Almost two years ago, after the 2003 Texas re-redistricting map had been approved by the Lege and as the Jackson v. Perry lawsuit first made its way into the courts, there were reports that lawyers at the Justice Department wanted to rule that it violated the Civil Rights act, but were turned aside by political appointees. There was supposed to be a memo that outlined problems with the new map; Democrats have wanted to get their hands on that memo all along.
Well, now they have. The Washington Post reports on its existence and contents today (link via Kos):
The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department's voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections."The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect," the memo concluded.
The memo also found that Republican lawmakers and state officials who helped craft the proposal were aware it posed a high risk of being ruled discriminatory compared with other options.
Would this have affected the lawsuit had the memo been released at the time? You'd have to ask the judges, but I'd have to think it'd be yes. Strictly speaking, it should have mooted the lawsuit, at least at the time, because it should have prevented the new map from getting DOJ clearance. And once again, with the passage of time, there seems to me to be nothing that can be done about this. Other than get mad and work harder in the next election, I guess.
Oh, and as Prometheus 6 reminds us, the DOJ built on this success to do the same damn thing in Georgia.
I'm sure there will be more to say on this later. For now, read up on the latest.
UPDATE: Stina has some thoughts on this.
Excerpts from the DOJ voting rights staff memo and section chief's concurrence:
DeLay Plan Retrogressive and Discriminatory:
* "Our examination of the proposed plan indicates that it will lead to an impermissible retrogression in the position of minorities with respect to their effective exercise of the electoral franchise." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 31)
* The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect. (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 66)
Effective Minority Seats Weakened and Eliminated:
* "with regard to minority voters' ability to elect the candidate of their choice - the so-called "safe" seats - there is a net reduction of two seats." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 31)
* "the net result of the plan reduces by one the number of districts in which the Hispanic minority community can "safely" elect candidates of their choice to office." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 31)
* "There is classic retrogression in the benchmark District 23 (Bonilla).With the extreme level of polarization in the district, Hispanic voters simply no longer have any ability to elect their candidate of choice." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 68)
* "black voters have the ability to elect the candidates of their choice in 18 (Jackson Lee), 24 (Frost), 25 (Bell), and 30 (Johnson). In the proposed plan, black voters can no longer elect their candidate of choice in proposed 24 (Frost). (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 31)
* "moreover, while proposed 15 (Hinojosa) is no longer a "safe" district, it is not a total loss; it moves from the "safe" category to the "coalitional" category." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 31)
* In sum, the proposed plan reduces the level of minority voting strength because it eliminates the ability that minority voters have in Benchmark 15 (Hinojosa), 23 (Bonilla) and 24 (Frost) to elect candidates of choice. In each of these districts, the state failed to follow its traditional redistricting principles preserving communities of interest and forbidding fragmentation or packing of minority voters." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 69)
Overwhelming Minority Opposition:
* "Of the 55 African American and Hispanic legislators in the legislature, 53 voted against the redistricting plan." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 11)
* "We have either met with or spoken to 22 state house representatives and 13 state senators, of whom 14 are Hispanic, 11 are African American and nine are Anglo. Of the minority legislators to whom we talked, all but two opposed the redistricting plan." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 11)
* "In total, the Section received 335 [written] comments against the proposed plan, none in favor of it." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 11)
Staff Experts' Recommendation:
* "For the reasons set forth above, we recommend that you interpose an objection of H.B.3, which provides for the redistricting of the congressional districts in Texas.." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, December 12, 2003, page 71)
Section Chief Concurrence:
* "Our review indicates that the factors identified as relevant to each prong of the totality of circumstances test demonstrates that the plan is retrogressive." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, Section Chief Concurrence, December 12, 2003, page 71)
* "in the end we concluded there was a net reduction of one "safe" Hispanic seat and one "safe" black seat." (Source: DOJ Section 5 Recommendation Memorandum, Section Chief Concurrence, December 12, 2003, page 72)
Today the Washington Post published a damning expose on the behind the scenes maneuvering that took place in the Texas Congressional redistricting process in 2003.
The article sheds light on the outrageous disregard for the evidence and expert analysis presented by several important Justice Department Voting Rights Division staff members in a December 12th 2003 memo about the illegality of the Texas redistricting plan. The story talks about how the Justice Departments higher ups decided to overrule the staff determination and to bury the report for the past two years.
The article goes on to detail much of what we in Texas have known or suspected that Tom DeLay and his minions deliberately manipulated the congressional redistricting plan for purely partisan purposes at the expense of minority voting rights. The story notes, “The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department's voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections.”
The Post story goes on to state “The memo also found that Republican lawmakers and state officials who helped craft the proposal were aware it posed a high risk of being ruled discriminatory compared with other options.”
This action is a disgrace to our democracy and should bring shame and the wrath of the electorate down upon every Republican leader in Austin and Washington, who by action or inaction were complicit in this travesty.
For any American to simply stand by and say ‘it’s just politics’ or to say ‘well the other party did it too’ is inexcusable. When the will of the people and the rights of a minority, or the process of democracy or the laws of this nation are disregarded and violated for political purposes, the entire integrity of our republic becomes endangered by the dictatorship of the few and powerful.
This story as well as many others about the dishonesty and corruption of many Republican leaders, officeholders and lobbyists as well as Republican Administration officials should be a wake up call to every American whether Republican, Independent Democrat or otherwise; that when one political party gains control of all three branches of our government, then the principles of our democracy - equality, justice, limited government, separation of powers and the checks and balances protected and provided by our Constitution will be violated by those more interested in personal power and in supporting the special interests that will keep them in power, instead of the interests of all Americans.
I am opposing a Republican Congressman, Lamar Smith of Texas 21st Congressional District, who fits the bill of one of those Republican leaders that is complicit in the dishonest and corrupt dealings of Tom DeLay and those of his ilk. Smith has contributed to Tom DeLay's defense fund. Smith has allowed himself to placed as a pawn on the House Ethics committee in place of a fair minded Republican member of the Ethics committee who had voted several times to admonish Tom DeLay. Smith continues to take money from the powerful lobbies and carries the water for Tom DeLay and his corrupt friends that want to deny Americans equality and justice through our service agencies and the court system. He’s become a powerful Washington insider who lives and works and plays in Washington and Cape Cod (which is where he actually lives); and then hires media experts to spin tales about how what he does in Congress is good for the people of Texas, through their ghost articles in his name for area papers and in the tons of frank mail he sends out.
Let’s hope the media in America continues to shed further light on the dishonesty and corruption that the Republican leadership is perpetrating upon the American people in their pursuit of greed and personal power.
In the meantime we need to raise the alert in every corner of the nation and focus people’s attention to the inherent dangers facing our democracy. I and others running to change the direction of this nation need your support. Pass the word and step up to the plate and take a swing at what you can do to make a difference in 2006.
And remember at times like this Congress needs Courage!
John Courage
Congress also needs clear paragraph breaks.
Posted by: Jeb on December 2, 2005 3:30 PM:^D :^D :^D
What a hoot! We have a state that votes 60% Republican, yet under the old ***Democrat gerrymander*** it had Democratic majorities in the congressional delegation and the Texas house.
If you think you are going to disenfrachise us again, you've got another thing coming! We'll sue you 'til you can't sit down!
Posted by: ttyler5 on December 2, 2005 9:50 PMThis conservative meme of "everybody has always done it so you are just picking on Republicans" is disgusting and depressing. First, of course, is that it is untrue. There is nothing that the Democrats have done in the recent past that begins to approach the degree and scale of DeLay's K Street corruption. Second, as citizens of a democracy, we should expect more and not tolerate this corruption and abusive exercise of power.
Posted by: Jeb on December 3, 2005 8:32 AMJeb, pardner, with all due respect:
Bull Effing Stuff!
We have been the majority in this state for years, 62% of the people of Texas were voting for GOP Congressional candiates, yet under the old ***Democratic gerrymander*** of Texas districts, the dems disenfranchised us just like in the old days they disenfranchised the Blacks and the Hispanics by cutting district lines.
Likely, you ain't old enough to even recall the history of the democratic party in this state.
And we ain't gonna forget it!
We created Balck and Hispanic districts, but then what happens?
A creepy, creepy little Anglo democratic lib twit from Austin goes in and takes the district, just like another creepy little Anglo liberal twit from Houston did to the first Houston-area district created for a Hispanic majority.
The Anglo lib dems talk a lot, but they will screw the Blacks and the Hispanics whenever it suits them
Posted by: ttyler5 on December 3, 2005 5:19 PMttyler5, go blow your smoke up somebody else's ass.
The voters didn't elect a 17D-15R delegation in '02 because of a "Democratic gerrymander" and you know it. The Lege and Guv Perry couldn't agree on a plan. The first draft of the '02 plan was crafted by Guv Perry, Acting Lite Guv Ratliff, then-AG Cornyn (all R's) and then-Speaker Laney, a Democrat. (I think I'm leaving somebody out, but in any case it was an R-dominated panel.) The courts made a few changes, but that's basically how the '02 plan came to be. Anyone claiming it was a "Democratic gerrymander" is lying.
Republican voters kept their Democratic legislators in '02 because they were the same legislators they'd been voting for all during the 90's. You may not agree with the power of incumbency, but that didn't entitle you DeLayPhiles to do what you did: cheat.
First, you cheated in the '02 House and Senate elections. (That's why your hero DeLay is under indictment.) Then you armtwisted the legislators you bought into passing an illegal mid-decade re-redistricting, destroying the power of incumbency by forcing many Democrats to run in new districts. Then, your buddies in the Cheney assministration cheated again by declaring the illegal plan legal, even though they knew it wasn't; hence Kuff's post! Finally, you cheaters covered up your cheating until the courts had (mis)ruled based on incomplete evidence, which is all they had because of your cheating.
If anyone has grounds for a new lawsuit, it's the Democrats who were cheated out of their districts; not you cheaters!
Now, if you want to talk about "gerrymanders," I'd refer you not to Texas, but to that other Bush state, Florida: a consistent swing state in Presidential and statewide elections that nevertheless has an over 70% GOP Congressional delegation? Give me a break!
Posted by: Mathwiz on December 5, 2005 1:41 PM