By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX – "It is absolutely eventual," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst today of passing a congressional redistricting plan in Texas as he urged the 11 Senate Democrats who boycotted the entire 30-day Second Called Session to return to Texas and to the Senate.
The second special session ended today, without a single bill passing, without there ever being a quorum in the Texas Senate, and without a congressional redistricting bill coming to the Senate floor.
That was the intent of the 'Texas 11,' the 11 Senate Democrats who fled Texas for New Mexico 30 days ago to scuttle attempts at redistricting in Texas.
In urging the Democrats to return, Dewhurst noted, "One of the great characteristics of the Texas Senate is we come together at the conference table and we work out our differences." The lieutenant governor said, however, that it is clear the Democrats' strategy is "to try to win in the courthouse and not here with their colleagues."
He noted that two courts, the Texas Supreme Court and a Travis County District Court, both ruled that the issues brought from the redistricting melee are political issues that should be decided by the Senate and not the courts. "Their whole strategy is to win something in a Laredo court in front of a friendly judge," he said of the Democrats and their lawsuit in a federal court there. "The law is not with them."
Motions in that suit will be heard in Laredo on Wednesday.
"Sooner or later, they've got to come to the table to pass a fair redistricting map," said Dewhurst. "It is absolutely eventual." He urged the missing senators to return to "come together and come out with a map we all think is best."
Even if the Democrats do return, Dewhurst admitted there is still the sticky issue of plans for congressional districts drawn in the Midland-Lubbock area. Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) and Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick of Midland are at odds over those lines.
"It's an issue we need to continue to try to work on to see if there is a solution," said Duncan. "Speaker Craddick is a reasonable person. I hope we can come together." He noted there are a lot of factors and a lot of opinions and did not rule out that a reasonable solution might not be found.
"We all recognize this is an important element," said Dewhurst. "We are working on a number of different solutions." He said it is critical that the West Texas issue be solved "up front" and noted the two sides are "a lot closer."
"We're making progress," he said.
Dewhurst said the Democrats have cost Texas taxpayers millions by holding up the redistricting process through two consecutive special sessions. "It's a shame," he said.
The lieutenant governor indicated again that if a third session is called to address redistricting, he will remove the "blocker bill" tradition until a redistricting bill passes, and then restore the blocker bill and the two-thirds rule for remaining legislation.
Dewhurst said the State Constitution is not a "permissive" document and that the absent senators should do like millions of other Americans and show up for work.
"The mood of the Senate is changing," he warned. "We're tired. We're tired of sitting here and waiting. The people of Texas are tired of waiting. It's time for them to come back. It is in our 11 colleagues' best interest to come back sooner rather than later. The mood is shifting.
"Don't let yourself win two skirmishes and lose the war. There are some bigger issues on the table."