Congressional Redistricting: So, Where’s the Map?
» TX Tribune: A Winding Route to New Texas Congressional Map
With sine die quickly approaching for the lege and a grand total of zero maps produced for Congressional districts as of this morning, you’ve really got to be wondering how the process is going to unfold. Ross Ramsey hints at the lege (and Gov. Perry) leaving it for the judges to draw. I’ve been skeptical of that happening, but time is certainly getting critical now.
Outside of the fact that allowing judges to draw the districts being the total opposite of what it meant to be a Texas Republican in 2003, I’m still not sure how a judge draws a district favorable to the prospects of freshmen like Quico Canseco and Blake Farenthold. It could be that that’s the very point of letting them draw districts for all I know.
But even though time is short, it’s not like the Redistricting Committees haven’t been pulling fast ones on the schedule in order to limit debate over maps that have already been approved by both houses of the lege. Conceivably, they could still lay it out on Tuesday, hold hearings on Wednesday and vote for it as soon as time allows. That, or maybe there’s just been no eagerness to talk about a special session yet.
I would find it very difficult to believe the Republicans would want Congressional districts to fall to the courts. As mentioned, the courts would not be particularly deferential to Canseco or Farenthold and at the same time, the courts WOULD be inclined to leave Doggett alone. The court’s approach is always to do pretty much the minimum to make the plan legal, without wading into the political games the political parties like to play with the lines.
So I would guess there would be a last second map pushed through or a special session will be given the task.
I’d also be surprised if the federal judges maintained the status quo of McCaul being an Austin Republican elected by voters from suburban Houston.
The only part of the logic that makes sense to me is that if Solomons/Seliger/etc truly believe they will get any map they draw kicked out of the Obama DOJ, then it makes some fractional amount of sense for them to wait for a mythical President Trump to restock the DOJ with Apprentice rejects and take their odds on that happening.