Texas Redistricting Battle Ends.. GOP to gain 6-7 Seats

Mrs. JB beat me to the 'partisan trash' business. I would like to throw in a ha and also another ha, though. Good to see you, by the way, Mrs. JB.

As for this other nonsense, EVERY Democrat runs in the same circles as Jesse Jackson. He's a prominent Democrat. The funny thing is that this is seriously ALL your guys have on him. All you can say is 'he's a Democrat,' 'he gave money to Clinton and Gore,' 'he's friends with Jesse Jackson.' I mean, your side runs ads that cost good money and say nothing against White except that he's a Democrat. In a city whose past several mayors have been, guess what, Democrats! Great strategy! Of course you fail to mention that Daryl Bristow (who I'm ashamed to say I actually used to work for) is one of White's biggest supporters. You know Daryl Bristow, right? One of the lead lawyers on Bush's Supreme Court/Florida team? And he's also supported by various other Republicans who were strong supporters of Bush. Obviously they have not gotten your memo about what a rabid, radical, dangerous liberal puppet of Jesse he is. Either that, or that puppet stuff is a bunch of ridiculous crap. Yeah, that's probably it.

I don't blame you for bashing White (even though you have nothing to bash him on - haha - except being a Democrat in a city that usually elects Democrats - hahaha). It's becoming plainer every day he'll be the next mayor. You know your guy can't hang with White in a runoff. It won't even be close. All you can hope for is a Turner-Sanchez race, where you'd have a chance but would still lose. Incidentally, I'd be okay with White or Turner. I don't particularly care which of them wins (and one of them will), but White would whip the hell out of Sanchez and you know this. And you have nothing but 'friend of Jesse' to say about him. It must be very frustrating.

 

I'd like to throw in an assortment of "ha's" to the 6, *possibly* 7 congressional seats the democrats will be losing. Tah, tah, sweeties! muahahahahahahahahahaha

 

Mrs. JB, I'm afraid you have failed to provide complete analysis. I call this the SamFisher syndrome. You have taken a few quotes and surmised that the *entire document* is accurate? This leaves far too much to assumption. You know what happens when you assume. You have also failed to note that it was not an elected representative that wrote the *alleged* memo, but one of his staffers. The credibility of the memo remains in question. I'm sorry, but despite your frantic attempt to answer one of my very valid questions, your answer leaves a great deal to be desired. You are guilty of

INCOMPLETE ANALYSIS

 

Can someone post the map showing the new divisions for Austin/Travis County?
Thanks.

 

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2150507


Oct. 11, 2003, 2:13PM

'Glib' e-mail by Barton aide applauds remap victory
By KAREN MASTERSON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - An e-mail memo by a staff member of Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, expresses one Republican's feelings about Texas' new redistricting map and what it will do to Democrats.

"The Queen lives!!!!" the three-page memo written by Barton's legislative counsel, Joby Fortson, says about Houston Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. "As much as we despise her, she cannot be drawn out."

Fortson's memo, obtained Friday by the Houston Chronicle, describes in bullet form his views on the effect the redistricting map would have on all 32 Texas congressional districts.

For Reps. Lloyd Doggett of Austin and Martin Frost of Dallas, whose districts would be obliterated or drastically changed by the new map, Fortson begins his analysis with, "ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... "

While conceding that Republicans couldn't touch Jackson Lee's minority district during the map-drafting process, he gloats that he believes the new map would eliminate Democratic Reps. Nick Lampson of Beaumont, Chris Bell of Houston and Jim Turner of Crockett.

Lampson's 9th District would be changed dramatically to create a new minority district, which Fortson said was drawn specifically for state Rep. Ron Wilson, D-Houston. Wilson has supported the creation of a new minority district, but said he has no interest in running for it.

As a preamble, Fortson wrote that the map "is the most aggressive I have ever seen. This has a real national impact that should assure that Republicans keep the House no matter the national mood."

In several places, Fortson defined the new map's meandering district lines, drawn to assure a Republican majority, as "wacky," particularly the 17th District. It was redrawn to get rid of Democratic Reps. Charles Stenholm of Abilene and Chet Edwards of Waco, pushing Edwards' district into conservative Johnson County.

"Bye Chet," the memo reads. "They will not like the fact he kills babies, prevents kids from praying and wants to take their guns."

The only good news for white Democrats in Texas, according to Fortson's analysis, is in District 1. He predicts Rep. Max Sandlin of Marshall has a chance at holding his seat, even though his district would become more than 60 percent Republican.

Barton was not pleased that his employee's sometimes derogatory memo was leaked.

"It in no way reflects Congressman Barton's thoughts or positions on the matter," said Samantha Jordan, Barton's deputy chief of staff. She said Fortson, who has been with Barton since January, has a First Amendment right to speak his mind, particularly as the memo was written on his personal e-mail account -- not his House office e-mail.

"He might not have been using his best judgment," Jordan said of Fortson, who did not take calls from news media on the matter.

Democrats said the "glib" memo shows a "flippant"Republican attitude toward the redistricting map's disruptive changes. Democrats intend to challenge the map in court, arguing it violates the federal Voting Rights Act.

"Even though Congressman Barton's staff finds minority disenfranchisement a laughing matter, we're very certain that the courts won't think it's funny," said Greg Speed, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and former Frost staffer. "This map won't survive the federal judges' review."

 

Would it be easier for you to understand if she acted it out for you? Geez.

 

Look it up yourself Hootz lazy newb...

 

I could post a string of editorials from newspapers across the state against redistricting. I could quote the state Republican leadership denying that Tom DeLay was orchestrating the entire thing, with the President's blessing, of course, and show pictures of him and articles about his sojourn in Austin for 3 days strong-arming this farce throught the Legislature. One could point out that Republicans polled 56% of the vote in the 2002 elections in Texas and this plan will probably give them a 22-10 majority.

But I won't. The courts will throw it out. The Justice Department should, but I don't think John Ashcroft would think of doing that for a second.

This is the nadir of the Republican Party in Texas. Rather than giving them power for the foreseeable future, this has wrought the seeds of their destruction.

 

http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us/

click "HB 3 as Enacted by the 78th Legislature, 3rd Called Session - 10-12-03: PLANC01374"

as this map clearly shows, a lot of Texans will now be represented by someone who lives hundreds of miles away. Minority voters are left without a voice in many areas as well. This map serves one purpose: to get more Republicans voted into Congress..it does nothing to better represent the voices of Texans.

 

56%? I thought the state was overwhelmingly conservative?

 

With this map, the University of Texas... yes that university, will be represented by San Antonio. Isn't that intelligent? How's that for "a community of interest".

 

Well, it's not quite as bad in the Panhandle as the 1990 plan (which split Amarillo in half), but putting Amarillo in the same district as Palo Pinto County and part of Cooke County while taking Deaf Smith County and Castro County away from the 13th just seems wrong to me. The 2000 map finally got the Panhandle right, in my opinion, and now they go and muck it up again.

My district here in Plano doesn't really change, though.

That 25th District is pretty weird, too.

 

Not much into San Antonio proper. It's just the north-eastern part of Bexar County. Of course, the 21st extended into Bexar County before, too. The 21st just encroaches further into Travis County and into Austin more than it did before, taking the University out of the 10th and putting it into the 21st.

I don't know how populous that area of Bexar County is. It may well be that Austin area residents will dominate that district.

 

The real question is what is the next step in the battle? What gave the republicans the right to redistrict when it wasn't time to? Can Democrats go to the Supreme Court?

 

It is 2003 . . Why not let a Computer make this decision?

Just pop in your criteria [population/ rep] then tell the computer
to make it as square as possible. . . and Boom

No one can BAM about it

Rocket River

 

The idea I had was to break everything up by ZIP code and group those ZIP codes into the proper size and what should be the proper shape (as square as possible). This way, we would have districts that have *gasp* geographic relation.

The truly funny part will be if this redistricting actually makes it through the courts and the Republicans STILL lose those seats to Democrats. Maybe they will go back and try again next year and the year after until they get it right (pun intended).

Yet more ammunition in my mind for publicly funded elections and computerized districting.

 

TJ
Interestingly you have not returned since the Houston Chronicle link was posted in reference to your request for a proof or confirmation of the "memo". What is up? What do you think about the "memo".

 

Can you not take the time to read through page 1 of this thread? Mrs JB posted it and he responded.

 

Houston has 4-5 districts
Dallas has about 4

San Antonio has 2/3rds the population of Houston or D-FW, it has 1 district. The others are stretched over great distances.

Austin, which has 1/3rd the population of Hou or D-FW, has 0 w/i it's borders. Travis County doesn't even have 1 entire district contained in it's borders. In fact, not even close.

Just stupid. How could anyone believe that we (Austin) would be represented well with 3 districts that are shared by west Houston, north San Antonio, and Rio Grande City on the Mexican border?

 

2000 Census Data:
DFW Metro: 5.2 Million
Houston Metro: 4.7 Million
San Antonio Metro: 1.6 Million
Austin Metro: 1.2 Million

Austin is about 1/5 of Houston or Dallas's metro areas. Seems about right what they got.