05.21.07
David Dewhurst Could Stop This – UPDATED
Sen. Gallegos is back to stop the Voter IDiocy bill from passing. Thank you Senator!!Mario is back.
Ailing state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, has a hospital bed set up in the sergeant’s office — about a 100 feet from Gallegos’ Senate chamber desk, Monday so that he could help block a contentious voter ID bill from debate.
“I’m hurting. I’m hurting,” Gallegos said a few minutes ago as the Senate went into session.
Gallegos went through a liver transplant surgery earlier this year and had a follow-up procedure on Friday.
Doctors wanted Gallegos to stay in Houston. But doing so would have given Republicans enough votes to pass a voter identification bill.
Just say the bill is dead, take it off the calendar Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, and it’s over.
[UPDATE]: Capitol Letters is reporting he’ll stay through Noon tomorrow:
“It’s very important to me,” Mr. Gallegos told reporters, saying the issue was critical enough to cause him to risk some medical setbacks by traveling to Austin after undergoing medical tests in Houston on Friday. He also said he believes Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Senate Republicans would bring the voter ID bill to the floor “in a New York second” if he were not present. Mr. Gallegos plans to remain until at least noon on Wedesday, 12 hours before the deadline for all bills to be passed out of the Senate. “They should be able to filibuster it for 12 hours,” he said, referring to other Democratic opponents of the measure. All 11 Democrats are against the bill, just enough to block action on the proposal under the Senate’s so-called two-thirds rule.
Eye on Williamson » Fraudulent Fraud Allegations Behind Voter ID Bill said,
May 22, 2007 at 12:45 am
[...] kept Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst from bringing HB 218 (”Voter ID”) up in the Senate Monday. Reports have surfaced that Gallegos’ physician will insist on taking the Senator back to Houston by noon Tuesday. [...]