GregsOpinion.com

Grover Norquist's Dream, ladies and gentlemen:

The vote also went largely along racial and ethnic lines. All of the Senate Republicans are white. All of the Senate Democrats are African American or Hispanic or represent districts dominated by minorities.

Dewhurst and other Republicans moved to vote on the Janek resolution quickly, winning approval for a motion to vote by Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, while several Democrats were still working on amendments to the measure.

Several Republicans walked out of the chamber as Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, was preparing to give a personal privilege speech to protest the action.

...

"The reality speaks for itself," said Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo. "And if you look at us and look at them, the differences are clear. And what they have done today in the Texas Senate is created a group of second-class senators, and every member of that second class is either African American or Mexican American or represents minority residents of Texas.

"That, my friends," Zaffirini continued, "is discrimination at its worst."

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, said the action "demonstrated a heavy disregard for the rights of every minority member of the Texas Senate and those who represent minority districts."

Barrientos said the racial and ethnic overtones are hard to miss.

"Some will question: Is it a coincidence? Is it happenstance? Is it luck that this particular situation has Republican Anglos punishing African Americans and Mexican American senators or those individuals representing majority minority districts?" he said. "Some will ask that question. I will let the people of Texas decide that."

Sen. Mario Gallegos Jr., D-Galena Park, expressed outrage at the effort by Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, to adjourn the Senate while Democrats were still planning to protest the action.

The Woodlands is a largely white suburb north of Houston.

"For somebody from The Woodlands to try to and cut me off. . ." Gallegos said. "The people from The Woodlands did not elect me. That's a gated community. The nearest gated community to me in inner-city Houston is the county jail. And I don't think anybody from The Woodlands and anybody from Fort Worth understands what my constituency deserves as far as representation on this floor."

Reference: "Starving the Beast" by Ed Kilgore