Attorney General Rides a Losing Streak
Greg Abbott, the state’s ambitious and litigious attorney general, is on a losing streak.
Federal courts in Washington ruled against him in two crucial voting rights cases last week, first finding that the redistricting maps drawn by the Republican Legislature didn’t protect minority voters as the law requires, and then ruling the state’s tough new photo voter ID law unfairly burdens minority voters.
Neither ruling appears to be a threat to the elections now under way. In the case of redistricting, the state’s maps were replaced this year with interim maps prepared by another set of ...
Comments (19)
Steven Kite
"He needs more than that. He needs some wins."
Not in Texas.... All he really needs is a few gallons of proto-fascist or neoConfederate rhetoric, a big bucket of hate, a few mangled myths, and several metric tons of stupid.
And those are all available free in unlimited quantities.
He's set for the foreseeable future as long as he just keeps on suing. Billions for discrimination and not a penny for justice, equality, or fairness.
Lo how the mighty have taken a dive.
karen Browder
Need to vote Abbott out of office , he is wasting our tax dollars on bogus arguments and just getting his name out in the newspapers. He will NEVER be gov of Texas
Susan Topper via Texas Tribune on Facebook
He is loosing because he is wrong!
Carolyn Moon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Frivolous Lawsuit Abbott keeps costing us money
Steve Fischer via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Every office holder plays some politics -not too much of a problem but the AGs office has been sitting on files from a recent parollee who is very wealthy and according to Sheila Weigand TX RR Commission Chief Investigator - where there are many judgments owed to Texas Taxpayers thats us. The AG should do his job first and then dabble in politics ( with our money of course. The parolees name is George Bradford Coleman and he has the money to pay.
C.g. David via Texas Tribune on Facebook
The NBIDC in New Braunfels has no 501(c)(3) and then when I filed a complaint on numerous things in MAY, I got Crickets.
Adam Miller via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Its not the fight that counts, its know when to fight and when to yield that counts... The txoag sucks!
Adam Miller via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Txoag, just waste the texas tax payers money on stupid stuff...
Hollis Morton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Abbott should do something about corrupt Judges in Texas. http://hm21.wordpress.com
WUSRPH
An open letter to the Leaders (sic) of Texas:
Dear Governor Oops, Atty. Gen. Abbott and Members of the Texas Legislature:
Please repeat after me:
"Amendment 15 -
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
Now keep repeating it until you can remember it.
I hope this is not one of those cases where, as they say in the Texas House:
“I am sorry, Sir, I can explain it to you, but I can not understand it for you.”
But, based on your past behavior, I am afraid that may be the case.
Yours,
The Voters of Texas
Alice Taylor
Of course he's losing. He's wrong.
How can a human being in this day and age be FOR discrimination and actively work to keep the poor off the voting rolls? I'm just gob-smacked by the pettiness and meaness of some of our leaders and their gleeful efforts to disenfranchise whole groups of voters.
Joseph Lippert via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Waste of money. Apparently Abbott has not read the Constitution since the 11th Amendment was added, and conveniently forgets the impact of the Civil War.
Debby Valdez
I wonder does the loser pay law apply to the Texas Attorney General? Does anyone know how much money the State of Texas lost for these lawsuits? Seems like the general public has to keep reminding our state leaders about the Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Remember the 14th Amendment?
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
NO STATE SHALL MAKE OR ENFORCE ANY LAW WHICH SHALL ABRIDGE THE PRIVILEGES OR INNUMINTIES OF CITIZENS OF THE UNTIED STATES; nor shall ANY STATE DEPRIVE ANY PERSON OF LIFE, LIBERTY OR PROPERTY , WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OF LAW, OR DENY TO ANY PERSON WITHIN ITS JURISDICTION THE EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW.
Keep up with what is happening in the Guardianship Laws, due process is a lawyer appointed for you in guardianship before you are found to be incapacitated under the law. In this game, you have to pay to play, if you don't your 14th Amendment is violated- gone, caput- then you are found to be legally dead, while the lawyers and paid for service guardians take everything you own even your right to vote. Awe another loop hole to keep our vulnerable from the voting polls. Genius, huh?
Barbara Peyton
Why not create inclusive programs that welcome minorities, rather than spend the state's precious resources to disenfranchise them? Greg Abbott is losing cases because he is fighting with his mouth, not his heart.
ChiefBuffalo
And, some people call Abbott, Combs, and Perry leaders. I'd rather have a leader who recognizes the inherit value of ALL people and try to find real solutions to real problems.
Audrey Fisher via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Gee, didn't I read somewhere that GOP were suppose to be wise protector's of government spending - obviously this is yet another of the GOP lie.
Debbie Zimm
Abbott ought to concentrate cleaning up the filth and rot here in the Texas criminal justice system. We are the laughing stock of the world, while he is off waving a confederate flag in the Fed's face... A smaller responsible government does not fund a police state. The democratic party is non existent in Texas due in part to the OAG's policy of legally slaughtering democrats with impunity. November elections in Texas are a joke, check your ballot, - Rick Justice - Republican - unopposed. You may not agree with Democrats, but to blindly rally behind one party is far more dangerous.
Rudy Gonzales
Federal judges counted the ways Texas discriminates against minorities and people of color on voter rights. Texas' Republican-controlled legislature weakened the influence of Latino voters and in some cases evinced "discriminatory intent" against both Latinos and African Americans. Remember this as you watch the Democratic convention.
The TEA-Libertarian-Republican-GOP-Evangelical fringe calling for voter ID to combat voter fraud, while enacting additional voting restrictions, in Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. Their voter fraud has been totally debunked, but serves as a rallying cry for the minimally educated and grossly influence-able.
Another panel of federal judges unanimously struck down a voter-ID law passed by the legislature in March 2011, arguing that it would disproportionately harm African-American and Latino voters. Both decisions hinged on Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires certain states with a history of racial discrimination in voting — including Texas — to prove that any changes in their voting laws or procedures do not hamper the voting rights of minorities.
Rulings detailed several examples of discriminatory practices in Texas:
Lawmakers drew some districts that looked like Latino majority districts on paper — but removed Latinos who voted regularly and replaced them with Latinos who were unlikely to vote.
Lawmakers widened the gap between the proportion of the population that is Latino and African Americans and the proportion of districts that are minority-controlled.
Texas removed economic centers and district offices from African-American and Latino districts, while giving white Republicans perks.
Divide and conquer: Texas "cracked" minority voters out of one district into three.
Texas passed a voter-ID law with requirements that would make it disproportionately difficult for African Americans and Latinos to vote.
Dale Curry
Abbott is an embarrassment to our State. You have played political hack to the t-party's partisan lies. And you have done so with the State's money, that should be spent on healthcare, and education. Soon, this state will be blue and you will be OUT OF HERE! Good riddance to bad rubbish!