But I’ve been reading about this Texas Democrats thing, how they’re all hiding out in Oklahoma, and it seems interesting. All the articles I’ve read, though seem to depend on the reader having some knowledge of Texan politics (what’s a quorum?)
So, can someone explain the situation to me, in as non-partisan terms as possible? I recognise that this can be difficult, but at least provide a balanced discussion - what the Dems feel and what the Republicans feel.
And as a side note, can anyone tell me what GOP stands for?
A quorum is the minimum number of people that have to be present for a legislative body to begin conducting business. In the Texas House of Representatives, a quorum is a minimum of 100 of the 150 Representatives. If you have less than 100 people, you can’t do anything.
In short, there was a redistricting plan in Texas that the Republicans favored and the Democrats opposed. The deadline for voting on this plan was (IIRC) Friday. If no vote had occured by that date, the issue was cancelled, (or perhaps tabled until next year.) Since there is a large Republican majority in the Texas House, the Democrats decided that the only way they could possibly defeat this plan was to not show up at the House, thereby preventing a quorum. In Texas, and in most states, the legislature has the power to order the police to round up fugitive legislators and force them to come to work in case of such emergencies. For this reason, the 50-some-odd Democrats went accross state lines into Oklahoma, where the Texas state police do not have any power to bring them back. They hung out at a Holiday Inn sipping martinis by the pool. The tactic worked, and the deadline for the redistricting plan passed.
GOP stands for “Grand ol’ Party.” Which is kinda funny, since I think the Democratic party is actually older.
Really? Oh no - I once asked my dad if he knew what it meant, and he said, “knowing the Republicans, it probably means something like ‘Grand Old Party.’” I said, “no way, they wouldn’t do something that dumb.”
I was going for something like Government of the People, but I couldn’t see how that made sense.
Part of what bothered the Democrats (aside from getting redistricted out of a number of state and federal positions), is that Texas redistricted two years ago.
It should also be noted that the Texas Legislature meets once every two years.
From this morning’s paper: “Republicans hold all statewide offices, but Democrats hold a 17-15 edge in the state’s congressional delegation. the redistricting plan could have increased the number of Republican districts to 20 and decreased the Democratic districts to 12. The Legislature is charged with redrawing districts every 10 years based on U.S. Census population figures. The Democratic-controlled Legislature didn’t do the job in 2001 and left it to a three-jude federal panel.” So, it seems the Democrats have a history of not dealing with this issue.
The nickname of the Republican Party didn’t get attached to it until 1888. Previously, the nickname had been used by Southern Democrats. After the Republicans won back the Presidency and Congress for the first time since the Grant administration, the Chicago Tribune proclaimed: “Let us be thankful that under the rule of the Grand Old Party … these United States will resume the onward and upward march which the election of Grover Cleveland in 1884 partially arrested.”
It’s now so much attached that the nightly world news reporters will say “GOP” with no explanation at all, assuming the viewer knows this is code for “Republican”.
The part of the issue that’s really kicking up a shitstorm is that in some indirect fashion, the Republicans contacted the Department of Homeland Security to find the missing Democrats, which is a no-no.
I recall that in a Young Democrats meeting during my high school years, someone once suggested that since our party was actually older, we should start referring to ourselves as “the Grand Old Democrats” and see whether the media would eventually shorten it to “the GOD”.
See Cardinal’s post for the detailed answer, but, yeah, GOP stands for Grand Old Party, and, yeah, the Democrat party is older. You’re expecting politics to make sense?
