Governor Needs No Protection
The last time Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico was around so many Texas senators was the summer of 2003 when he welcomed 11 Senate Democrats to Albuquerque and promised to protect them from efforts to forcibly return them to Austin for a special session of the Legislature. The Democrats had bolted the session and left the state to block Senate action on a GOP-led effort to redraw congressional districts in Texas.
On Monday, Mr. Richardson - a Democratic candidate for president - came to Austin and was welcomed to the Senate by Democrats and Republicans. He delivered brief remarks to the chamber, stressing the common interests and strong ties between Texas and New Mexico. His role in protecting Senate Democrats from GOP-backed efforts to retrieve them from an Albuquerque hotel four years ago seemed a distant memory. Several Republicans were among the senators who walked to the front of the chamber to shake hands with the former U.N. ambassador and U.S. energy secretary and have their pictures taken. Mr. Richardson was in town for a fund raiser.