According to two sources in the capitol, at least 51 Democrats are no where to be found. The Texas legislature requires 100 (of 150) members present for a quorum. Tom Delay's re-redistricting plan was on the agenda for debate today. To view the live feed of the legislature, go here.

Posted by Byron L.

Update 10:55 AM CST: 59 Dems and 9 or 10 Republicans are not on the floor.

Update 11:20 AM: Austin American Statesman article - House Democrats Break Quorum. The Statesman says that 53 Democrats are part of it. There are 62 Democrats in the House. The Stateman article also includes State Rep. Patrick Rose among absent Democrats. Rose, a freshman, 24 year old member elected in a district south of Austin last year has compiled on of the more conservative voting records of any House Democrat. So, its a little bit of a surprise to see him on that list.

Update 11:28 AM: Here is the list of absent Democrats who submitted a letter locking their House voting machines: here. Six others are not present, but did not submit a letter. There are three present Democrats: Rep. Vilma Luna (D-Corpus Christi), Ron Wilson (D-Houston) and Roberto Gutierrez (D-McAllen)

Update 11:32 AM: Here is the letter the 53 Democrats sent to the House Parlimentarian and voting clerk.

Update 11:34 AM: The Travis County Democratic Party is sponsoring an anti-re-redistricting rally on the south steps of the capitol at noon. I plan to attend and report back around 1 or 2 PM.

Update 1:47 PM: I'm back from the rally, expect several posts in the next 30 minutes or so.

Update 1:53 PM: US Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) spoke at the rally, along with other local elected officials. Doggett was one of the original "killer bees" - state senators who during the 1979 legislative session disappeared to prevent the conservative Democratic leadership at the time from pushing through their agenda. More on that later. Doggett and others called the 53 missing Democrats as "heroes and patriots". Speculation is that these members are hiding in Mexico, New Mexico or Oklahoma as the Texas State Guard does not have jurisdiction to force them into the House chamber. If any of these 53 state representatives are found in the state of Texas, they can be forcibly placed into the House chamber.

Update 2:07 PM: News Reports around the state picking up the story. Austin: News 8 Austin, the Austin American Statesman is reporting a statement by the 53 House Democrats here. Here is part of the House Democrats statement:

"We refuse to be present:

• Because the Texas House has more important business than satisfying Tom DeLay: a $10 billion shortfall, a school finance crisis, a troubled economy, insurance abuse (our Governor's declared emergency, and still not passed) and a looming disaster in health care for the children, the elderly and the disabled.



• Because the House Redistricting Committee violated the Voting Rights Act, and refused to respect the voice of all Texans.



• Because the actual map to be considered by the House was intentionally hidden, then suddenly introduced at the last minute and voted out at a late night meeting with no opportunity for public comment.



• Because DeLay's gerrymander splits cities and fractures traditional communities of interest—like the grotesque plan to crack Austin into four separate districts, with tentacles that stretch from the Capitol to Houston on the east and southward hundreds of to the miles to the Mexican border.

Texas today has more important business than bending to Tom DeLay: like a $10 billion budget shortfall, a school finance, a troubled economy, insurance abuse and a looming disaster in health care for children, the elderly and the disabled. We are ready to work to solve the problems caused by budget cuts in education and health care, not on cutting up the State of Texas to satisfy Tom DeLay's quest for power."

I'm starting a new thread, same topic. The news is now in the headlines statewide:

• The San Antonio Express-News reports "UPDATED: 2003 version of 'Killer Bees' gets numbers to break quorum", here. They report that Republican Speaker Tom Craddick has ordered troopers from the Department of Public Safety to find the missing lawmakers. The Express-News also reports on the Democrats strategy:
  

  
  The current group of quorum-busters planned to leave the state to avoid having state police detain them and, if necessary, forcibly return them to the House floor.
  
  DPS or the Rangers can't exactly come get us if we are outside of Texas, another legislator said.
  
  An early plan called for 10 groups of five members each to hide out around the Central Texas area. But over the weekend, the plan apparently changed, according to one of the organizers.
  
  The revised plan called for the members to be picked up by a team leader and a captain at various locations around the state.
  
  They then would meet at a central location, and the entire group would board a bus. Some of the members then were to board a plane leaving from a Central Texas airport to rural Oklahoma, according to several sources. A separate group would fly to New Mexico, while a third group left by bus for New Mexico, the sources said.
  
  We were told to pack to be gone four days, one of the members said. We were told who our team leader was, who would pick us up and where the pickup would occur, but that's it. We weren't told anything else destination, how we would travel, no other arrangements were revealed to us. I guess (organizers) figured we can't say what we don't know.
  

• The Express-News also has the text of a statement by Republican speaker Tom Craddick, here. Craddick notes that this is the first time in History that state house members have deliberately prevented a quorum.


• The Dallas Morning News reports the news, here. They also report the reaction from Washington, here. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-San Antonio) called the move by House Democrats "a courageous act". Whereas, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Ennis) called the walkout a "kind of a little temper tantrum".


• The Houston Chronicle reports the news as well, here. The Chronicle also give links with information on the Quorum rules for the state house, here.


• The El Paso Times reports the news here. They also report on the El Paso Representatives participating, here.

The El Paso Times is now quoting State Rep. Paul Moreno (D-El Paso) as hiding in New Mexico, headed for Mexico:

Paul Moreno, one of the boycotting House members, said he left Texas destined for New Mexico right as the arrest warrants for him and his peers were being issued.

"I'm in the state of New Mexico now and pretty soon I'll be in the Republic of Mexico," Moreno said Monday.

Moreno said he walked out of the session because, among other issues, the Republicans in their redistricting attempt "have completely stepped on the lives of the children, the handicapped and the elderly."

"The chicken Ds that did this ought to be ashamed of themselves today, and that's what they are .... Chicken Ds,"

"We're leaving, and we'll stay gone 'til Thursday," one member from South Texas, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper.

"I guess we will be called obstructionists, or maybe worse. But we are making a statement," said a South Texas legislator. "If this is going to be the only way to stop bad legislation from being rammed down our throats, then so be it."

Republicans, as expected are angry. Both Gov. Perry and Speaker Craddick have released harsh statements (see below):

• Governor Rick Perry has released a Press Release regarding the missing Democrats, here. Here is the text of the release:
  

  
  "The action by these Democrats is cowardly and childish. Their behavior is analogous to the pouting child who doesn’t like the way the game is going and stomps off the field.
  
  This childish prank endangers tens of thousands of Texans who stand to lose access to health care by blocking passage of medical malpractice reform that is crucial to enabling doctors to continue to practice medicine.
  
  This childish prank endangers funding for our public schools, thus hampering the access of all Texas children to a quality education.
  
  This childish prank endangers the hard work legislators have invested in ensuring that homeowners insurance rates are lowered, and it jeopardizes dozens of other pieces of important legislation.
  
  These legislators have been elected and paid to come to work by hardworking Texans. They are asked to work for 140 days every two years not to hide out because they don’t like the way the debate is going.
  
  In my nearly 20 years of public service, I have never seen such a blatant abdication of responsibility."
  



• Tom Craddick has put out orders for the arrest of missing Democrats. He also claimed that the Department of Public Safety could go across state lines to find the missing Democrats: "There's a deal done this morning that allows (DPS troopers) to reach across state lines," Craddick said. He did not elaborate. Here is a statement released by his office.
  

  
  Today I have issued a call on the House so that a quorum may be established to finish the legislative business of this session. If members do not return, and we miss key deadlines, it is probable that a special session will be required to certify a budget for the state of Texas.
  
  (House Democratic Caucus Chairman) Jim Dunnam’s chief of staff said this morning that the Democrats bolted because they ‘believe in a principle and a process’ and they are ‘standing up for their beliefs.’
  
  The truth is these members are abdicating their constitutional responsibility to be here. It is their constitutional duty to shape legislation, to vote on issues, to fulfill their duties as the loyal minority.
  
  Our citizen Legislature meets only once every two years and then for only 140 days. The members who left are wasting the people’s time and money by letting key bills fall by the wayside --- all in the name of partisanship.
  
  They are injecting chaos into what should be an orderly process. They are standing up their own constituents who came here this week to lobby for public school finance reform. They are spoiling the day for school children who are making a once-in-a-lifetime visit to the state Capitol with their class, and would like to be recognized by their hometown lawmaker.
  
  I think it should be noted that Democrats had a majority in the Texas House for 130 years before this year, and Republicans never once resorted to such an irresponsible stunt.
  
  It’s ironic that even as these members have cut and run that Hollywood is filming a movie nearby about that greatest of Texas epics. At the Alamo when Travis drew a line in the dirt, inviting those who wanted to leave, only one man, Moses Rose, climbed over the wall and fled.
  
  It’s not a disgrace to stand and fight, but it is a disgrace to run and hide.
  
  These members were elected to do a job. Hiding out in another state, evading DPS and the Texas Rangers, jeopardizing vital programs and standing up constituents who come to call is inexcusable. These 53 Democrats need to get back to Austin and get to work.
  



• Interestingly the sole El Paso Republican State Rep. Pat Haggerty (R-El Paso) defended the Democrats:
  

  
  El Paso's lone Republican legislator defended the walkout.
  
  "It's the smartest move they could've made,' Haggerty said. "Under the circumstances, it was the only alternative they had. It's been done before. It's in the rules, and they're playing by the rules."
  
  Haggerty said he may have considered walking with his colleagues on issues other than redistricting.
  
  "There's some issues that I think I probably would have joined them," Haggerty said. "If they had decided to do something like this on CHIP or they had decided to do something like this on Medicaid reimbursement rates.'
  




• The Dallas Morning News reported:
  

  
  Rep. Joe Nixon, R-Houston, said Texans ought to be incensed by the walkout because work is not getting done. "This is a political process. Everybody knows that. It is wrong for one group to take the ball and go home," Nixon said.
  

  
  
  Posted by: Byron L.

Wonder why the Dems chose today to disappear? The House Calender had redistricting as the #1 issue to come up:

***************************************************************************

                           DAILY HOUSE CALENDAR
                           Monday, May 12, 2003

***************************************************************************

                 ******** MAJOR STATE CALENDAR ********
                               HOUSE BILLS
                             SECOND READING


HB 3398    Crabb / King
Relating to the composition of the districts for the election of
members of the United States House of Representatives from the
State of Texas.

First, thanks for the credit today from Political Wire, Daily Kos and Off the Kuff. First, in order to answer a question I have seen elsewhere. The Texas legislature meets only 5 months every other year. Thursday or Friday is the House deadline for hearing new bills. Thus, if the Democrats don't return by Friday, redistricting will have been effectively killed in the House for this session. Of course, Gov. Perry could call a special session on the issue, and it looks as if a special session will be inevitable, the Democrats move at least would delay redistricting for another month. A great AP article just came up from the Houston Chronicle and Dallas Morning News about the planning behind all of this, here. This is absolutely amazing stuff. Annonymous rendezvous, secret plans, leaked diversionary plans. Wow!

AUSTIN - They planned to meet surreptitiously, at a designated site, not knowing where they were going or how they would get there.

Broken up into several cells, only the team leaders of these 53 rebel Democrats were to know the details of their planned excursion. They were told to pack enough clothes and necessities to last four days. Most anticipated fleeing the state.

The only communication was supposed to be among members of their small groups.

On Sunday night, aware that they could face arrest, some boarded a bus and took off, leaving a contentious battle over congressional redistricting behind.

"I don't know where we're going. I don't know how we're going to get there," one Democratic lawmaker told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as he packed before the 6 p.m. Sunday rendezvous. Other legislators contacted by the AP that evening would not confirm the plan.

Worried that state authorities could track them down and bring them back to the Capitol before they could disappear, they were determined that the Republican House leadership would not discover their covert plans.

So, they shrouded their plot in secrecy. Only a carefully chosen few were apprised of their itinerary. In an attempt to create a diversion, misleading plots were purposely planted with Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick, a legislator said.

One source told the AP that they were discussing giving up their cell phones to prevent a mole from divulging their location and to avoid being traced. By this afternoon, at least three lawmakers still had their cell phones.

They left in their path a swath of doomed legislation, angry Republicans and a series of letters explaining their actions.

Not even some staff members of these lawmakers knew about their plans, until the letters were found this morning.

Tamara Bell, chief of staff for Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, was caught unaware of the plan when called by The Associated Press Sunday evening. Dunnam, leader of the House Democratic Caucus, appeared to be commander of the group.

But today, just before the House was scheduled to convene at 10 a.m., it was Bell who made the official announcement based on a statement left by Dunnam that enough members had fled to bust a House quorum, which is necessary to do business.

"I spoke to him by cell phone. I don't know where they are, I don't know anything except the statement I was given," Bell said.

Here is another article about the events of the day from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. They mention several interesting developments:

• They report that the Texas House is in a state of lock down, in that members present are not allowed to leave. I'm watching the House live and right now they are ordering dinner. Earlier, House Republicans were seen reading newspapers, lobbing toy balls and whistling the Star Spangled Banner. State Rep. Tommy Merritt (R-Longview), one of the more moderate Republicans in the House held up a sign "ET and Democrats, phone home".
  
• State Rep. Ron Wilson (D-Houston) is one of the Democrats that did not dissappear. He was critical of the tactics:
  

  
  State Rep. Ron Wilson, D-Houston, one of Craddick's Democratic lieutenants who did not join other Democrats in the walk-off, said the members' actions would "totally, absolutely shut down" the Legislature until they return. Wilson compared the Democrats' absence to skipping out on work and risking getting fired.
  
  "It is tantamount to a criminal act," Wilson said.
  



• Republican State Reps David Swinford and Charlie Geren seemed to be understanding of the Democrats move:
  

  
  State Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, whose massive government reorganization bill would bring $1 billion into state coffers, said important legislation is likely to die without action.
  
  "I didn't ask to run this stupid redistricting bill up _ that's above my pay grade," he said. "I could care less about a lot of these type deals, but I do care about the budget being certified. .... That redistricting bill is not important to me _ but I guess it's important to somebody."
  
  State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, said the Democrats were doing what they believed they needed to do in order to represent their constituents.
  
  "I understand what they're doing. It's really the only tool in their toolbox," Geren said. "They're passionate about the map that's in front of us not being good for their constituents."
  



Posted by: Byron L.

The Austin American Statesman is now running an article about the last time Texas lawmakers disappeared for an extended period of time. There have been many references today to the disappeared Democrats as the "Killer Bees", a group of 12 liberal Democratic State Senators in 1979 that disappeared to stop a Senate quorum. They included now-Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin). Here is the article:

They banded together on enough progressive issues in the Texas Senate that the dozen or so members called themselves "The Good Guys."

But when they walked out of the Senate in protest 20 years ago, they became known as the Killer Bees. And, when they hid out in a one-bedroom apartment for more than four days, they rapidly realized that each had pronounced characteristics -- bad ones.

Ron Clower's Himmler jokes. Gene Jones' claustrophobia. Bachelor Glenn Kothmann's grousing about lost dates.

Some senators, like Oscar Mauzy and A.R. "Babe" Schwartz, were louder than others.

"I look back on having to listen to Mauzy snore and Schwartz roar out various tall tales, and I hope that some present or future senator does not have to put up with that kind of activity in such close quarters," said Lloyd Doggett, now Austin's congressman. "I got to know some of these guys too well. This whole incident sounds like much more fun looking back on it than it was going through it."

The dozen senators who disappeared in the final days of the 1979 legislative session had struggled for weeks with former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby. He hung the nickname on the group "rather derisively one day as he stepped down off the podium because Ron Clower and I were reading crop statistics on how much black-eyed pea production there was in some counties" during a filibuster, Doggett recalls. Hobby called the pesky liberals killer bees because "you never know where they're going to show up next."

The episode started as something of a lark -- though with a definite edge. The group of moderate to liberal Democrats wanted to let Hobby know they took seriously the Senate's tradition of requiring a two-thirds vote to bring up virtually any measure -- particularly when circumventing it might affect their re-electability.

Hobby was equally serious about his split-party primary proposal for 1980. The idea was to have a presidential primary in March, which would allow conservative Democrats to vote for former Texas Gov. John Connally in the Republican contest if they wished, and then have the regular state primary in May or later so the conservative Democrats could return to the fold.

"As I recall, we made it pretty plain to Bill that this presidential primary was designed for Connally at a cost of $5 million, and then they could all come vote against us in May," Schwartz recalls.

Hobby and the conservatives "didn't give a damn about anybody else on the ballot," said Schwartz, a fire-breathing liberal who represented Galveston. "The whole deal was they wanted to be able to vote for Connally and vote against us." Hobby couldn't round up the two-thirds vote necessary to bring the presidential primary proposal to the Senate floor. When the Killer Bees realized Hobby planned to attach the proposal as an amendment to a House bill, reducing the margin required for passage by the Senate to a simple majority, their "only chance of killing it was to see that it was just not allowed to come up," said Mauzy, a progressive from Dallas.

So they fled. Hid out.

The senators gathered for breakfast and a strategy session on Friday, May 18, at the home of Dora McDonald, an aide to Sen. Carl Parker of Port Arthur. They wanted to be sure they had the 11 of 31 senators necessary to shut down business.

Ten showed up.

"We had word that Chet Brooks (Pasadena) was going to be in Oklahoma and wasn't going to return that weekend," Schwartz said. "(Raul) Longoria (of Edinburg) was in the (Rio Grande) Valley and was going to go to Mexico if we did go out." That would put him beyond the arm of the Department of Public Safety. In the past when legislators had stayed away from the Capitol to break a quorum, presiding officers had called out law officers to hunt down the recalcitrants and bring them in.

Their numbers assured, the Bees now needed a hideout.

Their impromptu hiding place was a garage apartment McDonald and her husband, Charles, owned at 3415 Bridle Path.

"One bedroom, one couch, one toilet, one telephone," Schwartz recalls. "And that's where the 10 of us went in, and we started listening to the radio and television."

Schwartz said they all realized warrants could be issued for their arrests, though he discounted the possibility. "I was dumb enough to think that the Senate was not going to stay in session on Saturday and Sunday -- that as soon as the Senate that was left understood what was going on, they would convince Hobby that it was useless."

Nope. Hobby decided he didn't have anything better to do that weekend, late in the legislative session, with a number of important bills hanging fire. He would wait out the Killer Bees.

Clower, who represented Garland at the time, had liked the moniker well enough that he already had commissioned Austin American-Statesman cartoonist Ben Sargent to sketch a drawing of the recalcitrant, combative legislators.

It was screened onto yellow T-shirts. Clower had planned to present them to the other senators at a barbecue that same Friday. By the third day in their self-imposed exile, the Killer Bees had been delivered T-shirts of their own. It was a welcome diversion and a welcome change of clothes. The Killer Bees had arrived at Dora McDonald's house in business suits. They had not so much as a change of underwear among them.

"It was pretty gruesome, as you might imagine," recalls Mauzy. "Ten people in very few square feet of room. And really only three places to really lie down, other than on the floor."

One Bee didn't stay.

"Gene Jones got claustrophobic and left," Doggett said. Jones went to Houston Friday and hid out. On Sunday, the Department of Public Safety caught his brother Clayton going out to get the paper -- while Gene Jones hightailed it over a fence. Thinking he had the senator, an officer drove Clayton Jones halfway to Austin, where a helicopter picked him up to go the rest of the way. It caused a lot of red faces when the DPS delivered the wrong man to the Senate.

And much laughter among the hiding Bees.

"It was cause for great joy on our part," Doggett said. "My wife and daughters, who were much younger then, remember feeling very secure, since there were law enforcement officers there much of the time. So it's part of not just political folklore, but our family folklore as well."

By Monday, the Bees decided their bargaining power had increased.

"They elected me to call Hobby," Schwartz said. "I told him that it was pretty obvious that if we came back in, we could still finish the work of the session." Hobby waved a white flag.

He and the Worker Bees agreed to stop bad-mouthing the Killer Bees, and the Killer Bees promised to lay off their criticisms. But they did get to hold a news conference.

The Killer Bees agreed to come in on Tuesday -- with a DPS escort, so the agency could save a little face.

"We all came in the Senate at the same time through the front door," Schwartz recalls. "We made a quorum, and then we had the news conference in the lieutenant governor's committee room. Everyone stuck to their bargain, and there was no presidential primary bill."

The next year, Connally spent $11 million and got one delegate for president -- from Arkansas.

Hobby still maintains he didn't much care for Connally and wasn't trying to help him.

"I was not, am not now, nor ever will be an admirer of John Connally," Hobby said.

Mauzy and the other Bees say that under the same circumstances, they'd do the same thing again. They'd just take a change of underwear.

Did Hobby learn anything from the episode?

"Yes," he said. "Don't call out the DPS. They get the wrong man. Don't try to force things. They'll happen or they won't."

So much changed in the next few years.

Three Bees -- Schwartz, Clower and Jones -- lost to Republicans in 1980 as Ronald Reagan was elected president. Some of the Bees left for other things. Some of the conservative Democrats Hobby had tried to help suffered defeats. Others simply did not seek re-election.

In 1982, Hobby finally had to recognize that he was a Democrat when Republican George Strake, Bill Clements' secretary of state, ran against him.

Democrats, Hobby among them, banded together under U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen's banner and scored a clean sweep against the Republicans.

Those changes, and time, quickly softened the animosity.

Ten years later, when the Bees observed the anniversary, they walked into the Senate to find Hobby on the dais -- outfitted in a beekeeper's hood.

The Austin American-Statesman reports that New Mexico officials are "not hot" on the idea of searching for missing Democratic state representatives from neighboring Texas --

Attorney General Patricia Madrid said if Texas issues arrest warrants for the officials, then New Mexico officials may act on them and extradition proceedings would have to be held.

Her comments came after Gov. Rick Perry's office asked New Mexico whether it would allow Texas officials to make arrests in that state. Madrid said the question is being researched. But she wasn't taking it all serious.

"Some are speculating this request from the Texas Governor's office concerns an effort to locate missing Texas House Democrats," Madrid wrote. "If so, Texas should understand that since ski season is over, the Santa Fe Opera has not begun and President Bush was just in town, I don't think they are in Santa Fe now. Nevertheless, I have put out an all-points bulletin for law enforcement to be on the look out for politicians in favor of health care for the needy and against tax cuts for the wealthy."

Here is a list of the State House Democrats and their action today according to the Austin American Statesman:

Absent Democrats who submitted letters notifying House they would not be
present (53)

Roberto Alonzo, Dallas
Kevin Bailey, Houston
Lon Burnam, Fort Worth
Gabi Canales, Alice
Jaime Capelo, Corpus Christi
Joaquin Castro, San Antonio
Garnet Coleman, Houston
Robby Cook, Eagle Lake
Yvonne Davis, Dallas
Joe Deshotel, Beaumont
Dawnna Dukes, Austin
Jim Dunnam, Waco
Harold Dutton, Houston
Craig Eiland, Galveston
Dan Ellis, Livingston
Juan Escobar, Kingsville
David Farabee, Wichita Falls
Jessica Farrar, Houston
Pete Gallego, Alpine
Timoteo Garza, Eagle Pass
Ryan Guillen, Rio Grande City
Scott Hochberg, Houston
Terri Hodge, Dallas
Mark Homer, Paris
Chuck Hopson, Jacksonville
Jesse Jones, Dallas
Pete Laney, Hale Center
John Mabry, Waco
Trey Martinez-Fischer, San Antonio
Ruth Jones McClendon, San Antonio
Jim McReynolds, Lufkin
Jose Menendez, San Antonio
Joe Moreno, Houston
Paul Moreno, El Paso
Elliott Naishtat, Austin
Rick Noriega, Houston
Rene Oliveira, Brownsville
Dora Olivo, Missouri City
Aaron Pena, Edinburg
Joe Pickett, El Paso
Robert Puente, San Antonio
Chente Quintanilla, Tornillo
Richard Raymond, Laredo
Allan Ritter, Nederland
Eddie Rodriguez, Austin
Patrick Rose, Dripping Springs
Jim Solis, Harlingen
Barry Telford, DeKalb
Senfronia Thompson, Houston
Carlos Uresti, San Antonio
Mike Villarreal, San Antonio
Miguel Wise, Weslaco
Steve Wolens, Dallas

Absent, did not submit letter (6)

Norma Chavez, El Paso
Al Edwards, Houston
Kino Flores, Mission
Helen Giddings, Dallas
Glenn Lewis, Fort Worth
Sylvester Turner, Houston

Democrats present (3)

Vilma Luna, Corpus Christi
Ron Wilson, Houston
Roberto Gutierrez, McAllen

I know that some people have asked if many Democrats will be hurt because of this. The short answer is no. Maybe a few will, but almost all 62 Democrats reside in safe Democratic districts. A few, like John Mabry and Patrick Rose defeated Republican incumbents in Republican-leaning seats last fall, but most Democrats in competetive / toss-up seats lost last fall. Rose has irked Democratic leaders by voting with Republicans so much that many Democrats are unwilling to give him the support they gave him last year when he raised nearly $500,000. As for the Democrats sitting out... Ron Wilson is a very unpredictable Black representative from Houston. He tends to consider himself Black first, Democat second in my opinion. The Republican map creates a new Black district in the Houston area (although Nick Lampson would probably move into the district and win it), so Wilson is probably inclined to support it for that reason. Luna has a conservative voting record and is pro-life. I am not familiar with Rep. Gutierrez. Chavez, Edwards, Flores and Lewis are all relatively liberal minority Democrats and are probably hiding out on their own. Rep. Turner, another Black Democrat is said to be on his way to the capitol.

Posted by: Byron L

Two Updates from the House floor in the 20 minutes or so:

• Repubulican Rep. Ray Allen (R-Grand Praire) - who holds a Republican-leaning, but Democratic-trending district in southwest Dallas County (look for Democrats to target this district in 2004), made a request that playing cards of the 53 missing Democrats be created and distributed, much like those in Iraq to help find the missing Democrats.


• State Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) and also a Houston mayoral candidate arrived on the floor. He is not a member of the missing 53 Democrats. Turner has a relatively liberal record and its interesting that he's not part of the missing 53. One guess is that he wants to do everything possible to avoid a special session that could cost him valuable campaign time this summer and fall (Houston's election is in November). Still, his not participating could cost him some Democratic support (his base) in his race for mayor.

Scene One: A mysterious set of events leads to worldwide chaos, at least in Texas.


"This just in John," Brenda the News Chick said. "We're getting reports that millions of Texas voters have just suddenly disappeared!"

"Planes crash after their pilots mysteriously vanished!"

"Traffic comes to a standstill as the roads are clogged with driverless cars!"

"The stock market collapses as millions of highly-skilled workers don't report to work."

"And state business grinds to a halt as most of the House Democratic caucus simply disappeared."

"Yes indeed, John, it appears that perhaps 40 percent of the entire Texas electorate has simply vanished! Too bad nobody seemed to be taking them seriously. More on the fallout as this story develops."

Reaction among Democrats on comment threads today has been pretty positive about the Texas House Dems strategy, but there have been some posts saying its a bad strategy. Well, as a proud Texas Democrat, I'll tell you why this is an absolutely brilliant move for Texas Dems. First off, look at where we are. All 27 statewide elected officials in Texas are Republicans. Democrats have been swept the past three elections - no Democrat has won a statewide election since 1996, as we've been swept by Bushmania in every election since. The State Senate has 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats. Ten of the Senate Democrats are from overwhelmingly Democratic, minority-majority districts. The other two districts are held by Sen. Armbrister, a conservative Democrat from Victoria and Sen. Barrientos from Austin. Armbrister is popular and usually wins easily, and he supports Delay's map. Barrientos was targetted hard last year but still won by a 10 point margin over a Dell multi-millionaire in a new, more Republican district and after an extremely negative ad campaign against him attacking him for his DWI arrest. Barrientos is safe. In the State House, there's 62 Democrats, of which over 90% are in safe districts. Republicans won all but a handful of the districts they targetted in 2002, whereas only a couple Democrats won targetted districts (like Rose and Mabry). The one bright spot in Texas is our Congressional delegation. There are 17 Dems and 15 Republicans. Granted, the delegation does include two nominal Democrats - Ralph Hall and Charlie Stenholm, but the rest are good solid Democrats - including a handful that consistently get elected and re-elected in Republican or Republican-leaning districts like Chet Edwards, Max Sandlin, Jim Turner and Nick Lampson.

So the question for Texas House Democrats is "what do we have to lose by breaking a quorum"? Answer. Very little. Even people like John Mabry, a Waco freshman in a tough district can go home to his constituents and say that he did it because Tom Delay was trying to prevent them from being able to send Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Waco) back to Congress. That arguement works in Waco where Edwards is quite popular. Similarly, east Texas Democratic Reps can tell their constituents that they did this for Max Sandlin, Jim Turner and Nick Lampson, all of whom are very popular in their respective districts.

Also, the House Democrats have exposed Tom Delay, and have the moral high ground. A Senate filibuster would have allowed re-redistricting to have died a slow death in that chamber with few realizing what had happened. But the House Democrats made a decision based on their conscience. They made their decision because they believed that it was wrong for the House to take up such a divisive re-redistricting plan when "the Texas House has more important business than satisfying Tom DeLay: a $10 billion shortfall, a school finance crisis, a troubled economy, insurance abuse (our Governor's declared emergency, and still not passed) and a looming disaster in health care for the children, the elderly and the disabled". People like that.

Finally, this has helped bring to life Democrats in this state. For the first time since the election, we can actually say that we're proud of our party. As for Republicans, several have admitted that if they were in the Dems position, they would do the same thing. Others are calling the Dems obstructionists, but I think that they know in their hearts that they've lost the moral high ground.

Posted by: Byron L.

Yup, the Killer Bees are BACK. This picture taken by the Austin American Statesman from a rally earlier today. Lloyd Doggett and other local Democrats attended the rally. The Travis County (Austin) Democratic Party had sold these bee headbands for $5 to those attending the rally in the rain at noon. A prayer vigil will be held on the south steps of the capitol tonight.

Posted by: Byron L.

I believe that the State House is adjouring currently, unable to reach a quorum all day. With Sylvester Turner's (D-Houston) arrival, there are now 58 House Democrats missing. 53 in the main group, and 5 others fending for themselves. I'll be away from my computer for the next 4 - 6 hours or so. I'll try to post late tonight before I go to bed if anything new develops. I plan to post sometime tomorrow morning as well as there will surely be lots of editorial reaction to this. I'm going to go out on a limb here, and I think that the editorial reaction in tomorrow's papers will be generally mixed to positive of the House Democrats. We will see. Thanks for checking out our blog today.

Posted by: Byron L.

The Houston Chronicle and Austin American Statesman report that about 40 of the 53 disappearing Democrats have been found at a Holiday Inn in Ardmore, Oklahoma (a few miles north of the Red River near Sherman). Austin-area representatives Eddie Rodriguez, Dawnna Dukes, Elliott Naishtat, and Patrick Rose are among those located in Ardmore.

The Statesman's Gary Susswein, Dave McNeely, and Dave Harmon seemed particularly bummed by the relatively boring setting:

Rumors swirled all day that the missing-in-action House members had jetted off to New Orleans or Santa Fe, N.M., for their self-imposed vacation. In the end, the truth was a lot less exciting.

Some of the Democrats were located by reporters Monday night as they ate a late dinner at Denny's in Ardmore, Okla.

The city of 23,700 is about 90 miles north of Dallas on Interstate 35, and the locals like to boast that it was named an All-American City not once but twice and that it's home to the Gene Autry Oklahoma History Museum.

"We're working," said Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine. "We'll put out a bunch of stuff tomorrow."

The visiting Texans covered their tracks carefully at a Holiday Inn where they stayed. They checked in under assumed names, and the hotel manager was well-prepared for reporters' calls, saying only that she could neither confirm nor deny the lawmakers' arrival.

But their cover was blown at the Denny's in the hotel lobby.

"There's probably a good 15 of them," waitress Crystal Dawn Hale told the American-Statesman by telephone. "They've been here all day."

The group ordered pot roast dinners, mini-burgers and chicken salad while working over laptop computers, Hale said.

Only three Democrats remained; all are Craddick allies whom fellow Democrats have dubbed "cross dressers." At least one other -- Rep. Sylvester Turner of Houston -- was on his way to Austin, Craddick said.

The House doorkeeper kept watch over the chamber's front door, its historic brass lock turned shut. Inside, Republicans lobbed toy balls, whistled the "Star Spangled Banner" and dined on white-linen covered tables.

Several Republicans complained that they never used such drastic measure when the GOP was the minority party.

More than 100 people gathered in the rain outside the Capitol to rally in support of the Democratic walkout. Carrying signs that read "Tom DeLay, Go Away," "Don't tread on Travis" and "Sieg heil, Tom DeLay," they cheered as state senators spoke in support of the walkout. "I wish I was out there with them, wherever they are," Ellis said.

About 100 activists gathered at the South steps of the Capitol at 9:30 p.m. to pray for the missing Democrats in an ad hoc vigil.

Rev. Jim Rigby of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church led the hour-long session. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (one of the original "Killer Bees" who broke the Senate quorum in 1979) added on a "personal note" that many of the state representatives holed up in Oklahoma and elsewhere were putting their careers on the line. Doggett also noted that the extreme secrecy of their flight doubtlessly worried their families.

State Senator Elliott Shapleigh, D - El Paso, also spoke, as did several other Austin-area religious leaders.

The vigil drew media attention from local television statements.

Posted by: Jim D.