This is the text of a release received from Bonilla’s office late this afternoon:
“Today Congressman Henry Bonilla (R-TX-23rd) issued the following statement regarding the brief in response to the redistricting proposals submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
‘Last week my colleagues Lamar Smith and Henry Cuellar joined me in filing the only bipartisan compromise to the redistricting impasse. The Bipartisan Congressional Compromise Remedy we submitted is he only proposal which addresses all of the issues raised by the Supreme Court.
‘I have been honored to represent the constituents in my district and would prefer to represent all of the communities; however, the mandate issued by the Supreme Court has required the 23rd district to be altered. The plan proposed by my bipartisan colleagues and I provide [sic] minimal disruption for future elections while addressing all of the additional concerns.
‘All too seldom today are political issues resolved with bipartisan compromise and I believe the agreement we proposed will be a model for bipartisan teamwork in the future.'”
In case your memory needs refreshing, Bonilla’s district had to be altered in 2003 because he had almost been defeated in 2002. The Legislature solved his problem by splitting Webb County and placing some 100,000 Hispanics in Cuellar’s district. The Supreme Court held that this maneuver violated the Voting Rights Act.
So what is Bonilla up to? Attorney General Abbott’s brief gives the Court the hard sell to adopt the plan signed off on by Perry, Dewhurst, and Craddick. What do you want to bet that Bonilla likes the bipartisan plan better?
