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April 22, 2005
The Breakfast Club
Today's Chronicle has an interesting piece on the monthly breakfast meeting of the Texas Congressional delegation, a once-important and almost mandatory, bipartisan gathering that has fallen on hard times.
When Houtopia worked for a moderate Houston Democratic Congressman in the early 1990s, a spirit of collegiality and cooperation prevailed among the Texas delegation, irrespective of party. Sure, Bill Archer and Jake Pickle divided along party lines on many issues, but when it came to the state's interests, Members of both parties tried to put Texas first. My how things have changed.
We are pleased to see efforts to revive the breakfast as a symbol of bipartisan cooperation among the Texas delegation, but we remain skeptical of the prospects for success.
Quite simply, the well has been poisoned, and largely by Tom Delay. Since his rise to power in the House GOP Caucus, the majority party has steadily alienated and marginalized the minority. Excluding Democrats from bill markups, changing committee rules and procedures, and even doing away with long-honored House rules on floor debate and votes, has had a chilling effect on collegiality.
But for Texas Members, it is Mr. Delay's draconian 2003 redistricting plan that has spawned an Ice Age between the two parties. First off, it was done in mid-decade -- without historical precedent -- for most Members, enduring the painful process of redrawing the lines once after each Census is enough.
But second, and more important, Delay's plan explicitly targeted incumbent Democrats. Texas Republicans are fond of mentioning Democrats' 1991 redistricting as justification for their 2003 gerrymander. While it is true that the 1991 redraw created new Democratic districts, it protected GOP incumbents. Not so in 2003. (For the record, Houtopia supports non-partisan redistricting by committee.)
So, some well-meaning Texas members will attend these monthly meetings and try to melt the glacier that has formed between the two parties. We wish them luck -- they'll need it. Texans would certainly benefit from some rapprochement.
The article notes Chet Edwards' attendance at the breakfast -- the only Democratic incumbent targeted in the general election by Delay's plan who survived. Ironically, Mr. Delay was nowhere to be found.
Posted by houtopia at April 22, 2005 11:01 AM