2 more maps vie for majority: GOP carves out plan, hoping for a possible second session
Another vignette from the clusterf**k that is the Texas Legislature. My God, you'd think these maroons would figure out that most Texans don't even support redistricting...oh, wait; that doesn't really matter. Tom DeLay is demanding redistricting as a show of Republican fealty. THAT is what matters.
AUSTIN -- A Senate committee saw two new congressional redistricting maps Monday as Republicans struggled to find a plan that can win a majority vote in the 31-member Senate.
With little hope of gathering any Democratic support to pass a plan in the current special legislative session, the Republicans are trying to agree among themselves on a plan that could pass the Senate quickly if Gov. Rick Perry calls a second special session.
"This is dead this legislative session. It's dead, it's dead, it's dead, it's dead," Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas....
But the Republican senators are finding it difficult to draw a map that gains the GOP seats in Congress next year while addressing local political concerns within the senators' districts. As many as six of the Republican senators have at times expressed opposition to particular redistricting measures.
What Republicans are discovering about redistricting is that you cannot redo one district without creating a ripple effect that impinges upon other districts. The reason is that redistricting has so little support statewide is that no one want wants to see their hometown carved up for the convenience of Tom DeLay- nor do they want to lose representation. Perhaps if the Legislature could come up with a rational plan that they could explain to Texans, they could get something accomplished. Good luck, guys; you're going to need it.
