05.24.09
GOP voter suppression bill continues to hold up legislature
GOP Donor Bob Perry Looms Large in GOP House Caucus.
EOW’s been writing about the connection between Voter ID and the upcoming 2011 redistricting. This Burka post, Voter ID: The real stakes, shows why The GOP is so insistent on forcing this legislation through, this session.
In a phone interview earlier today, Craig Eiland told me that the Carter-Baker commission testified that Voter I.D. would result in 150,000 voters being disenfranchised statewide. That is an average of 1,000 per legislative district. If this average held true, based on the electoral numbers, Democrats would lose 7 seats in the House
Those seven house seats are key to the GOP getting back control of the Texas House, which this near tie in partisan split has taken away. So it should be no surprise that Texas GOP “sugar daddy” Bob Perry is in the middle of this. As John Coby points out, even though his builder protection agency - TRCC - is going to sunset, he still controls the Texas GOP.
As you might recall, Bob Perry’s spokesman, “Anthony Holm has been hired by the House Republican Caucus for message development and communication assistance, QR learned today.” (thanks to Quorum Report)
Friendswood’s own Larry Taylor seems to be taking direction from Perry, and like Perry, is refusing to agree to a compromise allowing bills to be heard out of order and putting the work of the people before the work of the republican party. Holm/Taylor will not budge. Perry refused to compromise on his pet commission and look what happened. It is dead.
Holm/Taylor claims that Voter ID is so important that it must be heard. But if it was so important why didn’t they proposed this in 2003 when they had full control of the House? Or in 2005, or 2007? Each year they lost more seats. Now on the brink of being the Minority party again, Voter ID is the pressing issue.
Let’s see what Bob Perry is going to do. Maybe he will abolish the republican party also.
BOR has more on Perry, Bob Perry Consultant, House Republicans Reject Compromise.
More from STX Chisme adds this, What the current Voter ID stand off shows us about Republicans and Democrats.
Now, on to the House where Joe Straus presides over a 75-74 House. Joe overthrew King Craddick by promising to lead in a reasonable way, i.e. not the Republican preferred, top down, autocratic, Craddick style.
“I’ve been asked about exerting leadership,” Straus told The Dallas Morning News on Saturday, pointing to what he called the “razor thin” partisan divide in the House. “The most important thing I can do is be a facilitator and keep people talking about something that is pretty much intractable.”
Facilitator? Way to go, Joe! But, that’s not the Republican way.
Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said that while the speaker has met with Democrats and they have offered compromises, he seems to be unable to deliver the GOP.
There seems to be a consensus, and the leadership have arrived at a win-win conclusion, but when the respective caucuses meet among themselves, the net result is always a hard-line Republican response,” Martinez Fischer said. “That’s not characteristic of Speaker Straus. So I have to question who’s running the Republican caucus.”
As for the Democrats, they’re standing tall, forcing a show down. If Republicans really want Voter ID to be the most important piece of legislation this cycle, then it is.
Perry seems to have stepped into the void that used to be filled by James Leininger. The Democrats are willing to make a deal to get bills passed before time runs out, The GOP’s master won’t let them.