Category Archives: Killer D’s

UT law professor Mitchell Berman makes the case in this op-ed that SCOTUS will use the Texas redistricting lawsuit Jackson v. Perry to do what it chose not to do in Vieth v. Jubelirir and set a judiciable standard for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Kevin comes this WaPo story about the Texas Congressional situation one year after the Ardmore exodus. It’s more pessimistic than I am about the Democratic incumbents’s chances, and as Kevin says it doesn’t really break any new ground, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One year ago Wednesday, fifty Democratic state legislators caused a political earthquake by breaking quorum in an attempt to derail a redistricting bill that had suddenly been fast-tracked. One day after the anniversary of that event, an appellate court has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Supremes upheld Pennsylvania’s redistricting plan in the Vieth v. Jubelirir case, though in doing so they did not throw out the Bandemer precedent. By a 5-4 vote, the court rejected a challenge by Pennsylvania Democrats to districts that were … Continue reading → Continue reading →

How civilized. Everybody seems to have kissed and made up in the state Senate. The Texas Senate sought to rediscover its clubby self Tuesday. The start of a special session on school finance marked the first time the full Senate … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of one of the lawsuits filed against last year’s redistricting. The Supreme Court refused today to consider if Texas Republicans went too far last year in their strategy to enact new … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The following is from this WaPo article about the failure of a GOP political action committee that was set up to recruit and help out minority candidates to actually give money to such candidates: Shortly before the 2000 elections, American … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The DLC highlights a proposed amendment to the Alabama state constitution regarding mid-decade redistricting. Down in Alabama, State Rep. Marcel Black of Tuscumbia, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, noticed the very different outcomes of the Colorado and Texas power … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You can add this to the total cost of reredistricting in 2003: Lawyer Andy Taylor will bill the state for over $700,000 of legal work. Andy Taylor, a Houston-based attorney, has charged $400 per hour of his time, $200 per … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Back when the Justice Department precleared the new Congressional map, the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit challenging that map claimed that political appointees at Justice had overruled the career lawyers, and they pressed to get Justice to release internal memos … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yesterday was the filing deadline, and with the Supreme Court’s refusal to grant an injunction against the new Congressional map pending an appeal to that court, the election will go forward under it. Let’s see where we stand now. In … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rep. Nick Lampson has made up his mind: he’s running in the 2nd CD. Lampson, who has represented the 9th District since 1997, will run in the new 2nd District, which extends from eastern Harris County to Beaumont. The 9th … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As of today, we know what the immediate plans are for Democratic incumbents Charlie Stenholm (running in CD 19 against freshman Republican Rep. Randy Neugebauer), Chet Edwards (running in CD 17, most likely against State Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth), Lloyd Doggett … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rep. Chris Bell has officially filed for the new 9th CD, and one potential primary opponent has bowed out. Bell will run in the new 9th District, which contains much of the south Harris County population Bell now represents but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I can’t tell if Robert Novak is blowing smoke here or not, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Republican joy over a federal court approving congressional redistricting in Texas was diminished by an opening in the decision that could give U.S. Supreme … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rep. Gene Green, whose 29th CD is still a Democratic stronghold even if it no longers includes his house, will buy a house in the new district and file for reelection there. He may also have company in the primary. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t have a whole lot of faith that the Supreme Court is going to offer any relief to the losing plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the new Congressional map, but this Statesman article suggests a way it could happen. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Our daily tour of the Congressional scramble continues… Chris Bell has drawn a primary opponent for the new 9th CD. Justice of the Peace Al Green, former president of the Houston NAACP, announced Thursday that he will run for the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Having finally gotten the map of his dreams, Tom DeLay says he’s ready to spend whatever it takes to win the seats that the new map offers. One might hope that recent revelations will slow down the TAB spigot, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So the court has ruled (incorrectly, in my opinion, but they didn’t ask me) to uphold the godawful new Congressional map. There will be an appeal to the Supreme Court, but frankly I’ll be surprised if they even bother to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ugh. The three-judge panel has upheld the new Congressional map, saying that the plaintiffs “failed to prove” the plan violates the Constitution or the Voting Rights Act. John Whitmire, I’m looking at you. There will be plenty more on this … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Breaking news from the Quorum Report. APPARENT DIFFICULTY IN REPAIRING MAP Sources report problems with three districts There are only three possibilities for the three judge panel reviewing the congressional redistricting map: 1. Accept the map 2. Reject the map … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rob Booth has pointers to two stories that I’ve overlooked which are worth reading. Here he found this story in which US Rep. Max Sandlin (D, Marshall) predicts that the courts will overturn the new Congressional map, and here he … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Statesman has a pretty interesting series going about its proposed new Congressional districts, which tie Austin and the nearby Hill Country to Houston, South Texas, and Midland. Here are their reports on District 11, also known as the Craddick … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This Statesman article gives an overview of the proposed new CD 10, one of the three districts that would carve up Austin under the Republican map. This is the one that stretches from Austin to west Houston, from suburb to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Final arguments will be given today in the redistricting trial. I’m not sure if the judges will have a ruling by today, but surely they’ll have one soon. After that, it’ll be on to the Supreme Court regardless of who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I can’t say it’s a surprise, though it’s certainly a disappointment, that the Justice Department gave its stamp of approval to the new Congressional map. They took their sweet time about it, and the Democrats have charged from the beginning … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The state began its case yesterday, which essentially consisted of a consultant and a few politicians contradicting the plaintiffs’ testimony that there was a racil aspect to redistricting. Other than some comic relief from state Rep. Ron Wilson, there’s not … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Testimony for the plaintiffs should be pretty much over by now, and the state is expected to begin its case today. Yesterday’s main feature was State Sen. Royce West, who spoke about the public hearings and District 24. Mr. West … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The big news out of yesterday’s testimony came from State Rep. Glenn Lewis (D, Fort Worth), who spoke about making deals and GOP concerns about the Voting Rights Act. During his testimony, Mr. Lewis said that in May he pleaded … Continue reading → Continue reading →

More testimony yesterday in the federal lawsuit to stop implementation of the new Congressional map, with the highlight being that of Rice professor John Alford, who had testified for the state in 2001. Let’s start with the Dallas Morning News: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m not quite in the mood to quote, summarize, and make snarky comments about the latest testimony in the federal lawsuit aimed at blocking or overturning the new Congressional map in Texas, so what follows is the links to the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

On the eve of the federal redistricting lawsuit, attorneys for the Democratic plaintiffs have released memos which detailed the extent of Tom DeLay’s involvement in the process. [Democratic lawyer J. Gerald] Hebert noted one memo in which [DeLay’s political aide … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit aimed at stopping the Texas redistricting have asked the court to delay the start of the trial until after the Justice Department has finished its review. The department has until Dec. 22 to complete its … Continue reading → Continue reading →