html Page B06 THE RECENT DECISION by the California Supreme Court to restore a ballot m easure to reform the state's redistricting process gives California vote rs the chance to send a critical message in November. The initiative, pa rt of a reform package being pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger , h ad been stricken from the special election ballot by a lower court becau se of technical disparities between a version circulated among voters an d a version given to the state attorney general. If passed, it would rep lace the state's corrupt system for drawing state and federal legislativ e districts with a cleaner one in which a panel of retired judges -- rat her than the very politicians who have to run for office -- would draw l ines without regard for protecting incumbents. By passing it, California voters not only would clean up their up own system but could spur refor m elsewhere as well. It not only creates create a redistricting regime for use after each decennial census; the new system is implement ed immediately -- in the middle of a census cycle. Unlike the Texas mid- cycle redistricting, which Republicans undertook purely for partisan gai n, California's would represent a genuine and valuable reform. But it wo uld still legitimize the unfortunate principle that the Texas episode es tablished -- that the drawing of district lines is fair game whenever on e political bloc has the strength to reopen them, not just when new cens us data becomes available every 10 years. Still, warts and all, passing the initiative would be a huge accomplishme nt. The advent of high-powered computing has made the old art of gerryma ndering into a corruptly exact science. The result is that ever-more sea ts in state legislatures and in the House of Representatives have become safe for one party or the other. Many House elections are no longer eve n contested, so remote is the possibility of unseating an incumbent. In California's last election, as Mr Schwarzenegger noted in a speech earl ier this year, not a single one of 153 state or federal legislative seat s changed party hands. The simple truth is that, as it's too often practiced in America, redistr icting weakens two-party democracy and restricts all significant voter c hoice to primary elections within a district's dominant party. This, in turn, contributes to the polarization of the broader political system, a s politicians of both parties attend more to keeping their flanks happy than to satisfying centrist voters or to reaching out to voters of the o pposite party. For the largest state in the nation to declare this situa tion undemocratic and unacceptable and to demand instead that district l ines get drawn as apolitically as possible would be an enormous step for ward. |
| www.washtimes.com/national/20040106-115653-7008r.htm Martin Frost, D-Texas, speaks during a news conference at his office in Fort Worth, Texas, concerning a decision on Texas redistricting plan by a three-judge federal panel Tuesday. DALLAS Three federal judges dealt Texas' dwindling Democrats a seri ous blow yesterday, ruling that although the recent Republican redistric ting plan was "political ... from start to finish," it did not discrimin ate against minorities. Democrats and minorities had filed a suit claiming that the Republica n-led plan seriously disenfranchised minorities, but the three-judge pan el ruled unanimously that the state Legislature was allowed to replace c ourt-drawn districts. "We are compelled," the court said in its ruling, "that this plan was a political product from start to finish. The myriad decisions made dur ing its creation were made in spite of, and not because of, its effects on blacks and Latinos." It contended that the facts simply did not support Democrat contentio ns that the plan intentionally discriminated against minorities. Texas lawmakers and the governor deadlocked over drawing congressiona l lines after the 2000 Census, so the 2002 elections were conducted unde r lines drawn by a court. After Republicans gained control of the Legisl ature and maintained control of the governorship in those elections, the Legislature redrew the lines. Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Demo crat, promised to appeal yesterday's ruling to the US Supreme Court. B ut for now, it virtually assures that Republicans will maintain their ma jority in the House after November's elections. Although the GOP in Texas grabbed strong control of both Texas legisl ative houses in 2002 and holds every elective office by statewide ballot ing, the current makeup of the US House delegation is split 16-16. Ralph M Hall announced last week that he was switching parties to become a Republican. After the upcoming elections, Republicans hope that as many as 22 of those 32 seats will be filled by Republicans one of the biggest such s witches in history. The judges 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Patrick Higginbotham, US District Judge Lee Rosenthal of Houston, and US District Judge J ohn Ward of San Antonio had heard testimony for several days last mont h in the civil suit. "This is a serious blow to the Democrats," said National Republican C ongressional Committee Chairman Thomas M Reynolds, New York Republican and the man charged with electing Republicans to the House. "It makes th eir already remote chances of taking back the House slimmer than ever." Republicans long have argued that a state as Republican and conservat ive as Texas wasn't being served properly by a congressional delegation with a majority of Democrats. They blamed the 1990 map, engineered by Re p Martin Frost, Texas Democrat, for prolonging Democratic dominance. Yesterday, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who was instrumental in brokering the final map, said that will change now. "The Democrats did everything in their power to try to deny the reali ty that Texas is a Republican state. The Frost gerrymander of the early '90s is finally over," Mr DeLay said. The plaintiffs in this case were appalled at the decision particula rly Mr Frost, the dean of the Texas congressional delegation, whose dis trict was carved up so badly the 16-year House veteran probably cannot w in re-election this year. "By judicial fiat," said Mr Frost, "a three-judge federal panel has effectively repealed the Voting Rights Act and turned back the clock on nearly 40 years of progress for minority voters." Democrats said the ruling was more evidence of Republicans' assault o n minority rights in America and said the court has set a precedent that can be used in other states to disenfranchise minorities for political reasons. "The Texas redistricting plan shows once again that when Republicans cannot win elections fair and square, they rig the rules," Mrs Pelosi s aid. "That is a disservice to Texans and all Americans who value our dem ocracy." Judges Higginbotham and Rosenthal, both nominated by Republican presi dents, urged Congress to pass laws prohibiting states from redistricting more often than every decade. In a separate opinion, Judge Ward nominated by a Democratic preside nt stated that although he concurred with some of the redistricting ef forts, the redrawing of one San Antonio district, No. The two majority judges urged the Supreme Court to give lower courts more guidance in how to deal with "excessive partisan line drawing." not its wisdom," said th e majority judges, adding, "Whether the Texas Legislature has acted in t he best interest of Texas is a judgment that belongs to the people who e lected the officials whose act is challenged in this case." Texas' plan only passed last year after state Republican lawmakers ou tlasted their Democratic counterparts, who twice fled the state to depri ve the Legislature of a quorum. It was not the only state to redraw its congressional lines to replac e a court-ordered map. In Colorado, Republicans gained control of the le gislature in 2002 and drew a new congressional map to replace the map im posed by a court. That legislature's map tweaked some districts to make them more Republican-friendly. But the Colorado Supreme Court in December overturned the new plan, r uling that the state's constitution only allows new lines to be drawn on ce a decade. |
| csua.org/u/d56 -> www.washtimes.com/national/20040106-115653-7008r.htm Martin Frost, D-Texas, speaks during a news conference at his office in Fort Worth, Texas, concerning a decision on Texas redistricting plan by a three-judge federal panel Tuesday. DALLAS Three federal judges dealt Texas' dwindling Democrats a seri ous blow yesterday, ruling that although the recent Republican redistric ting plan was "political ... from start to finish," it did not discrimin ate against minorities. Democrats and minorities had filed a suit claiming that the Republica n-led plan seriously disenfranchised minorities, but the three-judge pan el ruled unanimously that the state Legislature was allowed to replace c ourt-drawn districts. "We are compelled," the court said in its ruling, "that this plan was a political product from start to finish. The myriad decisions made dur ing its creation were made in spite of, and not because of, its effects on blacks and Latinos." It contended that the facts simply did not support Democrat contentio ns that the plan intentionally discriminated against minorities. Texas lawmakers and the governor deadlocked over drawing congressiona l lines after the 2000 Census, so the 2002 elections were conducted unde r lines drawn by a court. After Republicans gained control of the Legisl ature and maintained control of the governorship in those elections, the Legislature redrew the lines. Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Demo crat, promised to appeal yesterday's ruling to the US Supreme Court. B ut for now, it virtually assures that Republicans will maintain their ma jority in the House after November's elections. Although the GOP in Texas grabbed strong control of both Texas legisl ative houses in 2002 and holds every elective office by statewide ballot ing, the current makeup of the US House delegation is split 16-16. Ralph M Hall announced last week that he was switching parties to become a Republican. After the upcoming elections, Republicans hope that as many as 22 of those 32 seats will be filled by Republicans one of the biggest such s witches in history. The judges 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Patrick Higginbotham, US District Judge Lee Rosenthal of Houston, and US District Judge J ohn Ward of San Antonio had heard testimony for several days last mont h in the civil suit. "This is a serious blow to the Democrats," said National Republican C ongressional Committee Chairman Thomas M Reynolds, New York Republican and the man charged with electing Republicans to the House. "It makes th eir already remote chances of taking back the House slimmer than ever." Republicans long have argued that a state as Republican and conservat ive as Texas wasn't being served properly by a congressional delegation with a majority of Democrats. They blamed the 1990 map, engineered by Re p Martin Frost, Texas Democrat, for prolonging Democratic dominance. Yesterday, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who was instrumental in brokering the final map, said that will change now. "The Democrats did everything in their power to try to deny the reali ty that Texas is a Republican state. The Frost gerrymander of the early '90s is finally over," Mr DeLay said. The plaintiffs in this case were appalled at the decision particula rly Mr Frost, the dean of the Texas congressional delegation, whose dis trict was carved up so badly the 16-year House veteran probably cannot w in re-election this year. "By judicial fiat," said Mr Frost, "a three-judge federal panel has effectively repealed the Voting Rights Act and turned back the clock on nearly 40 years of progress for minority voters." Democrats said the ruling was more evidence of Republicans' assault o n minority rights in America and said the court has set a precedent that can be used in other states to disenfranchise minorities for political reasons. "The Texas redistricting plan shows once again that when Republicans cannot win elections fair and square, they rig the rules," Mrs Pelosi s aid. "That is a disservice to Texans and all Americans who value our dem ocracy." Judges Higginbotham and Rosenthal, both nominated by Republican presi dents, urged Congress to pass laws prohibiting states from redistricting more often than every decade. In a separate opinion, Judge Ward nominated by a Democratic preside nt stated that although he concurred with some of the redistricting ef forts, the redrawing of one San Antonio district, No. The two majority judges urged the Supreme Court to give lower courts more guidance in how to deal with "excessive partisan line drawing." not its wisdom," said th e majority judges, adding, "Whether the Texas Legislature has acted in t he best interest of Texas is a judgment that belongs to the people who e lected the officials whose act is challenged in this case." Texas' plan only passed last year after state Republican lawmakers ou tlasted their Democratic counterparts, who twice fled the state to depri ve the Legislature of a quorum. It was not the only state to redraw its congressional lines to replac e a court-ordered map. In Colorado, Republicans gained control of the le gislature in 2002 and drew a new congressional map to replace the map im posed by a court. That legislature's map tweaked some districts to make them more Republican-friendly. But the Colorado Supreme Court in December overturned the new plan, r uling that the state's constitution only allows new lines to be drawn on ce a decade. |