![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kitsjayExcerpt from the summary of Chapter 8: The Texas Legislature:
“Throughout the 1990’s only one year—1998—was free of either primaries or general elections being conducted under legally challenged redistricting maps. The challenges came from both parties and the same basis for the complaints. Democrats sued using the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the earlier part of the decade. Republican legal action was based on the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, citing race as the sole basis for determining districts. Thomas v Bush was filed in federal court challenging 13 senate districts and 54 house districts as gerrymandered. On September 1995, the court ordered an agreed settlement under which eight senate districts and 36 house districts were changed. Redistricting has been used by both parties and individuals, for both questionable and worthwhile goals, and has survived many different legal renderings. Texas Senator Jeff Wentworth offered a reform bill several times, but it has been brushed aside again. This is not altogether a bad thing, as redistricting efforts are often rife with irony and possibly the most entertaining thing to read about in this chapter.”
“The amateur, limited legislature, highly criticized, was designed for a primarily rural state with an agrarian economy and an individualistic, skeptical political culture. The book states the latter is obsolete, but this is strictly a matter of opinion on the part of the author.”
“Throughout the 1990’s only one year—1998—was free of either primaries or general elections being conducted under legally challenged redistricting maps. The challenges came from both parties and the same basis for the complaints. Democrats sued using the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the earlier part of the decade. Republican legal action was based on the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, citing race as the sole basis for determining districts. Thomas v Bush was filed in federal court challenging 13 senate districts and 54 house districts as gerrymandered. On September 1995, the court ordered an agreed settlement under which eight senate districts and 36 house districts were changed. Redistricting has been used by both parties and individuals, for both questionable and worthwhile goals, and has survived many different legal renderings. Texas Senator Jeff Wentworth offered a reform bill several times, but it has been brushed aside again. This is not altogether a bad thing, as redistricting efforts are often rife with irony and possibly the most entertaining thing to read about in this chapter.”
“The amateur, limited legislature, highly criticized, was designed for a primarily rural state with an agrarian economy and an individualistic, skeptical political culture. The book states the latter is obsolete, but this is strictly a matter of opinion on the part of the author.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-09-13 01:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-13 05:28 pm (UTC)And I seriously don't think he reads them. Otherwise the knock-knock jokes wouldn't have flown.
Unless he skims and thought "Orange you glad I didn't say banana" was related by President Bush in his last State of the Union address or something.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-14 01:25 am (UTC)If I don't know that by now, my powers of observation are seriously lacking! lol
*giggles* You're going to put something really bad in there one day and that will be the paper that he reads word for word.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-14 11:18 pm (UTC)... doesn't stop me from doing it though!
no subject
Date: 2007-09-15 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-15 04:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-15 04:23 am (UTC)God, I hope you do, because I don't!