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   Amber Alert for Democrats (really!)

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Topic: Amber Alert for Democrats (really!) (Read 236 times)

Rhune
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Amber Alert for Democrats (really!)
« on: May 13^th, 2003, 10:27am »

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http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_information/pr051203. htm

AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- The political version of the Amber Alert was posted for 53 Texas legislators who fled the state Capitol to avoid a vote that could cost Democrats seven congressional seats.

Without the Democrats present, the Republican-controlled House does not have the two-thirds quorum needed for a vote on legislation to redraw congressional districts.

News reports late Monday quoted leaders of the missing Democrats as saying they are gathered across the state line in Ardmore, Oklahoma, out of reach of Texas Rangers who have been ordered to arrest them and return them to the House chamber.

A bulletin was posted Monday on the Texas Department of Public Safety Web site -- the same one used to alert citizens to missing children and wanted criminals -- asking for help in locating the missing lawmakers.

"The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is asking the public for assistance in locating 53 Texas legislators who have disappeared," the bulletin read. "Anyone who has information regarding the current whereabouts of the legislators listed below is asked to call 1-800-525-5555."

"Under the Texas Constitution, the majority of members present in session in the House can vote to compel the presence of enough members to make a quorum," it read. "Members of the House did so this morning and directed the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House and the DPS to locate the absent members and bring them back to Austin."

The Web site then names the 53 missing Democrats.

A report in The Austin American-Statesman newspaper Tuesday morning said the group was gathered in the Holiday Inn near the Texas state line in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and that a news conference was planned for Tuesday.

Republicans took control of the Texas House in November for the first time since Reconstruction. With 88 Republican members in the 150-member body, they still need at least a dozen Democrats present for a quorum. Just three Democrats remained at the Capitol on Monday, the newspaper said.

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Rhune
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Re: Amber Alert for Democrats (really!)
« Reply #1 on: May 16^th, 2003, 8:56am »

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Texas Dems return home
Friday, May 16, 2003 Posted: 6:56 AM EDT (1056 GMT)

ALONG INTERSTATE 35, Texas (AP) -- Runaway Democrats boarded two buses and returned home to Texas, destined for the state capital early Friday after their self-imposed weeklong exile in Oklahoma that succeeded in killing a redistricting bill they opposed.

The 51 Texas Democrats departed late Thursday from the Holiday Inn in Ardmore, Oklahoma, 30 miles north of the state line, just before the redistricting bill died in Austin. A midnight deadline passed with no vote -- due to a lack of House quorum caused by the absent lawmakers.

As the bus rolled across the wide bridge over the Red River early in the 270-mile journey to Austin, Rep. Pete Gallego announced to cheers, "It is 11:16 and we are in the state of Texas."

Forty-seven Democrats boarded two charter buses -- one for smokers, another for nonsmokers. A drawing of a bee was taped inside one of the buses in a reference to the "Killer Bees," 12 Democratic state senators who defied then-Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby in 1979 by refusing to show up at the Capitol.

The latest protesters have been dubbed "Killer Ds." Three Democrats in the group left Oklahoma in their own cars, a fourth by plane.

As the buses stopped at the Texas Welcome Center, lawmakers got off and greeted about a dozen Denton County Democratic Party supporters.

"We wanted to welcome them back. I think they did what they had to do, the only thing they could do," said Bill Hughen, one of the supporters.

The meeting was brief, however; strong winds picked up, rocking the buses. It started to rain and lightning flickered in distance. But gloomy weather didn't dampen the lawmakers' spirits.

"It feels great. I feel great about the fact that redistricting is dead and I'm ready to go back to work and get past this partisanship," Rep. Patrick Rose said.

By about 2 a.m., the buses were just north of Waco. The group planned to arrive in Austin in time for Friday's session, five days after the Democrats secretly left Texas to escape the reach of state troopers, who were ordered to round them up for thwarting the quorum.

They say departing was the only way to stop a plan to redraw the state's districts to create more Republican seats.

Redistricting is done every ten years in conjunction with the census, and Democrats said this plan was unnecessary because new districts were drawn two years ago.

As the buses headed south on Interstate 35, lawmakers chatted, read books, and snacked on chips and soft drinks. Others slept, with their heads propped against windows.

The buses swayed in strong winds as a storm system hovered between the Texas-Oklahoma border and the Dallas-Fort Worth area late Thursday night. Forecasters reported winds gusting around 45 mph.

The lawmakers were expected to arrive in Austin around 4 a.m. and planned to return to the Capitol for a 7 a.m. rally with supporters.

Important issues such as homeowners insurance reform and passing revenue-generating bills to help a $9.9 billion budget shortfall can still be addressed through Senate legislation, amendments and other tools not affected by Thursday's deadline, Democrats say.

Eighteen days remain in the regular session.

Meanwhile, the federal Department of Homeland Security said it had been drawn into the four-day standoff when a Texas law officer indicated that a plane carrying Democrats might have crashed.

The call to Homeland Security was placed Monday, when Texas Republicans were desperately seeking Democrats' whereabouts. The Homeland Security Department said in a statement that it did not use its aircraft in response.

State Rep. Pete Laney, who was on the plane that safely landed in Oklahoma, questioned why federal agents were called.

"I just think it's a strange use of assets," Laney said. "I'm curious as to why a federal agency would involve themselves to this extent in a state issue."

Tom Vinger, a Public Safety spokesman, declined to comment. White House spokesman Scott McClellan refused to say whether he believes it would be appropriate for Homeland Security to be used to round up Texas Democrats.

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