I love the comment about DeLay’s testicle elephantiasis. If ever there was anyone in need of political castration, it’s God’s own messenger/former bug killer himself.

After the 2000 census, the House took up the redistricting problem as mandated by the Constitution ( Article I, Section 2). Now, this being a legislative issue, the House should have settled the issue. That didn’t happen and the courts stepped in.

The Republicans, now in a position to force the issue, do so using two justifications. The first is this is a legisalive issue, not an interpretive issue. The courts should never have had to issue the redistricting order in the first place. The district court should only step in in face of gerrymandering (which, admittly, is what and modern day redistricting issue becomes).

Secondly, in a state considered as Republican as we are, would it not make sense to have a Congressional delegation that reflects this as well?

(http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/research/redist/actions.htm is a pretty complete site that lists the entire timeline for the original mess.)

After it is all said and done, Democrats stand to have five Congressional seats become vulnerable to Repulican takeover (one being Martin Frost, Democrat from Ft Worth. He’s the ranking Dem from Texas I believe) if the state Republicans get their way.

Dems will try to make the majority of the district (speaking in very broad strokes) poorer groups while the Reps will try to skew it towards the more affluent. This is pretty well shown in microcosim in Dallas. The Oak Cliff neighborhood has big pockets of very affluent residents in the midst of very poor residents. The voting districts can be drawn to group one demographic to cancel out the other. When done to the extreme, you get the really weirdly shaped districts that never stand up in court.

Earlier I was not saying that our Republicans are acting any better than our Democrats. I was just trying to give the Republican arguement for why they were trying to redistict. All of the local news last night was pretty full of the Democratic message but not the Republican one. In fact I watched only one broadcast discuss the Republic viewpoint at all.

The Dems seem to be handling themselves pretty well here, right wrong or indifferent. They have taken a cue from Karl Rove and are staying on message, to the point I heard the exact same sound bite from 3 different interviews. They say they are fighting a Washington based power grab and Rove and DeLay are going to learn the state Dems will not falter.

The Republicans are taking the stance that the Dems are shirking their duty to the citizens of Texas need to come back to work. The one thing I am not hearing very well right now is why the redistricting issue should have been brought up in the first place. Republicans are using the tactic that the NO business can be transacted while they are gone and 2/3rds of the current legislation will die if they don’t come back before Thursday night.

Either way, it’s pretty fun to watch. This is the most excitement we’ve had since Ann Richards was governor. It sure beats the absentee ballot fraud stuff we have had for the last series of municipal elections here in Big D.

What’s sad, at least in Texas, is we seem to have both. Jerry, for a Texan you seem to be literate. Reread how Hitler “legally” took over the government in Germany.You might also discover that the paternal Great Uncle and Grandfather of our (selected) President was in bed with Hitler and his gang almost from the beginning.

Don’t hold out Texas politics as a model of democracy. This entire scenario stinks!

You know that’s kind of the problem with American politics to this point. I’m from Texas therefore I am just an unsophisticated hick. That kind of comment is just out of line.

“Reread how Hitler “legally” took over the government in Germany.”

This is the lone point you make that’s close to a coherent arguement. I, for one, argue that Hitler and the Nazi party came to power in entitrely different circumstances. Germany was not just defeated but humiliated, inflation and unemployment had reached unprecedented levels and Hitler pointed to a group than had done nothing to deserve the wrath of their countrymen, the Jews. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg, the Nazis used their Sturmabteilung, or Brownshirts, institute a reign of terror that crushed ALL opposition with violent means.

We just don’t meet that criteria. Voices of Dissent are not being killed and relocated in an organized, systematic way, or any way for that matter. Granted you are hearing oppostion to that dissent, as it is any person’s right. What you are NOT seeing is a government sponsored reign of terror as you did in Germany in the early 30s.

“You might also discover that the paternal Great Uncle and Grandfather of our (selected) President was in bed with Hitler and his gang almost from the beginning.”

You’re implying that George W. Bush is a neo-Nazi because of his lineage. This is a dead arguement as well. I would be a AFL-CIO card carrying, Yellow-Dog Democrat if that logic had any legs because my grandfather was.

“Don’t hold out Texas politics as a model of democracy.”

I haven’t intended to do that here. I was trying to give a little more background than you will get from the national media.

In any case, If you want to put together a coherent arguement, I’ll be more than happy to discuss it with you.

Sorry for the incoherent argument.

I suggest you read this:

http://www.tarpley.net/bush2.htm

As for assumptions about Texas and hicks, I never said it, and won’t. I lived in Odessa TX for too long to accept that.

A few other sites you may want to check out are
http://www.infowars.com/
http://www.almartinraw.com/
http://www.unwatch.com/index.shtml

and especially
http://www.bilderberg.org/index.htm

All of these sites tend towards the same anti-Bush, anti-Globalist theme. It’s not just the Bushes, its the Kennedy’s, the Rothschilds, and the all encompassing Illuminati at the Bohemian Grove.

I’ve met both George Sr. and W. I am not claiming to be a personal friend of the family. I am friends with people active in Texas Republican politics who are friends of the Bushes whom I respect and trust. Whether you like W. or not he is a man who says what he means. He is what he is and whether you like that or not, I do not believe W., his brothers, or his father is part of a larger conspiracy with roots in white supremecy or a global bid to control the world.

That being said, do I have conerns about the Patriot Acts - yes, great concerns. There is a fine line that has to be walked in our new paradigm of global terrorism.

Do I trust an unrestrained Tom Delay? About as much as I trust an unrestrained Nancy Pelosi. In my opinion, the genius of W.’s presidency is he balances an inherently doveish Colin Powell, et. al with an inherently hawkish Donald Rumsfeld, et. al.

Out of deference to Adam I don’t want to turn his comments section into my own blog. I apologize for these long posts and will now be siging off on these topics.