Great ads by MoveOn for the TX redistricting, English and Spanish

[madfloridian]

Dear MoveOn member,

The Texas Senate is now in session and the issue of redistricting
will likely come to the floor today. As the Democratic Senators
continue the fight, it's time to give an update on how the Defending
Democracy campaign has been waged.

The incredible outpouring of support for the Texas Senators has
allowed us to pursue three important strategies in this campaign:

(1) We've highlighted the GOP's attempt to disenfranchise Hispanic
voters through this gerrymander, while they pretend to court
the Hispanic vote nationwide;
(2) We've nationalized the issue by "connecting-the-dots" with
other attempts to game the system for partisan gain -- the
California recall, the 2000 election, and impeachment;
(3) We've made sure the Senators' stand for democracy is well
understood by their constituents at home.

The situation in Texas is very fluid and we will continue to
monitor for opportunities to make a difference. With the Senate
back in session, it is likely that some redistricting plan will be
passed. If a redistricting plan passes the Senate, the differences
in the House and Senate plans will have to be negotiated in
conference. A final plan then must be brought back to both chambers
to approve. If a plan is passed, it must then survive court
challenges. This story has only begun to unfold.

Win, lose, or draw, this campaign has served the function of
highlighting the efforts of GOP operatives, like Tom Delay
and Karl Rove, to undermine democracy and disenfranchise voters.
In the end, their disregard for our Democratic institutions and
traditions will be their downfall.

Here are some highlights from the campaign:

- With MoveOn support, members of the Texas 11 made visits to
Denver, Philadelphia and Miami, on a tour to bring the
redistricting battle to national attention. They received
extensive local and national press.

- We ran a hard-hitting ad in the NY Times to highlight the
"connect-the-dots" theme. The headline was "President Bush:
Don't Mess with Texas. Don't Mess with Democracy."
You can view the ad here:
http://www.moveon.org/press/ads/Texas.pdf

- We're running a national radio and TV advertising campaign
highlighting the GOP attempt to marginalize Hispanic voters.
These ads are reaching hundreds of thousands of Hispanic voters.
We're giving them extensive air time on Spanish language stations.
You can see the TV ad on our main page at:
http://www.moveon.org

- We're running a Texas TV advertising campaign highlighting the
Texas Governor's willingness to do Tom Delay's dirty work, while
doing nothing about the tough issues facing the state.
View this ad at:
http://www.moveon.org/press/ads/moreseats.mpg

These efforts have generated extensive press coverage and the major
themes have found broad resonance.

Here's some a couple examples of the press we've received:

AP, "Texas Democrats Criticize Bush in Florida,"

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/6722656.htm

Newsweek, "Campaign Kickoff: As Democratic White House debaters
aimed their pitches at Hispanics, dissident Texan lawmakers took
their redistricting fight to Washington," Eleanor Clift

http://www.msnbc.com/news/962323.asp#BODY

I've also attached an excerpt from a New York Times editorial below.

Thank you for making this all possible,

--Wes Boyd
MoveOn.org
September 23rd, 2003
_______________

New York Times
Editorial: Texas Standoff
August 27, 2003

Political standoff is morphing into paralytic farce in the Texas
Legislature. A special session ended in Austin yesterday with
Democrats holding fast in their out-of-state exile against a
brazen attempt by the House majority leader, Tom DeLay, to pick
up six seats by gerrymandering incumbent Democrats out of power.
The 11 Democratic state senators who foiled the power grab by
fleeing last month are still in New Mexico, vowing to stay there
as long as necessary. Gov. Rick Perry is just as firm in doing
Mr. DeLay's bidding, promising another special session to once
more seek redistricting -- the only question is when.

All that Mr. DeLay and the Texas G.O.P. machine have achieved
thus far is months of laughter and groans at the spectacle of
such hardball politics. Republican state senators are trying
to penalize the boycotting Democrats with fines of $5,000 a day
and spiteful revocations of parking and cellphone privileges.
"We are tired of sitting here," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst,
a Republican. Tell that to Mr. DeLay, who has been relentless
in trying to plump up his edge in House seats and hardly shy
about applying state and federal law enforcement pressure on
the Democrats.

The Republicans insist that voter trends justify the
extraordinary remapping. But their impatience is scandalous.
The lines were redrawn two years ago by the courts after the
Legislature failed to act. This out-of-season gerrymandering --
years before the next census -- presents a new standard for
tooth-and-claw politicking that the nation does not need.
_______________

[mistertrickster]

1. These ads rock . . . keep up the good work.

Halto el enganydor.