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Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 03:09 PM CDT
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| Here's a round-up of quotes from released statements and various newspaper articles about today's U.S. Supreme Court decision about the Texas' Congressional Redistricting. I'll do another post tomorrow, which will include more reactions as well as quotes from the numerous editorials that I imagine will be written about today's decision.
From the Supreme Court ruling, authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy:
"Texas’ redrawing of District 23’s lines amounts to vote dilution violative of §2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965…
We reject the statewide challenge to Texas redistricting as an unconstitutional political gerrymander."
From J. Gerald Hebert, a lawyer for the Democratic challengers, via Reuters:
"This case was as extreme example as one could find of raw partisan politics motivating a redistricting," Hebert said. "This decision opens the floodgates for partisan redistricting."
From State Representative Richard Raymond:
"From the very beginning, common sense told us that Laredo is one community of interest, and the only reason it was split up was to give the Republicans an unfair advantage so that they could elect another Republican to Congress from Texas -- at the expense of Hispanics, Laredo and South Texas."
From Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, via the Statesman:
"Today, the United States Supreme Court conclusively rejected broad challenges to the Texas congressional redistricting plan," he said in a written statement. "Although one district must be partially redrawn, the overall contours of the map adopted by the Texas Legislature were affirmed by the U. S. Supreme Court."
Also from the AG's office, via the Dallas Morning News:
Though Mr. Bonilla, Mr. Raymond and others said they expect at least a few districts to be affected, a spokeswoman for Mr. Abbott said that’s “not necessarily” the case. Abbott spokeswoman Angela Hale was asked how one district could be redrawn without affecting others.
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” she said.
For comments from MALDEF, Congressman Bonilla, TDP Chairman Boyd Richie, Rep. Jim Dunnam, the People for the American Way, and Congressional hopeful David T. Harris, click on "There's more." |
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| From the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the nation's leading Latino legal organization:
"The Texas Legislature chose to violate the integrity of the democratic process by intentionally removing 100,000 Latino voters from a district to try to control the election result," commented John Trasviña, MALDEF Interim President and General Counsel. "Today's ruling affirms that manipulating election districts to disadvantage one race of voters violates the Voting Rights Act and undermines our democracy," continued Trasviña.
Also from the Dallas Morning News:
Mr. Bonilla predicted a “big domino effect” across South Texas as his district is redrawn, and he defended the composition of his current turf, blaming “professional minorities” and their lawyers for stirring up racial tensions in court.
“The sad part about this ruling is that people are talking race, and in Texas we are inclusive,” Mr. Bonilla told KENS-TV in San Antonio. “We have so many counties that are majority Latino and do very well in most of them…. We still believe we were right.”
Mr. Bonilla said “there might be a close election” depending on how his district ends up reshaped, but added, “we’ll be fine.”
However, Democratic state Rep. Richard Raymond said GOP map makers illegally played the race card. He said lawmakers diluted the clout of Hispanics in Laredo, his hometown, to protect Mr. Bonilla. They were spread across two adjacent congressional districts.
“You took a city that’s 95 percent Hispanic and split it right in half -- as Justice Kennedy said -- to help an incumbent politician as opposed to helping the people,” Mr. Raymond said. “You just can’t do that.”
From TDP Chairman Boyd Richie:
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a victory for all Texans who value the rights of voters, and especially Latino voters in South Texas whose voting rights were trampled by Tom DeLay and Republican leaders in Washington and Austin in their pursuit of an unprecedented partisan redistricting scheme. We call on the District Court to act immediately to restore the voting rights of Hispanic voters in South Texas before the 2006 elections - waiting another two years for justice should not be tolerated."
From House Democratic Leader, Rep. Jim Dunnam:
Three years ago, Texas House Democrats went to Ardmore, Oklahoma to protect the voting rights of each and every Texan from Tom DeLay’s illegal and unconstitutional redistricting plan. Today the United States Supreme Court said we were right. It is immoral for Republicans to push a partisan agenda in violation of the Voting Rights Act, and the District Court should act immediately to ensure each and every Texan’s vote is counted this Fall.
From Deece Eckstein, Texas and Southwest Director of People For the American Way:
"There is an ongoing right-wing campaign to disenfranchise Americans by making it harder to register, harder to vote, and harder to have your vote make a difference," said Eckstein. "Part of that campaign is the effort by Republican members of the Texas congressional delegation to block reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. This ruling is only going to make things worse."
From David T. Harris, congressional candidate for District 6:
"A unified Texas GOP delegation continues to stall renewal of the VRA. I call on everyone to contact the Texas Delegation and demand that they allow renewal of the VRA. Today the Supreme Court handed disenfranchised voters every where a beacon of hope that their plight is not ignored in this country. While I was deployed to help a new foreign government in Iraq set up free and fair elections in their own country, I will not sit by and allow voters in ours to continue to be denied those same rights" |
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