GOP trying to waive rules involving 2/3's agreement to end debate.

[Lithos]

Late word is that senators have agreed on one thing about their partisan bickering over a rules change: Resume it in the morning behind closed doors.

Senate leaders report that the Upper Chamber will meet in the morning to try to iron out a fight over a proposed rules change to benefit the Republicans.

Some GOPers have proposed waiving the longstanding rule that requires two-thirds of senators to agree before any bill can be brought up for debate, but only on two issues: voter ID and redistricting.

-- snip --

Already at it

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2009/01/13/rules_flap_to_continue_in_cauc.html?cxntfid=blogs_postcards

[sonias]

1. Boy they would be really stupid to go Craddick style on the Senate

If Dewhurst is going to try that end run around the Senate like Craddick did the House, he's a moran. Oh, that's worked so well on the House side. :sarcasm:

This Texas republican party just doesn't get it, do they? Here we are with a serious economic crisis with plenty of real problems the Lege should be addressing that impacts Texan's lives every day, and these ass wipes just focus on passing voter ID. Like the mere act of passing a law that impacts elections once every couple of years is so essential right now. :grr:

Dewhurst obviously did not learn his lesson from last session. If he wants to destroy any chance of civility again this session he can try but it isn't going to be pretty. And if he's taking clues from Dan Patrick then he really is no better than the Craddicktator.

Sonia

[Lithos]

2. I think it is that they have nothing else to offer

No hope, no vision, just fear.

L-

[sonias]

3. House members fire warning shot to Senate

Postcards from the Lege blog 1/14/09
House warning on Senate rules

By Laylan Copelin | Wednesday, January 14, 2009, 10:46 AM

It may be all peace and goodwill in the House, but some members of the lower chamber are feeling feisty about what the Senate is doing.

If the Senate really eliminates the two-thirds rule to take up voter ID and redistricting, then the House might retaliate with its own three-fifth rule.

In other words, the House rules could be written to require a three-fifths vote to get a bill on those topics out of committee or through the Calendars Committee.

No word on the outcome from the Senate yet, but the Big 3 did do breakfast this morning. Wonder how that went.

Elise Hu - Political Junkie blog 1/14/09
The Breakfast Club
Speaker Joe Straus is now part of a special breakfast club. Every Wednesday during the session, the speaker, Lt. Governor and Governor eat breakfast together and chat about whatever's going on. On this morning of their first breakfast, the three emerged to talk with the press.

:popcorn:


Sonia

[sonias]

4. Second caucus to resolve fight

Postcards from the Lege blog
Second caucus to resolve fight

By Mike Ward | Wednesday, January 14, 2009, 11:08 AM

An acrimonious closed-door meeting of the entire Senate failed to resolve a growing partisan fight over a proposed rule change to benefit Repubs, with Dems voting a floor fight if necessary later today to to block the change.

The issue: Whether to change Senate rules to not require two-thirds approval to debate bills on Voter ID and redistricting.

Senators from both parties said was nothing resolved in the initial caucus, which lasted almost an hour, and reportedly featured some "very point-blank exchanges," said one senator.

:eyes:

Sonia

[sonias]

5. Liveblog of the Senate fight on BOR

Phillip Martin on BOR

I'll be liveblogging this...it's intense.

1:28pm - Here's where we are: Senator Williams wants to take the voter ID issue to the "committee of the whole" -- which just means the full body. This is how they are going to get around the 2/3 rule: through a mechanism that is used on non-controversial issues. Senator Whitmire is shooting down the historical examples Senator Williams is citing.

1:18pm - Senator Williams just talked about how getting a consensus of 21 is so important...but we don't need that for voter identification. Such a hypocritical bunch of bull. It's incredible how badly they want this voter ID legislation. More than school finance. More than higher education. More than utility relief. More than any other issue. This is it. This is all they believe in.

1:17pm - The Senate isn't any kind of special chamber, as much as these folks want to believe. They just have the same sort of bickering and nonsense behind closed doors. At least the House believes in open government.

Senator Tommy Williams is a R.

Sonia

[cosmik debris]

6. I wish I was there, it must be a real show

From the blog it looks like the Dems are forcing the Repubs to vote against Veterans, Children's health care, Education, Unemployment benefits, and other good issues.

It's comedy, drama, and politics all rolled up in one bit of performance art.

[sonias]

7. This is a real outing of these closet wingnuts

Here is what your Texas Republican Senators think is important in Texas.

Reminds me a lot about the grandstanding on Terri Schiavo in Congress by the republican controlled Congress. A lot of good that helped them winning elections, right?


Sonia

[sonias]

8. Pottery Barn Rule - You Broke It You Now Own It

Burka Blog
One Senate rule clearly in effect
posted by Patricia Kilday Hart at 6:25 PM

That would be the "Pottery Barn" rule as invoked by Secretary of State Colin Powell to warn against the then-proposed invasion of Iraq. "You break it, you own it," he reasoned. This morning, Dewhurst told reporters that he mentioned the Powell axiom to senators who wanted to change the two-thirds rule.

Well, something’s been shattered in the Senate today and clearly — whether or not you believe he is responsible — Dewhurst is going to end up owning it. Not only are Democrats angry, but Republican John Carona (we may start calling him "Frank" for his honesty) announced publicly that when he expressed his opposition to the changing the two-thirds rule, "I was told it would effect my legislative package" and that he likely would be guaranteed a primary opponent.

Dewhurst morphed into Craddick. And excuse me for not believing his crap about warning his Senators about the change. He drove the agenda. He campaigned on Voter ID, He ran ads for Voter ID and by dog he now owns this legislative session when it becomes gridlocked.
:nuke:


Sonia

[sonias]

9. TDP Press Release

Texas Democratic Party
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14 January 2009
CONTACT:
Kirsten Gray [phone] [phone] cell

SENATE REPUBLICANS MAKE VOTE SUPPRESSION THEIR SINGULAR PRIORITY

Partisan Rules Change Says Education, Health Care, Insurance Reform Can Wait

In a bald-faced partisan power play designed specifically to pass a bogus "Voter ID" bill that will do nothing to address voter fraud, Senate Republicans passed a rules change to allow one and only one bill, Voter ID, to come up for debate on the Senate floor without the traditional 2/3's vote necessary to debate every other bill in the Senate.

"Texas voters have made it clear they want legislators to put an end to partisan bickering and work together to solve real problems," said Boyd Richie, Chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. “Today, Senate Republicans demonstrated why more Texans are voting for Democrats, by voting time and again against amendments to elevate public education, health care, tuition regulation and important job and pocketbook issues to the unique priority status they assigned to their partisan vote suppression agenda."

The Republican Voter ID bill has been opposed by numerous non-partisan organizations and editorial boards, citing research by academic institutions and bipartisan commissions that show voter ID legislation suppresses turnout among the poor, the elderly and people of color but does nothing to solve voter fraud. Should the Senate Republicans’ power play ultimately lead to passage of a Voter ID bill, Richie observed that the Texas House and Speaker Joe Straus will have an excellent opportunity to demonstrate bipartisan cooperation by rejecting divisive partisanship and focusing instead on the issues most important to Texas families.

"Democrats oppose voter fraud, but this bogus Republican agenda has nothing to do with voter fraud because it only addresses an alleged problem, voter impersonation, that simply doesn’t exist," Richie noted. "Instead of grasping to keep partisan power by passing laws that stifle turnout, Republicans should scrap their vote suppression agenda and join us in a bipartisan effort to increase voter participation."

:dem:

Sonia




###

[sonias]

10. House, Senate play against type

AAS 1/15/09
COMMENTARY: W. GARDNER SELBY
House, Senate play against type
House opens with smiles and lightness, Senate dips into partisan war.

(snip)
The fresh twist: Most Republicans, who hold 19 of 31 Senate seats (down from 20 last session), passed a rule change that would allow voter ID legislation to be taken up with 16 votes. That's a bust-the-Democrats change from the Senate's tradition of requiring 21 votes for floor action.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the Senate's presiding officer, insisted he was steering clear of the senators' fight.

That's hard to believe.

Why? Achieving a voter identification mandate is seen as a must-have for Dewhurst to please Republican voters in the 2010 elections. He'd arguably lose face if Democrats — who see photo ID mandates as tools to reduce turnout — again employ an internal rule to jam the Senate's majority.

KVUE 1/15/09
Senate comes out of the gate fighting over voter ID
(snip)
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats tried to carve out a second special exemption for measures to reduce insurance rates in Texas, but that went down on a party-line vote.

Republicans also defeated Democratic-backed exemptions for increased public school funding, property tax cuts, new controls on college tuition rates, health care for Texas veterans, a new jobs creation program and expansion of the state's Children's Health Insurance Program. Democrats argued all those issues were more important to Texans than voter ID.

Mr. Carona, the lone senator to cross party lines on the vote, said that although he supports a new voter ID law, he could not back the special exemption, which he called "foolhardy."

"This sends a terrible message when, after the recent election showed, this country is crying out for bipartisan cooperation," he said. "We are going in the wrong direction. It is time to stop the partisan gamesmanship and deal with issues of importance."

Senator John Corona gets it. He was obviously the only R Senator that got it - wrong direction Texas Rs!

Sonia

[sonias]

11. Behind the scenes of Senate's public fight

AAS 1/16/09
TEXAS LEGISLATURE
Behind the scenes of Senate's public fight
Tensions rose amid GOP leaders, between parties.

By Mike Ward
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, January 16, 2009

(snip)
Senators would discuss details only on the condition they could do so privately.

By Wednesday, when senators on both sides met in another closed-door meeting, the battle lines were mostly drawn. The only shift: Republicans agreed to drop redistricting from the exemptions, leaving just voter ID.

That change would make little difference.

One GOP senator related how an East Texan had illegally bought numerous votes for $150.

"That's illegal. Did you report it?" a Democrat shot back. Democrats argued that if Republicans were successful in exempting voter ID from the rule, their party activists might demand similar action on other issues such as vouchers, immigration and gambling.

Republicans were unswayed.

There was consensus on only one thing: Everyone was to keep their mouth shut.

How in the hell would photo voter ID keep someone from buying votes? So what, now someone you pay to vote a certain way just has to take their ID with them but the illegal part is that you paid them to vote for candidate "x".

Sonia