The Redistricting Wars Redux
By Dr. Herny Flores, NewsTaco
Bueno, the redistricting wars have started again in Texas; they began Wednesday, May 29 in San Antonio. Well, at least the latest chapter of the redistricting wars started? The commencement of the Texas Redistricting Wars began in 1974 when the Federal Court imposed single member districts on the state’s congressional and state representative districts.
The basic issue in the most recent chapter of the war is whether the Federal District Court of the Western District of Texas should make the current map, which the court designed, final map that will be used for congressional elections until the next census is taken in 2020. There are, however, some complications.
The first complication is that the governor, Rick Perry or “Governor Good Hair,” called a special session of the state legislature to decide whether or not to accept the federal district court’s plan as the final one. ¿Que?
Yup! You got it. The state legislature has to decide whether to accept the federal court ordered plan as the law. The governor, in his directive to the legislature, has ordered or directed them to accept the plan. All this sounds like a formality but there is an insidious reason behind the governor’s thinking. First, let me tell you about another complication.
The attorney’s representing clients who challenged the original redistricting maps disagree with the governor’s position. They want the case reopened and the data files updated with the most recent census information on Latino citizenship. Their argument is that the new data, just recently released, were generated by the 2010 census process. The original redistricting map used old data based on 2005 projections. So, the plaintiffs, who included LULAC, NAACP, Texas Democratic Party, Latino state assembly folks, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and more, want the finalized map to have the updated Latino citizenship data arguing that additional Latino majority congressional districts can be drawn. The plaintiffs argue the new data will dramatically change the boundaries of several south, west and north Texas congressional districts.
The State of Texas doesn’t want change because they feel that if the new updated data are used Republicans will lose some congressional and state house of representative seats. Governor Good Hair and the GOP fear this will be the first step toward changing the political color of the state from “red” to “blue.”
Texas, unlike many other states, is the “big enchilada” of the political environment for everyone. If Texas goes “blue” it will be a sign that the GOP will move further away from being a presidential party. If Texas goes “blue” Republicans fear becoming a minority party. If Texas goes “blue” my prediction will come true that the GOP will die, cease to exist and they will have no one to blame but themselves.
Recently, I heard a radio talk show featuring leaders of various factions within the GOP and to a person they agreed that their time was coming to an end because of the way the extreme wing of the party has been dominating the party’s public policy positions. One of the reasons Texas may begin turning “blue” is not just new data reflecting a dramatically changing demography but the extremists within the GOP have created an unwelcoming environment for the “new” demographic.
Governor Good Hair has every right to want the state legislature to approve of the federal court’s plan because he sees the writing on the wall. If he allows the plans to change, he can say good-bye to his presidential ambitions and those of future GOPers.
If the state legislature follows the governor’s lead then what you will see are the attorneys for all those plaintiffs marching straight down to the United States District Court, filing more law suits and another chapter of the Texas redistricting wars will begin.
One sad thing I noticed was that during the entire May 29th hearing in the Federal Court House in San Antonio, I only heard one reference to racial discrimination. Gary Bledsoe, the NAACP’s attorney, reminded the court that beneath the redistricting law suit was racial discrimination. After all, the reason they were in court was that racial discrimination was what was really behind the redistricting process.
