By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX – Word has spread from New Mexico to Austin that Senate Democrats who fled the state to suspend any action on a congressional redistricting bill might seek assistance from the courts to have a traditional Senate rule reinstated.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is not amused.
The 11 Democrats who fled the state Monday have not confirmed that they are considering legal action. Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) said they would not comment on the possibility of a lawsuit, but added they are keeping all options open.
The Brownsville Herald reported today that the group is considering possibly filing an injunction in a court in that city. Brownsville Sen. Eddie Lucio, one of the absent Democrats, told his hometown newspaper he had heard that lawmakers might be looking into filing an injunction.
The injunction would apparently seek to force the lieutenant governor to reinstate the "blocker bill" tradition in the Senate that would require a two-thirds vote for the congressional redistricting bill to come to the Senate floor.
Dewhurst said in a statement today that he is "extremely disappointed" that the Democrats might be in search of a federal court "targeted because special interest groups have had success there in the past."
Lucio said in a television interview that he is confident a judge can be found there who would view the issue with a non-partisan eye and "decide based on the merits of the case." However, he added that in the past the Valley has been an area where "MALDEF (Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) and other organizations have gone, based on the high percentage of minorities..."
Dewhurst called that "blatant forum shopping" and said such action is "beneath the dignity of the Texas Senate."
"I'm puzzled as to why our Senate colleagues are apparently too afraid or embarrassed about the validity of their legal claims to file them in the state capitol."
Citing the Senate's long-standing tradition of camaraderie, compromise and consensus-building, the lieutenant governor said by leaving the state and considering legal action simply because they didn't get their way, "The Democrat minority is doing damage to Senate traditions, and to the Senate as an institution.
"The best way to preserve our traditions is not through foot-dragging, legal action and litigation, but by Texas Senators sitting down with Texas Senators and working through the problem."