Historic — and ridiculous — redistricting effort underway in Texas

Remember all the fun we had weeks ago when Democrats in the Texas state legislature left town and Republicans went berserk and misused the federal Department of Homeland Security? Of course you do; those were good times.

But in our fun, it was easy to forget why Democrats fled to Ardmore, Okla., in the first place. It was all about a redistricting plan for Texas crafted in Washington by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Let’s back up for a moment and look at the history. Every state legislature in the Union takes up redistricting plans after the once-a-decade census is completed. In the 1800s, legislatures would reconsider drawing district lines if the other party seized the majority. This created havoc and instability, and states quickly realized that taking on redistricting once a decade was the only real solution.

Texas, after the 2000 census, was still divided politically. Democrats maintained the majority in the Texas House and were chiefly responsible for drawing congressional district lines. Republicans blocked every plan crafted by the Dems until the matter went to court. Ultimately, judges became responsible for shaping the redistricting plan, which at the time, was exactly the way Republicans wanted it.

Then Republicans took control of the state legislature for the first time in 130 years after the November elections. Though DeLay isn’t in the state legislature and never has been, he crafted a plan to start the state’s redistricting plan all over again, this time with the GOP majority following the plan he and his DC aides had crafted.

This, in and of itself, is a fascinating poli-sci example of political power run amok. States simply aren’t supposed to re-open redistricting plans because they feel like it. To avoid the mayhem of 19th century politics, both parties have agreed across the country that doing redistricting once a decade is more than enough.

Republicans in Texas, of course, see things differently. They’ve even come up with a clever little argument to explain why they need to start redistricting over again — these lines should be drawn by lawmakers, not judges. The current one was thrown into the courts when it belonged in the legislature. We’re merely fixing a mistake from a year ago, they argue.

This is rich, to say the least. Republicans wanted this to go to court last year. They didn’t want to work with Texas Dems on a plan; they preferred to gamble and see if they won a majority in the 2002 elections (which they did). As Josh Marshall noted at Talking Points Memo, for the GOP to whine now about the efficacy of a court-drawn map is comparable to a kid killing his parents and then pleading for mercy because he’s an orphan.

So what’s up with DeLay? He sees that the GOP maintains a small lead in the U.S. House of Representatives. If he can redraw Texas’ districts, he can get rid of four, maybe as many as eight, Dems from Congress, extending the GOP’s lead and further cementing their majority for years to come.

It’s worth noting that it’s not just DeLay, it’s the Bush White House too. As an article in the Washington Post noted today, Karl Rove, Bush’s brain, has been quietly backing DeLay’s plan, pressuring lawmakers to get behind the redistricting plan, telling them the effort is “important to the president.”

Texas Dems, naturally, saw this transparent scheme for what it was — a shameless power grab. When Texas Republicans tried to ram DeLay’s plan down their throats, they chose the only option available — they left the state and denied the House a chance to vote on the plan.

When the legislative session ended without taking up redistricting, Gov. Rick Perry (R) called for a special session (which, by the way, will cost taxpayers in Texas $1.7 million). Keep in mind, redistricting isn’t necessary, the state has already implemented a redistricting plan, this is just something the Republicans want.

Why don’t the Dems just leave town again? Because it won’t work this time. In the spring, there was a firm deadline by which time the House had to pass DeLay’s scheme. They fled knowing if they could hold out for four days, they’d win.

Now, however, there is no deadline, or more accurately, there’s a moving deadline. Perry called for a 30-day session. Even if Dems left the state for the full month, Perry could simply extend the session. In other words, Dems would have to effectively leave the state indefinitely, which for practical reasons, is impossible.

The Dems are not, however, without options. The State Senate has its own filibuster-like rule, in which 11 of the body’s 31 members can block consideration of a bill. There are 12 Dems in the State Senate, some of whom are awfully conservative and/or susceptible to Republican bribes, so we’ll see what happens.

Perhaps even more important than what happens in Texas over the next month is the effect this is having elsewhere. The New York Times has an excellent article about redistricting in today’s paper that explains just how unusual the current environment is.

“For most of the past century, redistricting has been a fairly predictable though often contentious ritual,” the Times explained. “Every 10 years, state legislators would use the new census data to redraw Congressional district lines, and the party in power would usually manage to draw maps that gave it an advantage. Now, thanks to a determined effort by United States Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, with the quiet support of the White House, that tradition may be crumbling, as legislatures draw new districts whenever they have a partisan advantage.”

What does this mean? Democrats can’t sit idly by while Texas Republicans re-open the redistricting process (maybe we should call it re-redistricting) and get rid of several Dems in Congress. So, if Texas pulls this stunt, state legislatures with Democratic majorities may have little choice but to fight fire with fire.

“Democrats are threatening retaliation in New Mexico and Oklahoma, while dropping hints about taking the redistricting battle to big-game territory: Illinois and California, where far more seats are at stake,” the Times said.

Before you judge the Dems too harshly for pulling the same stunt as Republicans in Texas, remember, they didn’t start this fight. Can we blame Dems for trying to match GOP tactics, or should Dems just roll over and allow Republicans to use hard-ball tactics to cement a governing majority for the indefinite future?

Republicans like DeLay, in other words, have crafted a plan that has led to more partisan division and strife than had been previously thought possible.

When Bush ran for president three years ago, he promised to help change the “tone” of politics in America. Who knew he’d help make it worse?