Texan Skeptics - Help!

[swellman]

http://www.boston.com/news/daily/12/legis_rebel0512.htm

Are Texas politics always this colorful? Legislators fleeing the state? I hope this is symbolic, but it sounds serious!

Believe me, living in Massachusetts, I am not throwing stones. Our legislature provides plenty of glass for the house. But this story from Texas is a first for me.

[NoZed Avenger]

It has been done before, but not for 20+ years, IIRC.

All I can say is:

(1) Please take the rest of them with you.
(2) When everyone has gone, lets change the locks.

I would say board up the capitol building, but really there's no reason not to do that while they're still inside. Either option is attractive.


NA

[mjv]

It is serious. Its fairly rare, the last time it happened was in the Senate back in 1979, when the killer B's (the ringleaders had names beginning with B) hid out in an apartment to prevent the Senate from taking action on some items they opposed. I don't think it has ever happened in the house.

This was the week that all of the legislative deadlines start to apply, so bills have already begun to die because they had not moved far enough along the process. Generally though, if your bill wasn't out by now, it was probably dead anyway (we meet biennially for 140 days, ending on June 2).

The R's share some of the blame for getting things to this point. They got into power with a majority for the first time since reconstruction. I think this went to their heads a bit and they pushed a lot of their agenda through the house (they have the votes) and refused to take even reasonable amendments from the D's. After being repeatedly rebuffed on even minor issues, I assume they felt this was their only choice. The last minute "gerrymandered" redistricting map sent down from Washington was the final straw.

I'm sure the House members did not make this choice lightly. Their bills are also dying in the process and the retribution has already started on their legislation that was moving toward passage. Once you start something this big, you've got to follow it through; so they will probably stay gone until Friday morning, which will cause some of the big bills they oppose to die.

Gotta love Texas politics, its never boring!

MJV

[arcticpenguin]

Highly entertaining!

[CSSMariner]

We are moving from Fort Lauderdale to Decatur, Texas on June 6th. I will be not too far from I35, and will try to erect a road block to keep them out of the state the next rime, then someone in Austin can change the locks. I will make a report from the scene. HA!!!

[kitsune]

... then there's Ma Ferguson, the first female govenor (their slogan was "Two Governors for the Price of One")

Texas Politics is an interesting beast...

[UnrepentantSinner]

Swell, the best part is that the Governor can use the DPS (we have a Depatment of Public Safety because the State Police were hated carpetbaggers during the heyday of Reconstruction) as his posse to round 'em up, hog tie 'em and bring 'em back for a quorum.

One thing the Democrats apparently did not do was check the weather forcast for Ardmore. There was severe weather there all week and one night they had to head to the hotel's storm shelter because of a tornado warning. They should have gone to Shreveport or better yet New Orleans.

[mjv]

They couldn't go to Louisianna, the governor there is a Republican and might have been vulnerable to Republican pressure from Texas politicians and from Delay.

MJV

[UnrepentantSinner]

Originally posted by mjv
They couldn't go to Louisianna, the governor there is a Republican and might have been vulnerable to Republican pressure from Texas politicians and from Delay.

MJV

Given what the weather was like in Ardmore that week, I'd have risked it! :)

[a_unique_person]

Originally posted by kitsune
... then there's Ma Ferguson, the first female govenor (their slogan was "Two Governors for the Price of One")

Texas Politics is an interesting beast...

Or an oxymoron?

[c0rbin]

Highly entertaining!

I never understood why people were ever shocked (as opposed to entertained, which is half of politics--showbiz).

Politicians throughout the ages behave like this, turning a blind eye to their own faction's foibles while ridiculing the other faction for the same foibles.

Incidentally, Unique, your definition of "oxymoron" must be unique. I realize that saying something for comedic value need not be so closely examined, but when the comedy comes up short, one has to ask.

So.

What do you mean "Texas Politics" is an oxymoron?

[BrianT]

Well, they got the "moron" part right, anyway.