For now. Let's hope they don't bring it up again.

What defense did the Republicans use for proposing this in the first place? I'll try to look it up. . .

Is this it?

Rep. CRADDICK: Well, you know, two years ago when we did redistricting, that--when we had a Democrat-controlled Texas House and a Democrat speaker, they refused to give us a vote on legislative redistricting. So the people of Texas have never had their representatives ever to--ever vote on it. And it's our right to vote on it, and we're now under a court order. And the people statewide want their elected officials to decide who represents them in Congress, not a federal court.

Hi,
It is the right of the majority to redistrict, but since the Dem's don't care about democracy, this is what they resort to doing. The people of Texas have voted republican, now its there right to redistrict after a long history of Democratic redistricting. -Robert S. Morgan

Robert, the current district plan has been reviewed and approved by conservative judges and office-holders on both the state and federal levels. There is nothing wrong with the current configuration, and it should stay in place until 2010 as planned. This is a case of one group using authority to ensure that people who vote against its candidates aren't given fair representation. One thing you need to learn about your beloved democracy is that majority rule isn't carte blanche authority for majoritarian domination. If there is a lack of democracy anywhere in this situation, it is in the Republican effort to destroy a system that is already healthy for democracy and fair representation by replacing it with one only beneficial to their agenda.

Wow. That map looks almost normal compared to the districts in my home- North Carolina.

This is the problem with a 2 party system. The winner will always have the majority and can do more or less what they want. There are some pros with the system, but I thing the cons are much bigger.

An easier solution if you want to have a more accurate representation is to have proportional representation, not winner takes it all system. I am not sure how exactly the rules are in Texas.

It's an horrible precedent to allow redistricting whenever the majority feels it has a chance to profit (all of the instability of a parliamentary system and none of the democracy!) but i have to say that a comparison between this map and the existing map does not particularly outrage me. take a look:
http://www.iolp.gsa.gov/iolp/StateDetail.asp?sID=48

the bigger issue should be putting limits on gerrymandering while attempting to adhere to the voting rights act. unfortunately i doubt there is a populist soundbite that could make this issue catch fire with the public. also unfortunately, any change must come from the 2 beneficiaries of the practice- the majority parties.