— Cross-posted also at dailykos —

See the marker for the crime; someone nailed it to a street corner in Austin last year.              

   

              (Click here, for a larger image.)


           ‘R. I. P.

              Democracy,

                Killed by Tom DeLay on this spot‘


       Seen at the Corner of 38th and Ronson in Austin,

       winter 2004

               ===
Remember, the ONLY gains in the US House of Reps in 2004 by Republicans were 5 seats in Texas – handed over by DeLay's engineered redistricting. Not a single other House seat across the country.
               ===

One judge’s regret, and a lawyer’s concern …

The Texas redistricting of 2003 was first ratified 2-to-1 in January 2004 by a federal Appeals Court panel.  

      Here is the remorse of Judge T. John Ward in his partial dissent:

The [redistricting ] changes were not intended to increase minority voter participation, Ward said, but “to crush these minority voters‘ participation in the political process.”

                The judge’s quote was reprinted by the El Paso Times, Jan. 7, 2004 (link above).


      And here is a memo from DoJ attorney John Roberts in 1981 —

“Violations of § 2 [of the Voting Rights Act] should not be made too easy to prove …”

    [ –  Memo of John Roberts to the Attorney General, 12/22/81]


Here is more about the dissent by Judge Ward in 2004 as reported by the Austin Chronicle.

The Judges Rule: Map May Not Be Wise,  But It’s Legal       Austin Chronicle, Jan. 9, 2004

Judge Ward reluctantly agreed that the current <u>state of the law</u&gt appears to support that judgment. But in concurring, he warned that the state’s de facto dilution of minority Texans’ votes in the supposed service of partisan ends “will have the effect of destroying the minority group’s hopes.”


Feb. 24, 2004  [LTE to Austin Chronicle]

THREE DISTRICTS MEET, THE SPOT WHERE DELAY KILLED DEMOCRACY

    Dear Chronicle,                                

    There has been some confusion about exactly where Austin was trisected. The precise location where our three new voting districts meet is at the intersection of West 38th and Ronson ….

    Recently someone placed a memorial there, a white cross that reads “R.I.P. Democracy, Killed by Tom DeLay on This Spot.” . . .

   Sincerely,

   Chris Jxxxxx


Three Corners (New Texas districts in Austin)

AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN | Mar. 9, 2004 | By Brad Buchholz

I took a walk in Central Austin  …. when I bumped into a slender wooden cross along West 38th Street, near the Marimont Cafeteria just off Guadalupe Street. The white cross, 4 feet tall, bore this inscription  . .  


  More here on the carve-up of Austin and Texas.

“Austin, Texas has long had its own, coherent congressional district — logical for a state capitol and a community of shared interests. DeLay’s power grab, however, fractures our city into three shards of incoherent districts that are dominated by populations far from our borders.”

   – – – – – –

Democrats Won’t Get Justice Memo    [  +  gag order was imposed in DoJ, see WaPo article  ]

January 22, 2004; Page A23

               The Justice Department  has formally refused a demand from Texas Democrats to release a lengthy internal memo about a Republican redistricting plan that experts believe could produce a GOP gain of as many as seven House seats in that state later this year, according to documents and officials.


 The internal legal opinion, which includes a 73-page narrative and 1,750 pages of accompanying documents, is eagerly sought by 14 Democratic House members from Texas as part of their attempt to halt the GOP redistricting. The new voting map was enacted in October by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature after months of conflict, and Attorney General John D. Ashcroft cleared it in December.


. . . .      The Democrats’ lead attorney, J. Gerald Hebert of Alexandria, responded with an appeal to the Justice Department yesterday,  alleging that career attorneys had recommended an objection to the redistricting plan, but were overruled by political appointees.  Democrats argue that the Texas map violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it eliminates two districts in which minorities make up a majority of the voters.


“Clearly the Department of Justice is stonewalling this request to avoid the embarrassment that will surely ensue when the memorandum is made public,” Hebert wrote in his appeal, which was filed with the department’s Office of Information and Privacy. “Unfortunately, the political appointees of the Justice Department appear committed to dismantling the Voting Rights Act. They are hiding this report, because it will make their intentions clear.”

        Department officials have declined to comment on the details of the case, including whether the attorneys assigned to the case had raised objections to it.  Sources say the team is under a strict gag order.


The US Supreme Court is conferencing this morning to consider whether to take up several cases appealing the redistricted map of Texas.   Take a poll:

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