DJ Says...

Well, she really isn't new, she's been doing it for some time now. But as best as I can recall, she has never been this blatant. She being Houston Chronicle columnist (and now blogger) Lisa Falkenberg. The blatant cheering for Democrats comes in the form of an attack on Republican Senators for daring to attempt to clean up elections.

The same can’t be said for the move early on in the Senate that prompted Democrats to rebel in the first place.

As Coleman put it to me: “The Senate lit the fuse on a bomb five months ago when they changed the rules to vote out one bill. They started the action, and quite frankly, they ought to know by now we don’t believe in unilateral disarmament.”

A group of senators, led by Republican Tommy Williams of The Woodlands, managed to force voter ID legislation on to the Senate floor by breaking the rules. One rule specifically and one of the most important: the so-called two-thirds rule that requires overwhelming support of the 31-member body to debate a bill.

Voter ID would have died a quick death without the maneuver. To keep that from happening, Republicans flung aside the virtues of collegiality, bipartisanship and, oh yeah, the larger priority of serving the people of Texas. All of them.

And now Texans, including 80,000 children, who would have benefited from bills dying in a partisan battle, are paying the price.

One broken rule prompted desperate measures from the Democrats in the House who are assured to lose seats if a purely political bill requiring all voters to present proper ID at the polls passes.

What a load of crap. Heck, why didn't she just print a press release from Coleman's office? The poor little children will not have access to insurance because the big, bad Republicans want to oppress the poor. Good lord. Is it any wonder that the Chron is going down the tubes?

Let's take a look at the facts. The facts are that the Senate broke no rules. The facts are that the Senate used procedures to push through a very needed change to our voter registration  system. The facts are that the Senate did this in plenty of time for the House to vote on the bill, up or down, but the Democrats didn't want a vote. The facts are that the Democrats got their man when they were joined by just a handful of Republicans and elected Joe Strauss to be Speaker of the House. The facts are that Joe Strauss sucked in his first attempt to be Speaker by getting very little done, by not pushing the voter id bill through the House sooner.

Those are the facts, Lisa. How's about we borrow one of your own arguments?

And they aren’t without wide support in a state that leads the nation in uninsured children, with an estimated 1.5 million.

A broad coalition of business leaders, chambers of commerce, child advocates and other organizations from the Greater Houston Partnership to the AARP to the Children’s Defense Fund to the Texas Medical Association signed on Wednesday supporting the Children’s Health Insurance Program legislation and pleading with lawmakers not to “hold children hostage to politics.”

So, you think that because a bill has broad support, it should be put at the front of the line and receive a proper vote, do you? Guess what? I think the same thing.

Let's take a look at more facts, Lisa. Let's take a look at the broad support in Texas for Voter ID, as I did
on April 17th, Lisa.



Lisa, that is called BROAD SUPPORT! Do YOU support making our elected representatives vote on it? Or is your system of deciding what has broad support and what doesn't limited by your own political views?

BTW, Lisa, your little Chips bill passed in the Senate last night. As you know because you blogged about it. Too bad you didn't feel the urge to update the tripe you call a column. And it isn't a Republican vs. Democratic standoff. It is Democratic politicians denying the will of the people.

Lisa Falkenberg, Texas Democratic Party spokesperson.

Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?