Burnt Orange Report

Time for Another Trip...

By Byron LaMasters

Well, it looks like the GOP has a deal. I'd love to see the Democrats disappear to Louisiana or somewhere, but I doubt that it'll happen. The Dallas Morning News reports: (Other accounts in the Austin American Statesman, Houston Chronicle, Fort Worth Star Telegram and San Antonio Express-News):

After nearly six months of give, take, punch and counterpunch, exhausted House and Senate negotiators said they finally reached a deal Wednesday on redrawing congressional boundaries so Republicans can win more seats next year.

The breakthrough – termed "an agreement in principle" – came after personal intervention by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay as lawmakers settled the nettlesome question of how to remap West Texas.

The plan appeared to meet the one overriding desire of all the Republicans involved: It probably has the votes to pass, over the angry opposition of Democrats, who stand to lose control of the state's congressional delegation.

"We're counting [votes among House members], we're making calls and trying to count right now," said House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. "We're very hopeful that we'll have an agreement."

The new district map, which was not immediately made public, could net the GOP an additional six or seven seats among the 32-member Texas delegation – and that could solidify the Republicans' hold on the U.S. House. At present, Texas Democrats hold a 17-15 advantage.

Republicans believe they can pick off seven Democratic congressmen: Chet Edwards of Waco, Martin Frost of Arlington, Ralph Hall of Rockwall, Nick Lampson of Beaumont, Max Sandlin of Marshall, Charles Stenholm of Abilene and Jim Turner of Crockett.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, Mr. Frost's congressional district was redrawn to give state Rep. Ken Marchant, R-Coppell, a clear shot at going to Washington.

With most negotiators saying that only minute details remain to be worked out, a slight lingering doubt about the "doneness" of the deal in the Legislature's third special session persisted among participants Wednesday evening.

State Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, warned that the supposed resolution of the West Texas question came in a form that might be rejected by three Panhandle Republicans.

According to a person involved in the talks, the resolution followed a closed-door meeting among Republican senators at which it was made clear to one of the key negotiators, Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, that the map finally agreed upon was the best the Senate could get.

Formal announcement of the deal was expected Thursday. The House and Senate could take it up Friday, a legally required 24 hours after the expected Thursday morning printing and distribution of the map. During that wait, the plan will also be checked by staff members and lawyers.

For Republicans, disagreement among their own party members proved stubbornly deep-seated after the return of Democratic senators who had fled Texas to block a vote. In grueling horse-trading, night after night, they were reminded anew of how hometown interests – the essence of congressional mapmaking – can erase the ties that normally bind.

Under terms of the deal, Mr. Duncan agreed that his home district would include GOP-dominated Deaf Smith County – which he wanted – as a condition for accepting Eastland County – which he did not, said a person involved in the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Eastland County also is a Republican stronghold, but one that has favored Mr. Stenholm, an influential member of the House Agriculture Committee. Mr. Duncan had resisted including that county and other Stenholm bases to avoid forcing Lubbock-area voters to choose between Mr. Stenholm and Rep. Randy Neugebauer, the freshman congressman from Mr. Duncan's district.

House and Senate negotiators were planning a joint appearance Thursday to outline details of the new map.

"All of this is a credit to the leadership of the House and the Senate," said Mr. DeLay, who has been in Austin since Monday, meeting in marathon sessions with legislative leaders.

Mr. DeLay appeared to have overcome the longstanding chilliness – at times hostility – between Mr. Craddick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

"It was a good process," Mr. Dewhurst said.

If a deal were formalized Thursday, Gov. Rick Perry's office believes it still is possible to hold the state's primary using the new map March 2 as scheduled, said Mike Toomey, the governor's chief of staff.
The pressure to avoid postponing the primary – which would include the presidential contest – was not the only hatchet hanging over negotiators' heads.

If delays persisted, the negotiating might have bumped into Saturday's big Texas-Oklahoma football game in Dallas.

After that, the end of the 30-day special session looms at midnight Tuesday. If filibustering Democrats in the Senate could delay a vote on redistricting past the end of the session, Mr. Perry would have to call a fourth special session to get a map passed, a move he pledged earlier he would not need to do.

For Democrats, any delay increases the chance that there will not be enough time before the election for the state to get required approval of the new map from the federal Justice Department.

It's expected that Democrats will file lawsuits in an attempt to invalidate the map, saying it illegally reduces minority voting power. The losing side in redistricting battles frequently files such challenges.

"In their political greed, the Republicans have overreached," said state Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. "If we have anything other than partisanship out of the Justice Department, this map will not become law. And luckily we have a court to review it and say it's improper."

Mr. Dunnam cited, for example, the treatment of Travis County, where Democratic incumbent Lloyd Doggett of Austin would be forced to run in a heavily Hispanic district running to the Rio Grande.

Democrats also have complained that the Dallas and Houston suburbs will dominate rural areas in many of the redrawn congressional districts.

"We've said all along if a map passes, the true loser is the state of Texas, because we have a senior delegation that delivers a lot of results for the state," Mr. Dunnam said. "Just to get rid of our seniority in Congress just to benefit a few partisans is not putting Texas first."

Republicans have defended their efforts, saying the districts need to be shifted to reflect the increase in voter support of the GOP, which holds all statewide offices.

Posted by Byron LaMasters at October 9, 2003 01:04 AM | TrackBack