During public testimony in the Election Committee, Republican Representative Betty Brown said something very interesting.
"Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese - I understand it's a rather difficult language - do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?"
Now the background.
Rep. Brown, a Republican, made it clear that nothing is sacred that gets in the way of Texas Republicans' extreme partisan agenda, asking a witness testifying on the problems the Republican Voter ID bill would create for Chinese-American Texans. That's when she said the above mention line.
According to the Texas Democratic Party, Rep. Brown then went on to put the onus on those who would be prevented from voting by the Republican Voter ID bill to figure out their own solution, saying to the aforementioned witness, "I see a need here for young people like you, who are obviously very bright, to come up with something that would work for you and then let us see if we can't make it work for us." While Rep. Brown later tried to back out of her statements, the damage was done.
The Texas Democratic Party is now asking for Rep. Brown to apologize.
"It's already shameful enough that the Republican Elections Committee members are trying to suppress the votes of countless Texans with their partisan Voter ID bill, and now Rep. Brown is adding insult to injury with her disrespectful comments," said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie. "We are calling on Rep. Betty Brown to apologize for her offensive and out-of-touch remarks."
The Asian American community is one of the fastest growing populations in Texas. If a law is going to disenfranchise a group of people, the solution cannot and should not be for a person to sacrifice their culture in order to have the right to vote.
As the Asian American Action Fund pointed clarified, "Texas has a rather substantial APA voting population, including a fair number of Republicans. Not to mention, current and previous elected officials including ex-Rep. Martha Wong and sitting Rep. Angie Chen Button."
AJ Durrani, President of the Asian American Democrats of Texas added to Chairman Richie's appeal. Durrani e-mailed the members of AADT saying:
Members of AADT,
On Wednesday April 8, during the Texas House of Representatives testimony on the Voter ID Bill, State Representative Betty Brown, R-Terrell, made shockingly intolerant and insensitive remarks about Asian Americans. An article from the Houston Chronicle.Com is provided below for details, as is a statement from Texas Democratic Party Chairman, Boyd Ritchie.
State Representative Betty Brown's racially insensitive remarks have no place in America, and she should immediately and unconditionally apologize for her remarks. Please contact State Representative Betty Brown about her unacceptable remarks and ask her to apologize immediately in a public forum.
Her email address is: [mailto:betty.brown@house.state.tx.us betty.brown@house.state.tx.us]
Her postal mail and fax addresses, and phone numbers are as follows:
Capitol Address
Room E1.404, Capitol Extension
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0458
(512) 463-2040 Fax
District Address
108 S. Pinkerton, Suite 105
Athens, TX 75751
(903) 675-9500
(903) 677-6773 Fax
This is the Republican solution to the many problems with Voter Suppression legislation. If you are negatively effected by this ill conceived and unnecessary law, you should make sacrifices. If you are unwilling to sacrifice your job, your culture, your marriage, or anything else that may prevent you from voting, then you didn't want to vote bad enough.
Maybe that is why former Texas Republican Party Political Director Royal Masset estimated that a photo ID requirement would reduce Democratic turnout in Texas by 3%.
Mexican American Legislative Caucus chairman, and recent blog newcomer, Trey Martinez-Fischer has found a way to bring some levity to the situation. Once you get done asking for Rep. Brown to apologize, you can at least find out what your new name can be here. Let me introduce you to Elise Hughes KVUE's new political reporter. She may look familiar. Sort of like Jennifer Kim.
Update: Thanks to a friend on facebook, we now have the entire question and answer period between Ramey Ko and Rep. Betty Brown. There a couple really great points and our friend Ramey does a great job testifying.
Early this afternoon, the Texas legislature debated Senate Bill 297 by Senator Leticia Van De Putte.
The bill is intended to provide support to the men and women who have served our country and are ready to go to any of our public universities.
According to the bill analysis:
Currently, veterans who are not Texans but who want to attend a public college or university in Texas are required to pay out-of-state tuition and fees until they have lived in Texas for one year. Non-Texas veterans who may be interested in settling in Texas may be hesitant to attend college here because of the out-of-state tuition costs. Senate Bill 297 would deliver real support to veterans while helping strengthen Texas' economy by attracting and keeping talent in the state. Expanding in-state tuition benefits to military veterans and their spouses and children is a fitting way to recognize those who have served, led, and protected our country.
SB 297 would allow veterans and their spouses and children to pay in-state tuition and fees without regard to the length of time they have resided in Texas.
Democrat Marc Veasey offered an amendment during the House debate to extend these benefits to the children of active duty soldiers fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan.
It's not surprising the amendment and bill easily passed. However, it is surprising nearly two dozen House Republicans voted against tuition benefits for the kids of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Who were the Republicans who opposed helping children and our military?
Fred Betty Brown
Warren Chisum
Joe Crabb
Tom Craddick
Brandon Creighton
Gary Elkins
Dan Flynn
Kelly Hancock
Will Hartnett
Charlie Howard
Ken Legle
Debbie Riddle
Ralph Sheffield
Mark Shelton
John Smithee
David Swinford
Vicki Truitt
Randy Weber
Beverly Woolley
John Zerwas
To be clear.
A Democratic State Senator from San Antonio and a Democratic State Representative from Fort Worth authored and amended a piece of legislation to help military families get an education in our public universities. The amendment is projected to have little fiscal impact on the state budget, but it will improve the lives of families who have made huge sacrifices for our state and country. It overwhelmingly passed, but 20 Republicans felt so strongly opposed to the amendment they decided to create a 13% minority and oppose active duty soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As the right wing of the Republican Party continues to be marginalized and Democratic gains continue, expect that percentage to decrease.
Update: According to Vince Leibowitz, Chief of Staff for Rep. Sheffield, Molly B. Quirk, is saying he is changing his mind.
The Rep. Sheffield did not vote against the amendment. The unofficial tally is online, he changed his vote to aye. He is a co-author on the amendment to the amendment.
Update: Rep. Veasey's office had the following press release to elaborate on the amendment.
State Representative Marc Veasey (D-Fort Worth) today passed an amendment to Senate Bill 297 that will exempt the children of US Armed Forces personnel who are deployed in a foreign combat zone from tuition costs associated with attendance at a state institution of higher education during semesters when one or both of their parents are so deployed. The amendment passed with a vote of 125 members for to 20 members opposed.
"The purpose of this amendment is to honor the sacrifices made by our soldiers and their family members during times of war. Many of these soldiers have been deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan for years at a stretch, and the personal and economic costs to their families can be severe. This tuition exemption is a small way that we as a state can give back to these families who have given us so much," said Rep. Veasey.
Over 150,000 Americans are presently deployed in the Iraq and Afghanistan warzone, including many thousands of men and women from Texas. The Veasey amendment will open doors of opportunity for the college-age children of those soldiers deployed from Texas by sharply reducing the cost of higher education - a particularly important benefit during this time of economic hardship.
"Time and again, we've asked these men and women to put their lives on the line. I'm glad to see such a strong majority of my fellow representatives join me to provide what help we can to these soldiers' families," said Rep. Veasey.
SB 1364 would "curtail te practice of pulling students out of classes to receive additional tutoring, primarily for TAKS remediation."
Groups like the Texas Music Educators Association are pushing the bill hard, as they tell "horror stories" of students consistently missing class for TAKS tutoring.
The bill will help protect students' opportunties to study fine arts and other enrichment subjects so important t their success.
Students should not be pulled from one academic subject (e.g., fine arts) and miss out on the knowledge to study for another.
Grades should not be given to students for a subject from which the stuent is consistently absent for remediation in another subject.
There has to be a way to give extra help to the students who need it while still allowing them to be exposed to beneficial fine arts classes like Music and Art.
While most do not expect any opposition on the floor, if you would like to contact your senator about this bill, you can find their contact information here.
Possible sweeteners floated by Dewhurst include a two- to-four-year grace period before identification demands are enforced...
If this is such an urgent and immediate problem, why would Republicans be willing to wait four years to make it law? Try to somehow explain why they would be willing to offer a compromise if they truly believed this...
"Voter fraud is a very real threat to the legitimacy of our electoral system, and in a close election could very well compromise the results of what voters would rightly expect to be a fair and honest election." -- Republican State Senator Craig Estes (Source)
...or if they truly believed this...
""The voting system we have today is easy to cheat...To assume there is no voting fraud in Texas is laughable." -- Republican State Sentaor Troy Fraser (Source)
...or if they truly believed this...
Senator West: Is this more important than dealing with tuition deregulation?
Senator Williams: Senator West, I believe that it is. (Source)
Why on earth would anyone be so insistent on passing legislation that would not even take effect until 2012? Especially considering that there is such an incredible amount of evidence to suggest it's not necessary? Couldn't they commission a state-sponsored, bipartisan study and wait two years? They could still have plenty of time to pass the law and have it in place by 2012 -- or are they worried that a study would prove what everyone already knows: this is a solution in search of a problem, that voter impersonation is a non-issue, and that if we really want to curb voter fraud and improve the integrity of our elections, there are plenty of other policies out there that can do the trick.
Of course, maybe it has nothing to do with policy. Maybe it has to do with politics, as TX House Republican Elections Chair Todd Smith admitted in this story in the Statesman, "Voter ID measure set to head back to House" --
"I believe to the bottom of my heart, if I was putting on my partisan Republican hat, the best thing that could possibly happen would be for this legislation to be narrowly defeated, so Republican candidates could go into these marginal (could go either way) districts and blame Democrats for elections being less secure than they could be," Smith said.
Yup. There you have it. Republicans don't care about voter ID -- they're willing to delay it. Republicans just want a wedge issue they can use against Democrats. And you don't even have to take my liberal commie word for it:
I'm just repeating what Texas Republicans are saying.
After insisting for months that the Voter ID bill carried a fiscal note of zero, it appears Senate Republicans are changing their tune.
Chairman Steve Ogden offered up a $2 million rider that was contingent on the passage of the bill.
Ogden was admitting what Republicans have been hiding for a long, long time. If Voter ID does manage to pass, the State will be obligated to spend millions of dollars to educate people about the changes. Even then, of course, thousands of people will fall through the cracks and be denied their right to vote.
On Monday, Ogden ended the Republicans' ongoing charade that Voter ID would cost the state nothing. But then, as Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) pointed out, he tried to have it both ways.
If Vote ID passes, “prudence would dictate that we provide the Secretary of State with additional funds to make sure everyone in the state of Texas knows the new rules (requiring identification at the polls),” Ogden reasoned.
“Will the fiscal note for the bill still be zero?” asked John Whitmire. Royce West suggested that the rider indicated the true cost of Voter ID was $2 million.
Ogden said he believed the fiscal note, but “I just think they (the Secretary of State’s office) need more (money).”
“That doesn’t sound like the chairman I know,” West said.
“Nobody’s perfect,” Ogden quipped.
The proposal prompted a testy exchange when Voter ID advocate Tommy Williams observed that “the very people who are complaining (about costs of the bill) are opposing what appears to be very generous funding.”
“What’s absurd is that someone is trying to have it both ways,” Whitmire shot back.
Eventually Senate Republicans will have to come clean and level with Texans about the true costs of Voter ID.
They claim that a significant amount of legal voters will not be barred from voting. They claim (most of the time, at least) that the Secretary of State's office will not need millions of dollars in funding to educate voters about the dramatic changes.
Our job, as Democrats, is to make sure the truth comes out. It is good to see Sen. Whitmire and Sen. West working to make sure that happens.
Yesterday, during the marathon 24-hour debate on Senate Bill 362, State Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay), the bill's author, committed a little gaffe that, when examined closely, has the added virtue of being true.
Update: Here's the video:
From the Texas Democratic Party:
"I have trouble hearing women’s voices." Texas Republican State Sen. Troy Fraser uttered that gaffe in response to Sen. Wendy Davis, who asked Fraser a question during Senate floor debate about SB 362, the photo Voter ID bill he filed. At the time, Sen. Fraser was likely unaware of the profound truth behind his blunder.
Indeed, Fraser was likely unaware that he uttered a statement that is very true about himself. Kirsten Gray, the TDP's Spokeswoman, had this to say about Fraser's comment:
How often does it happen that citizens gather enough petition signatures to force a city charter amendment to appear on the ballot? Apparently too often, according to Republican State Senator Jeff Wentworth.
Wentworth has filed legislation (SB 690) that would raise the petition requirement, currently five percent of registered voters, to ten percent of registered voters. In cities with more than 400,000 registered voters, there is a lower signature requirement, a fixed number of 20,000 signatures. SB 690 would eliminate this lower threshold for large cities.
Of course this bill pertains only to home-rule cities, which are the vast majority of cities in Texas with more than 5,000 residents, cities whose voters have the right of initiative as it pertains to the city charter.
I am at a loss to understand why any legislator would want to make local government less responsive to the voters!
"Stop Voter Suppression Rally", Educational Forum and Film
What: Join legislators and our coalition of organizations against Voter Suppression Legislation for a rally, educational forum, and film explaining why we need to oppose Voter ID (Photo ID) legislation and how we'll win this fight.
Yesterday, when laying out House Bill 126, which would makesalvia divinorum a controlled substance, State Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson (R-Waco) and witnesses testifying for the bill duped the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence by showing committee members a YouTube video of someone preparing to give driving lessons after smoking the substance; the video, it turns out, was from a humor site and not actually something from real life.
In a letter to Gov. Rick Perry, State Rep. Hubert Vo (D-Houston) said a website should be created to track stimulus spending in order to ensure "the strictest level of accountability and transparency."
From Rep. Vo's letter:
... I am respectfully requesting that your office create an official state website to track the money as it comes in and to show exactly where it goes. Texas taxpayers have a right to strict accountability and deserve to have this one stop online resource.
As you know, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will direct funds to your office and other state agencies for distribution to local programs. A lot of data is expected to be made available in the next few weeks. Texas taxpayers should be able to count on a simple online resource to determine where that money is being spent. Which communities are benefiting? Which federal or state contractors are being hired? Which school districts, hospitals, or other organizations are receiving this assistance -- and how are they putting it to use?
This would be a great way to open up the process and let people see exactly where this money will end up. Whether Rick Perry will decide to do it, well, that's another story.
