[Azred]

1) As I stated before, the Democrats are hurting only themselves. They are giving the Republicans the most powerful campaign tool for the coming year: "Rather than vote, the Democrats chose to abandon you, the voters." This will only delay the vote until the next legislative session, when there will probably be enough Republican members to meet quorum and pass whatever they please. In a democracy, it is the height of irresponsibility to run away if you cannot win.

2) I don't think the legislators can be "arrested" in the true sense, only detained and returned to the Capitol. However, this sets a very dangerous precedent: vote, or else. What about voting in absentia or by proxy?

3) How DARE they use the Amber Alert system to look for missing legislators? [img]graemlins/madhell.gif[/img] Enough said.

4) The whole idea of legislative boycotts is another dangerous precedent; the most dangerous one, in fact. When will this happen in other states? Or the Congress? By walking out, those who boycott are derailing the entire representative democratic process. This goes far beyond a simple matter of "we don't like how you plan to redraw the lines", this strikes at the very fabric of the process itself. How can you have a democracy when those who are elected to vote run away?

If this story doesn't worry those of you in Texas, and the US in general, it should. Not only will other groups try this in other locations, but someone will get the bright idea of changing the rules on quorums (quora?) to something like "a bill passes if a majority of those present, regardless of how few, vote to pass it" or "I have the implied authority to appoint someone to vote in their place". The backlashes and bickering, as bad as they are now, will only get worse if this is not solved quickly.

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Timber Loftis is right, you know. C-SPAN is great for watching legislators give impassioned speeches to three other members, some interns, a couple of the janitorial staff, and the camera operator. [img]graemlins/laugh3.gif[/img]