Sorry Martin Frost supporters/Tom DeLay bashers...

[Tear Down This Wall]

SCOTUS upholds all but one district in the 2003 redistricting plan:

In the lead opinion for the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, "We reject the statewide challenge to Texas' redistricting as an unconstitutional political gerrymander and the challenge to the redistricting in the Dallas area as a violation of the Voting Rights Act."

[SicEmBaylor]

First just let me say that I hate Tom DeLay.

An elected Federal official more or less having free reign to redraw a state's lines is disgusting to me on sooo many levels. Doing it in order to give your own party such a blatant advantage is also disgusting to me no matter who is doing it.

Why is it that moving hispanics out of a district is rascial gerrymandering, but moving them back into a district is not???

Every Congresional distrct in the country should be drawn as close to 50/50 Dem/GOP as possible.

[Tear Down This Wall]

First just let me say that I hate Tom DeLay.

An elected Federal official more or less having free reign to redraw a state's lines is disgusting to me on sooo many levels. Doing it in order to give your own party such a blatant advantage is also disgusting to me no matter who is doing it.

Why is it that moving hispanics out of a district is rascial gerrymandering, but moving them back into a district is not???

Every Congresional distrct in the country should be drawn as close to 50/50 Dem/GOP as possible.

First, marijuana is bad for you. Stop smoking it before you post.

Second, SEE First.

Third, DeLay got me and my girlfriend passes to the 1992 GOP Convention in Houston. Hooray! Wee-hee! Thanks, Tom!

[NormanPride]

How does this make him not an ***?

[JohnnyMack]

Is he still a crook?

[Sooner24]

First just let me say that I hate Tom DeLay.

An elected Federal official more or less having free reign to redraw a state's lines is disgusting to me on sooo many levels. Doing it in order to give your own party such a blatant advantage is also disgusting to me no matter who is doing it.

Why is it that moving hispanics out of a district is rascial gerrymandering, but moving them back into a district is not???

Every Congresional distrct in the country should be drawn as close to 50/50 Dem/GOP as possible.

Like this?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Illinois_District_4_2004.png


The unusual "earmuff" shape of the 4th Congressional District of Illinois connects two Hispanic neighborhoods while remaining contiguous by narrowly tracing Interstate 294.

[OCUDad]

First, marijuana is bad for you. Stop smoking it before you post.Worse. It's Zima. Baylor boys are too wussy for weed. :D

[Tear Down This Wall]

How does this make him not an ***?

Part of the Democrats' complaint with him is that the redistricting plan he helped create was unconstitutional. SCOTUS says that except for one district, the plan is fine. Dallas and Houston got the all clear, and that's what's important to us here.

So, to all Texas Democrats who dragged this whole thing out to the bitter end...stick it where the sun don't shine! DeLay wins again, you tired old prune juice-drinking, aardvark-hating, hybrid car-driving, pickle peckers!

[JohnnyMack]

Oh, black/white good/evil logic. Goodie.

[SoonerInKCMO]

We're supposed to hate aardvarks now? :confused:

[Tear Down This Wall]

No, but it illustrates the pointlessness of taking the redistricting thingy to the Supreme Court. It was as pointless as hating on aardvarks. When you hate on aardvarks, no one wins.

[NormanPride]

....But he's still an ***, right?

:D

[Tear Down This Wall]

No, but Martin Frost, the Democrat who lost his own gerrymandered district still is. Thank to DeLay & pals, we have no more Martin Frost as a DFW rep in D.C. That's huge for us.

[KaiserSooner]

DeLay wins again!

Sorry for the snicker, but I believe he's still under indictment. So the dirty, crooked bastard hasn't won anything yet.

[KaiserSooner]

No, but it illustrates the pointlessness of taking the redistricting thingy to the Supreme Court.

It wasn't pointless at all. In fact, what you've left out is that the Supreme Court has clarified the law....state legislatures, according to their interpretation, can redistrict whenever they choose, as many times as they wish. That clarification sure as hell isn't pointless.

[leavingthezoo]

No, but Martin Frost, the Democrat who lost his own gerrymandered district still is. Thank to DeLay & pals, we have no more Martin Frost as a DFW rep in D.C. That's huge for us. RAH! GO TEAM GO!

so, on election day when the votes are tallied and your guy wins, do you yank your shirt up over your head and scream, "SCOOOOOOOOOOOORE!"

because it seems like you might. and i kinda get a kick out of imagining it.

[soonerscuba]

DeLay wins again

If your definition of "win" is being an alcoholic most of your life, ****ing women who aren't your wife, getting so drunk on power that your ethics reprimands need a series of volumes, and being kicked out of office for being such a dickhead that even fellow Republicans want nothing to do with you and shamed into resignation under a cloud of indictments. Then, yes, he did win. Oh, he also won $250,000 in a product liability suit which killed his father and later railed against others who do the exact same thing. Good guy, though.

[Tear Down This Wall]

You're wrong on both points, Kaiser. The indictment has nothing to do with Texas Democrats bitching and moaning about the redistricting plan. They chose the fight, made DeLay the poster boy for it, and lost...again.

On the second issue, it was pointless because the main seat the Democrats were unhappy about losing still will not be regained. So, they pushed various parts of the state government down here to waste time and money in their lawsuit and they lost. Screw them. They can cry forever and a day about losing Frost's seat. But, until they actually do something to make Texans want to give them power again, they can suck hind tit...or so says the U.S. Supreme Court! :D

Thank you Delay...thank you W...thank you Justices Roberts and Alito!

[NormanPride]

:les: GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

[Tear Down This Wall]

If your definition of "win" is being an alcoholic most of your life, ****ing women who aren't your wife, getting so drunk on power that your ethics reprimands need a series of volumes, and being kicked out of office for being such a dickhead that even fellow Republicans want nothing to do with you and shamed into resignation under a cloud of indictments. Then, yes, he did win. Oh, he also won $250,000 in a product liability suit which killed his father and later railed against others who do the exact same thing. Good guy, though.

Yes, it's a win. The redistricting map is constitutional, that's the issue. But, you can run along with all of the as of yet unproven stuff if you like. Today, The Hammer struck again. Sorry, so sorry Texas Dems...but, thanks for running off enough voters over the last 40 years to give the GOP the power in Texas that led to Martin Frost's demise.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/1020051delay1.jpg

[JohnnyMack]

You'd prolly vote for Jeffrey Dahmer if he ran as a R, wouldn't you?

[Tear Down This Wall]

No. Nor would I vote for Lincoln Chaffee, John McCain, Chuck Hagel, Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Orrin Hatch, or Lindsey Graham. All Republican I wouldn't vote for.

[NormanPride]

¡DeLay a la corte, pasando a Kennedy que los sprints más allá de la línea de la parte posteriora del Demócrata! ¡Kennedy a DeLay! ¡Aquí viene la helada a defender! ¡DeLay lanzamientos! ¡Goooooooooooooooooooooool!



Apologies to the spanish-speaking for the babelfish mangling of your language. :D

[Tear Down This Wall]

¡DeLay a la corte, pasando a Kennedy que los sprints más allá de la línea de la parte posteriora del Demócrata! ¡Kennedy a DeLay! ¡Aquí viene la helada a defender! ¡DeLay lanzamientos! ¡Goooooooooooooooooooooool!



Apologies to the spanish-speaking for the babelfish mangling of your language. :D

http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/05/af/0684833409-books-resized200.jpg

[soonerscuba]

But, you can run along with all of the as of yet unproven stuff if you like.

My curiosity is getting the better of me. Please explain how any one of those things I said earlier is untrue.

Keep in mind I'm attacking the man's vile and hypocritical character, not the decision of the SCOTUS.

[JohnnyMack]

No. Nor would I vote for Lincoln Chaffee, John McCain, Chuck Hagel, Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Orrin Hatch, or Lindsey Graham. All Republican I wouldn't vote for.

But you definitely voted for the most unrepublican POTUS in the history of these here United States, now didn't ya?

[Tear Down This Wall]

I absolutely did...twice! And, I voted for him twice as governor. And, if he ran again, I'd vote for him again...unless he killed my grandparents or something drastic, I'd vote for him. He's a good man.

[JohnnyMack]

I absolutely did...twice! And, I voted for him twice as governor. And, if he ran again, I'd vote for him again...unless he killed my grandparents or something drastic, I'd vote for him. He's a good man.

And a true Republican. Doing your avatar proud.

[Tear Down This Wall]

My curiosity is getting the better of me. Please explain how any one of those things I said earlier is untrue.

Keep in mind I'm attacking the man's vile and hypocritical character, not the decision of the SCOTUS.

An indictment is simply a charge. It's conclusive of nothing because a grand jury doesn't hear anyone's evidence but the prosecutor's. Trials are a different animal. There has been no trial for DeLay yet.

Also, hypocritical is a word used far too often these days. For example, if I formerly did something bad, but then reformed and tried to persuade others that my change of life was a good thing, I'm simply repentant and renewed. There nothing hypocritical about that. However, if I'm drinking nightly, carousing, and then getting up and telling people not to drink and carouse, it's hypocrisy.

Tom DeLay is no different than millions of people throughout history to gave up partying at some point in his life. There's nothing hypocritical about that. It's simply a lifestyle change for the better. I say, more power to him.

However, the issue of this post is the Texas Democrats' ill-fated attempt to get the latest redistricting plan in Texas overturned. They used Tom DeLay as their poster boy for getting it overturned. It didn't work. They lost, DeLay and Texas Republicans who spent decades in Democratic Party gerrymandered districts win.

That's politics.

[Tear Down This Wall]

And a true Republican. Doing your avatar proud.

I agree. You assume the Repubs to be a monolithic bunch. Nothing could be further from the truth. I can vote for any candidate even if I disagree with him on some issues. There is no candidate ever, nor will there be, who can make all people happy at all times. So, in those elections where you chose to vote, you vote for who you think is most likely to represent most of your views. For me, that's been W.

[JohnnyMack]

I agree. You assume the Repubs to be a monolithic bunch. Nothing could be further from the truth. I can vote for any candidate even if I disagree with him on some issues. There is no candidate ever, nor will there be, who can make all people happy at all times. So, in those elections where you chose to vote, you vote for who you think is most likely to represent most of your views. For me, that's been W.

Then why the **** do you insist on prattling on about how once again the Dims got beat? Why is it ALWAYS us vs. them? See how that can get annoying?

And I assume both parties to be worthless sacks of **** who have no vision or nutsack beyond what their PAC's tell them to think.

[soonerscuba]

An indictment is simply a charge. It's conclusive of nothing because a grand jury doesn't hear anyone's evidence but the prosecutors. Trials are a different animal. There has been no trial for DeLay yet.

Also, hypocritical is a word used far too often these days. For example, if I former did something bad, but then reformed and tried to persuade others that my change of life was a good thing, I'm simply repentant and renewed. There nothing hypocritical about that. However, if I'm drinking nightly, carousing, and then getting up and telling people not to drink and carouse, it's hypocrisy.

Tom DeLay is no different than millions of people throughout history to gave up partying at some point in his life. There's nothing hypocritical about that. It's simply a lifestyle change for the better. I say, more power to him.

However, the issue of this post is the Texas Democrats' ill-fated attempt to get the latest redistricting plan in Texas overturned. They used Tom DeLay as their poster boy for getting it overturned. It didn't work. They lost, DeLay and Texas Republicans who spent decades in Democratic Party gerrymandered districts win.

That's politics.

Well, maybe you should go back and reread. I never said he was guilty of a crime. I said he was a drunk (true), laying the wood to chicks who aren't your wife (true), multiple House ethics violations (true), kicked out of leadership by Republicans (true), resigned while under indictment (true).

If my father was killed by a improper airbag, I sue Ford for $15m, eventually walk away with $250,000 in settlement, then publicly decry personal injury claims, I would be a hypocrite in about 99% of the world's eyes, DeLay is no different.

Listen, I get where you are coming from, I personally like Ted Kennedy, but it would be kinda stupid for me to try to defend the man's character.

[Scott D]

All this thread has proven is why it'd be a good idea to just give Texas back to Mexico in exchange for them enforcing their own border.

[KaiserSooner]

Back to the "pointless" Supreme Court decision, it'll be interesting to see what those states do who elect Democratic majorities in their respective legislatures and elect a Democrat for governor this fall.

I doubt the whole Texas redistricting issue and subsequent Supreme Court decision will seem so "pointless" to TDTW then.

[Sooner24]

If your definition of "win" is being an alcoholic most of your life, ****ing women who aren't your wife, getting so drunk on power that your ethics reprimands need a series of volumes, and being kicked out of office for being such a dickhead that even fellow Republicans want nothing to do with you and shamed into resignation under a cloud of indictments. Then, yes, he did win. Oh, he also won $250,000 in a product liability suit which killed his father and later railed against others who do the exact same thing. Good guy, though.


Up until this I thought you were talking about Clinton. Then I read the part about a party having the nads to kick out a scum bag like that and realized only the Republicans have the guts to do something like that.

[Sooner24]

You'd prolly vote for Jeffrey Dahmer if he ran as a R, wouldn't you?


Funny you should say that. I work with this lady who drives around with a "Yellow Dog Democrat" sticker on her car. One day I guy I work with said "Christeen you would vote for Hitler if he was running as a Dem" and she stood there for almost a minute and then replied "No, I probably just wouldn't vote." :rolleyes:

[Sooner24]

Well, maybe you should go back and reread. I never said he was guilty of a crime. I said he was a drunk (true), laying the wood to chicks who aren't your wife (true), multiple House ethics violations (true), kicked out of leadership by Republicans (true), resigned while under indictment (true).

If my father was killed by a improper airbag, I sue Ford for $15m, eventually walk away with $250,000 in settlement, then publicly decry personal injury claims, I would be a hypocrite in about 99% of the world's eyes, DeLay is no different.

Listen, I get where you are coming from, I personally like Ted Kennedy, but it would be kinda stupid for me to try to defend the man's character.


And that's the kind of person you want running this country? Boy that's just sad.

[soonerscuba]

only the Republicans have the guts to do something like that.

And you would also be wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Wright

Party leaders are never kicked out by opposition power. Why? You might ask, because a minority doesn't have the power to do so. It is about political viability. DeLay was no longer valued to Republicans, quite the opposite, he was a rally point for Democrats and more importantly, moderates, everywhere in the country, so he gets the boot. Replace the R with a D and the exact same thing would happen.

And no, I wouldn't want Ted Kennedy to run the country. I like his ideas, and we share a lot of positions, but he isn't viable, that is why I don't defend him. Hell, the guy is a walking punchline, and I like a good laugh. As for Clinton, we all know the man made some mistakes, but his were of a personal nature and he will be judged for them. I loved him as a policy wonk and speaker, but his ethics also leave much to be desired. But at least he hasn't been brazen enough to publicly decry getting head from interns.

[Sooner24]

And you would also be wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Wright

Party leaders are never kicked out by opposition power. Why? You might ask, because a minority doesn't have the power to do so. It is about political viability. DeLay was no longer valued to Republicans, quite the opposite, he was a rally point for Democrats and more importantly, moderates, everywhere in the country, so he gets the boot. Replace the R with a D and the exact same thing would happen.

And no, I wouldn't want Ted Kennedy to run the country. I like his ideas, and we share a lot of positions, but he isn't viable, that is why I don't defend him. Hell, the guy is a walking punchline, and I like a good laugh. As for Clinton, we all know the man made some mistakes, but his were of a personal nature and he will be judged for them. I loved him as a policy wonk and speaker, but his ethics also leave much to be desired. But at least he hasn't been brazen enough to publicly decry getting head from interns.


That's because you never know when you might have another intern. :D

[SicEmBaylor]

Tom DeLay is NOT a conservative. He does NOT represent my conservative values. Any conservative who labels anyone who happens to dislike Tom DeLay as a "liberal" or "democrat" is a fool.

Tom DeLay is corrupt. Regardless of political stripe we ought to expect that our politicans at least remain reasonably honest. DeLay's K-Street project is what has resulted in a Republican Party way the hell too cozy with power that has abandoned its foundational roots. Anyone who can't see that is a partisan fool.

Tom DeLay is NOT a conservative. As the House Majority leader, where I remind you appropriations bills must originate, DeLay oversaw the largest expansion of government since Lyndon B. Johnson and that is WITHOUT including defense related expenditures so don't even start to give me that crap. He has supported the Presiden't "big government" conservatism every damned step of the way without enough principles to tell the freaking White House "no" on ONE SINGLE BUCK of Federal spending. When principled conservatives in the House stood against President Bush's No Child Left Behind and the Medicare Prescription Drug program, DeLay threatened each of them with cutting their NRCC funding, finding a primary opponet to run against them, made it known along with Rove that they were no longer welcome in the White House, threatened their committee assignments, and did everything within their power to stop these fine men from acting on principle.

DeLay's role in the redistricting of Texas is nothing short of disgusting. Anyone who knows the inside story of what went on down there can tell you that. The idea of having the entire process more or less run out of the office of a FEDERAl Congressman on what should be a STATE matter is entirely freaking inappropriate. I don't care if the Democrats did gerrymander the hell out of Texas prior to the new plan, two wrongs don't make a right.

When my group, thank god, declined to endorse DeLay in the primary his campaign got on the phone with our alumni and rallied them together to threaten us with witholding donations that we need for the organization to run if we didn't issue an endorsement from DeLay. Thank god we didn't allow ourselves to compromise principles based on some strong-arming former members. But this is a VERY typical way in which DeLay operates.

No, I don't smoke weed. Never have, never will. But if you think you can "out conservative" me by defending DeLay then you better find another bucko to tusstle with.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

DeLay will beat the silly-as*s indictments by hissoner Ronnie Earl, and be back to torment dims and SicEmBaylor again, probably before too long.

[GottaHavePride]

Maybe he will. That doesn't change the fact that DeLay is the paycheck-cash-advance-short-term-loan-business of the political world. By which I mean "shady character willing to **** anyone over for a buck".

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Maybe he will. That doesn't change the fact that DeLay is the paycheck-cash-advance-short-term-loan-business of the political world. By which I mean "shady character willing to **** anyone over for a buck".Tom DeLay knows the enemy, and takes the war seriously.

[Vaevictis]

*shrug* If you're fighting a "war" over principles, and you abandon those principles in the process, you've already lost.

Do you remember how they railed against big government? How they railed against the government infringing on civil rights? How they railed against Democratic party corruption, even the appearance of impropriety? Do you remember the Contract With America? Or how the Republicans are supposed to be the fiscal conservatives?

Where did all that go? Keep it up guys; eventually, it won't be a matter of whether you win , but rather a matter of how much damage you actually do before you realize you've lost. Assuming you even care at that point, that is. By then, it might be that all you guys care about is maintaining power like some third world dictator.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

*shrug* If you're fighting a "war" over principles, and you abandon those principles in the process, you've already lost.

Do you remember how they railed against big government? How they railed against the government infringing on civil rights? How they railed against Democratic party corruption, even the appearance of impropriety? Do you remember the Contract With America? Or how the Republicans are supposed to be the fiscal conservatives?

Where did all that go? Keep it up guys; eventually, it won't be a matter of whether you win , but rather a matter of how much damage you actually do before you realize you've lost. Assuming you even care at that point, that is. By then, it might be that all you guys care about is maintaining power like some third world dictator.Some kind of a concession speech? I doubt the battle will ever end.

[Vaevictis]

Consession speech? Not hardly. Just pointing out that in a battle over principles and values, abandonment of those principles and values constitutes a loss.

I think the Republican party has the right "platform" values to maintain a majority or at worst an even split in the long term, but it doesn't mean a damned thing if they don't stick to them.

Sooner or later, the base will catch on and won't turn out. If you hadn't noticed, you can already begin to see the stress fractures appearing. They haven't reached critical mass yet by any means, but the fact that they can be seen at all is telling. 5 years ago, you wouldn't have seen even a hint of them. When Bush first got into office, Congress gave him whatever he wanted without even a murmur of dissent. You're starting to see some now; in small amounts, granted, but that it's there at all is a major difference.

If the Republican party doesn't turn around and start walking the walk with respect to the platform, I expect you'll see a Democratic Congress within 6 years, and a Democratic White House (with a Democratic Congress) in 10. And the Dems won't have to do anything to bring it about; they can win it by default at that point.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Consession speech? Not hardly. Just pointing out that in a battle over principles and values, abandonment of those principles and values constitutes a loss.

I think the Republican party has the right "platform" values to maintain a majority or at worst an even split in the long term, but it doesn't mean a damned thing if they don't stick to them.

Sooner or later, the base will catch on and won't turn out. If you hadn't noticed, you can already begin to see the stress fractures appearing. They haven't reached critical mass yet by any means, but the fact that they can be seen at all is telling. 5 years ago, you wouldn't have seen even a hint of them. When Bush first got into office, Congress gave him whatever he wanted without even a murmur of dissent. You're starting to see some now; in small amounts, granted, but that it's there at all is a major difference.

If the Republican party doesn't turn around and start walking the walk with respect to the platform, I expect you'll see a Democratic Congress within 6 years, and a Democratic White House (with a Democratic Congress) in 10. And the Dems won't have to do anything to bring it about; they can win it by default at that point.Abandonement of principles and values is truly a loss. Conservatives have been let down a lot by both congress and the pres. However, they have done some things right, and the horror of having the avowed socialists running the govt. is very much a fear that most conservatives have.
I am hoping this sill-as*ed bill on immigration will either be perpetually stalled out, or the Senate capitulates, and goes heavy on the tightening of the borders issue. That will go a long way towards reviving the repub base. Hittin' the sack. Good night, folks.

[royalfan5]

No. Nor would I vote for Lincoln Chaffee, John McCain, Chuck Hagel, Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Orrin Hatch, or Lindsey Graham. All Republican I wouldn't vote for.
Outside of Iraq, Chuck Hagel is one of the most consistent voters on the traditional Republican principals. He actually tries to control spending here and there.

[NormanPride]

Why the hell are people defending this *******? He's corrupt! He's a bad person! No redeeming qualities! He'd screw you over for a nickel! Honestly, people. We have enough smart, capable people in these United States that we don't need someone like Tom DeLay running it.

[Scott D]

For Tuba....

It's nice to see that checks and balances in this government still work. :D

[OklahomaTuba]

Outside of Iraq, Chuck Hagel is one of the most consistent voters on the traditional Republican principals. He actually tries to control spending here and there.
Any politico can control spending here and there.

Its his lack of commitment to our national security that is disturbing to most real conservatives.

[Vaevictis]

Its his lack of commitment to our party line that is disturbing to most real Republicans.

Isn't that what you really meant?

[royalfan5]

Any politico can control spending here and there.

Then why don't any of them do it?

[NormanPride]

They why don't any of them do it?

This is an example of an innocent rhetorical question that people can take really, really wrongly.