Tag Archives: Congress

DOJ pushes back on State House and Congressional maps

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Justice Department said Monday that Texas’ state House and congressional redistricting plans didn’t comply with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), indicating they thought the maps approved by Gov. Rick Perry (R) gave too little voting … Continue reading →

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The districts in dispute

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The redistricting lawsuit in San Antonio wrapped up on Friday, so at this point all we can do is wait for the three-judge panel to issue its opinion, and for the DC Circuit Court to have it say on preclearance. … Continue reading →

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Even their own experts think the Congressional map is wrong

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Final arguments in the federal redistricting lawsuit should be heard today in San Antonio. On Wednesday, something truly remarkable happened during the testimony of the state’s expert witness: A Rice University political science professor, testifying Wednesday in a lawsuit over … Continue reading →

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Redistricting litigation gets underway this week

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Starting tomorrow, a three-judge panel in San Antonio will hear one of the two redistricting-related lawsuits that have been filed in Texas. I figure this is as good a time as any to review the landscape as we head into … Continue reading →

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Gallego to run for CD23 and other updates

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Pete Gallego has decided to run for Congress in CD23. Gallego first won election to the Texas House in 1990 and has chaired various committees and also been part of the Democratic leadership, doing time as head of … Continue reading →

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What if we didn’t have to worry about county lines?

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The federal lawsuit that will be heard by a three-judge panel in San Antonio begins next week, but in the meantime there have been depositions taken by various players, and some interesting things have come up in them. Texas Redistricting … Continue reading →

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Jackson to run for Congress, Anderson to primary Harris

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Mike Jackson makes official what had been speculated. As expected, state Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, will run for Congress next year instead of for re-election to the Texas Senate. He’ll be running in the newly created CD-36. … Continue reading →

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Davis and Veasey will be allowed to intervene in redistricting litigation

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Lone Star Project, via the inbox: Sen. Davis, Rep. Veasey Win Key Redistricting Ruling Federal Court rejects Texas Republican argument and grants North Texas Intervenors the right to participate in redistricting trial A group of North Texas citizens … Continue reading →

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A peek behind the scenes

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Want to know what the Republicans were thinking during redistricting? Here you go. Emails unsealed by a federal judge show that key Republicans involved in Texas congressional redistricting bickered over strategy and actively considered bypassing the Justice Department two months … Continue reading →

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Roads don’t pay for themselves

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ezra Klein: The 18.4-cents-per-gallon tax is already inadequate to fund current infrastructure obligations, not least because, in recent years, Americans have been driving less and buying more fuel-efficient cars. The good news is that we’re using less gasoline. The bad … Continue reading →

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Taking aim at the Voting Rights Act

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In responding to a petition by State Rep. Marc Veasey and State Sen. Wendy Davis to intervene against the state in its lawsuit to get the federal court to pre-clear the new maps, the Attorney General responded by saying that … Continue reading →

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for the GOP to fix immigration

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I confess that I only glanced at this op-ed by local immigration attorney Charles Foster about how the Republican Party can lead the way on immigration reform, but thankfully Greg was there to do a little deconstruction. I just want … Continue reading →

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Redistricting lawsuit relocated

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More preliminaries. A panel of Austin-based federal judges assigned to hear a redistricting lawsuit filed by prominent Travis County Democrats and the city of Austin has decided that case should be transferred to San Antonio’s federal court. Most of the … Continue reading →

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Third time’s a charm

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We won’t have any Williams on Williams action in the new CD33 after all, as former Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams has changed races again. Michael Williams, who jumped from the U.S. Senate race to the congressional race in the new … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: We’re at an impasse here

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Am I the only one who sees this as a metaphor for the debt ceiling hostage crisis situation? I can totally see John Boehner, or more accurately Eric Cantor, singing that to Harry Reid. Can’t you?

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Tough times for teaching hospitals

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, who needs doctors, anyway? Texas teaching hospitals are bracing for a big hit in the federal deficit-reduction plans under consideration, just a few weeks after the state Legislature slashed funding to the same doctor-training programs. The cuts will exacerbate … Continue reading →

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More redistricting plaintiffs

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update to the scorecard, for those of you hoping to keep track of the players. The Texas Democratic Party officially entered the court fight over Republican-dominated redistricting maps Wednesday. The new claims by the state Democratic Party came … Continue reading →

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We’re running out of helium

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Am I the only one that finds this a little disturbing? Deep beneath the dry, dusty ground outside this Panhandle city lies something lighter than air: helium. But the supply of the gas that inflates balloons, cools MRI machines and … Continue reading →

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Oh yeah, someone is running in CD23

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Scott Stroud reminds me that the Democrats do have a candidate for that other Congressional race in Bexar County. Although Democrats are already buzzing about the looming Interstate 35 tussle between Congressman Lloyd Doggett and state Rep. Joaquín Castro for … Continue reading →

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Texas seeks preclearance from the courts

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This was expected. Texas bypassed the Obama administration’s Department of Justice on Tuesday, opting to ask a panel of federal judges in Washington, D.C., to review the state’s new maps for congressional, legislative and State Board of Education districts. Attorney … Continue reading →

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Veasey joins in redistricting litigation

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Add another redistricting lawsuit to the pile. Brought by state Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, the lawsuit is another attempt to get a three-judge panel hearing redistricting cases to reconsider the entire state map by focusing on how the districts … Continue reading →

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San Antonio rail progress

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see them continue to move forward. VIA Metropolitan Transit has hired a program manager to oversee its high-capacity transit initiative, a move that board and staff members say will help usher in the agency’s plans for an … Continue reading →

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Steroid prevalency: Opinions differ

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Richard Justice writes about steroids in sports, in particular steroid use among high school students, and quotes a familiar source. [Don Hooton] cites a Procter & Gamble Co. study in which 2,000 kids were asked if an adult, parent, coach … Continue reading →

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Our debt is good, your debt is bad

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, the humanity! For all the controversy over the national debt ceiling, here’s a surprise: Since 2001, the debt load in conservative Texas has grown faster than the federal debt. Texas has been borrowing more than most other states, too. … Continue reading →

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Doggett v Castro by the numbers

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Greg looks at primary results from the last two cycles in the newly drawn CD35, and finds confirmation of the convention wisdom that Rep. Lloyd Doggett has his work cut out for him against State Rep. Joaquin Castro. Go take … Continue reading →

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Ron Paul not running for re-election in CD14

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like we won’t need to challenge him after all. Late Tuesday morning, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, sent out the following message to his Twitter followers: “I have decided not to seek re-election to Congress.” Brazoria County newspaper, The … Continue reading →

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Fourteen and counting

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That’s fourteen lawsuits related to redistricting. At least 14 lawsuits have been filed against the state’s recent redistricting efforts, with more likely on the way. Every decade, Texas lawmakers are responsible for redrawing political boundaries in light of population changes. … Continue reading →

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It’s Williams versus Williams in CD33

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another Williams switches from Senate to Congress for 2012. Weatherford car dealer Roger Williams switched from the U.S. Senate race to a race for Congress this morning, finishing up a swap that began last week with calls to supporters in … Continue reading →

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News flash: The Amazon sales tax problem requires a federal solution

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

How many times do we have to say it? State governments across the country are laying off teachers, closing public libraries and parks, and reducing health care services, but there is one place they could get $23 billion if they … Continue reading →

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Where the votes were and weren’t in 2006 and 2010

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When I was doing the electoral analysis for the new Congressional districts, I also had data about how many votes were cast in each district. And in looking through that data, I saw some interesting things. What I was looking … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Senate approves Wentworth redistricting commission bill

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’ll never get past the House, but bully for Wentworth anyway. The Texas Senate [Wednesday] approved Senate Bill 22, which would create a citizens’ commission to redraw congressional districts. Congressional redistricting is a highly political task now handled by the … Continue reading →

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Castro says he’s in for Congress

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s on in CD35. State Rep. Joaquin Castro said today he is running next year for U.S. Congress in a new district carved by the state’s Republican majority, likely pitting him in the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett … Continue reading →

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Williams in, Lucio out for Congress

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Lege has finished its job with Congressional redistricting, expect to hear a lot more stories about the hopefuls and the not-hopefuls and their plans. For instance, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams. With the race for Senate getting crowded, … Continue reading →

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Congressional map gets final approval

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On to the Governor. The Republican-controlled Texas Senate approved a new congressional district map for the state Monday and sent it to Gov. Rick Perry for his approval. […] The map was approved 19-12 along party lines and without debate. … Continue reading →

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