Because I'm a staunch advocate of the democratic process, it pisses me off when people subvert it. It pisses me off even more if those people are elected representatives. It pisses me off even more if they're from my state.

Fifty-three Texas House Democrats, more powerful when they don't show up than when they do, hid out Monday and halted the legislative process as state police tracked them down in Oklahoma.

Fifty-one of the missing lawmakers, who oppose Republican efforts to redraw the state's congressional boundaries, were holed up at a Holiday Inn in Ardmore, Okla., dining at Denny's and plotting their next move, several of them said late Monday.

Here's a list of the weasels. Thankfully, my rep, Dan Branch, is not among them (he's a Republican).

Look, if you disagree with proposed legislation, stand up and fight. Don't run away to a Holiday Inn in Ardmore, Oklahoma. This would be like Democrats in the national Senate flying off to hide in France so they don't have to consider Bush's tax plan. It's cowardly, it's stupid, and it's undemocratic.