Reply #2: DeLay, Republicans Face Political Setback on Texas Voting Map

[papau]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=a1G4iHwLeq90
DeLay, Republicans Face Political Setback on Texas Voting Map
By Laura Litvan and Greg Stohr
Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review congressional redistricting in Texas is a new setback for Republicans and Representative Tom DeLay, who lost his House leadership post over the issue and now finds the plan he engineered in legal jeopardy.
The high court may force a redrafting of the redistricting map that helped Republicans pick up five U.S. House seats in Texas in the 2004 elections. The decision to consider the case is a symbolic boost to Democrats in Texas and Congress, without guaranteeing them more seats as they seek to win back control of the House.
DeLay, then House majority leader, worked to elect state lawmakers who backed the change and then personally visited the Capitol in Austin to consult on where to draw the district lines. He was indicted Oct. 3 on money-laundering and conspiracy charges related to fund-raising for the Texas statehouse candidates.
``This is another blow to DeLay,'' said Amy Walter, House editor of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter based in Washington.
The court may send the Republican-backed map back to a Texas court or the Legislature for redrawing, or order a return to an earlier districting plan drawn after the 2000 Census, said Bruce Buchanan, a professor of government at the University of Texas in Austin.
The court's decision also has the potential to complicate the Texas election calendar, including the primary scheduled for March 7. <snip>