Can Craddick come back?
Sure, there are circumstances under which he could regain the speakership. He has $3 million and a loyal core of conservative members who support him. He has time on his hands–nothing to do but make oil deals, raise money, and recruit candidates for 2010. The speaker’s statute is no longer an impediment to raising money. He can take up his old role as the unofficial “minority leader” against the bipartisan speakership. His institutional knowledge makes him a formidable adversary when it comes to throwing monkey wrenches in the works. He is still the darling of the SREC and other Republican activist groups like the Eagle Forum, which will not look favorably on Straus’s Democrat-heavy governing coalition. Craddick may have the tacit support of Governor Perry, since the Straus family is backing Hutchison in the governor’s race.
These factors by themselves are not sufficient to assure a Craddick comeback. He needs help from Washington: a failed first two years of the Obama presidency, so that the country turns against the Democrats in the mid-term elections and 2010 becomes a huge Republican year. And, of course, he needs for the Straus speakership to be unsuccessful, or at least sufficiently SNAFU’d that there are a lot disgruntled members.
The main thing Craddick has going for him is that he has the will to make the fight. Most politicians, having lost, do not have the stomach for a comeback. Bill Clements was an exception. Jim Mattox was an exception. And let us not forget James Ferguson, the only Texas governor to be impeached, who even in disgrace would not let his enemies get the best of him. Ineligible to serve, he got his wife to run, and she won, twice. That’s Craddick. Never give up, never.
Tagged: 2010, Joe Straus, kay bailey hutchison, rick perry, speaker, tom craddick.
Politico says:
Texas politics is never dull. If his intent is to run again for Speaker, will he be assigned to the Committee of No Relevance?
Reply »
Anonymous says:
Pupetteer of a right-wing coup, perhaps. Speaker, no.
Reply »
Distinguished Gentleman says:
The only way to finally nail the lid on Tom Craddick’s lust for the power of the Speakership is by means of official term limits.
Without official term limits, we will never be rid of this man’s ever-threatening menace.
As one of the House’s first orders of business, it must officially address placing retroactive term limits upon any member who in the past has occupied the post of Speaker as well as prospective term limits for all future Speakers.
Reply »
Get it Right says:
Craddick should the honorable thing by simply riding into the sunset. He and his kind of despot rule is no longer needed or tolerated in Texas politics. A new era has emerged and he needs to recognize that change or history will treat even less kinder.
Reply »
Anonymous says:
…So, Nadine is going to run for Speaker!? It’ll be bee hive hair and Cache for every man, woman and child. Gawd help us all.
Reply »
Burka's Research Assistant says:
Sounds like a Churchill speech.
Reply »
Anonymous says:
As long as Craddick has a breath in his lungs, he will never quietly ride into the sunset. He will lurk in the background, seeking to gum up the works, and all the while plotting his come-back as Speaker.
Reply »
A2Z says:
This post just makes me sick to my stomach. Blech. As Get It Right says, “Craddick should do the honorable thing by simply riding into the sunset.” Like that Will Rogers statue at Tech.
Reply »
Sidd Finch Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Which is funny, because everyone knows that knows anything about that statue knows that Will isn’t really riding off into the sunset.
Reply »
Tellnitlikeitis says:
Look up “folly” in a dictionary and you will find this blog item defined.
Craddick is finished, period.
A good many House members who have arrived from and since the 2002 elections have no idea how the House can and should be run.
They think it’s normal for the speaker’s office to run committees and to dictate which bills should die and which should go up to the floor.
They think it’s normal that certain lobbyists are entitled to an Owner’s Box.
They think it’s normal that the speaker’s office can tell the lobby who to hire and who will be persona non-grata.
They believe that being told how to vote on certain issues is normal – even if those votes harm their district.
They think it’s normal to be warned of primary opposition if they don’t do the team’s bidding.
They will find out in short order that Craddick tortured democracy.
They soon will be liberated.
Humpty-dumpty has collapsed. There’s no putting humpty back together again.
Speculation that Humpty might come back borders on the absurd.
Reply »
Anonymous says:
I want to know what MK thinks, his opinion is the only one that really matters.
Reply »
anon-p says:
I wonder what kind of deal got cut between the Straus faction and the Democrats in order to get the few Craddick Democrats to defect to the ABCs.
I wonder what role the national party played in this to get those Craddick Democrats to leave Craddick. Straus and his Republican turncoats wouldn’t have been able to do it themselves.
Craddick could have (and probably would have) offered the sky to those Democrats he had on his side to stay with him. He either did not or his offer couldn’t match that offered by the Straus faction (unlikely) or that offered/threatened by the national Democrats (likely).
Feel free to continue with the “evil one dethroned; proper House behavior returned” talk, though. It makes me chuckle.
Reply »
Anonymous Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
No secret here. They didn’t jump til the writing was on the wall. Then they did what politicians are want to do — go with the winner.
Reply »
anon-p Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
> No secret here. They didn’t jump til the writing was on the wall.
Uh huh. Because Straus was the magic writing on the wall that wasn’t there days before when people like Dutton were all but scoffing at the idea of another R speaker who wasn’t Craddick.
I know y’all want to believe that Straus unseating Craddick was just good old fashioned political backlash against Craddick’s “trickster” style, though. It sounds more comfortable if you’re in that 65 ABC Democrat camp.
The pro-business+libertarian wing of the Republican party has been licking their wounds since the effective takeover by the social conservatives in the 80’s, early 90’s. That’s who Straus represents, and that’s who is about to do battle in the Republican party, probably with KBH as their figurehead.
More than likely, they’ll probably lose, but it’s interesting to see the D’s add fuel to that fire with this latest action, and it’s amusing to see y’all talk about “civility” and “fairness” and “the old, proper way of doing House business” amidst it all as if there were no complicity in the rancour about to befall the Republican party and the spillover effects to Texas politics in general.
Reply »
Anonymous Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Hope you’re not including me in your “y’all.” I tend to agree with your view when it comes to all the anti-Craddick’s talk of civility, fairness, and protecting the institution of the House. And sure, there was a deal b/w Straus and Dunnam. But it wasn’t a deal with Dunnam that got “the few Craddick Democrats to defect.” They just followed the same MO that made them Craddick D’s in the first place.
Ben Quick Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
“The pro-business+libertarian wing of the Republican party has been licking their wounds since the effective takeover by the social conservatives in the 80’s, early 90’s. That’s who Straus represents, and that’s who is about to do battle in the Republican party, probably with KBH as their figurehead.”
Do you grow your own or get it from a friend?
Reply »
JudgeRoy says:
When Rep. Dukes and the others finally turned on ol’ Tom, they should of stabbed him in the heart with a butcher knife.
Reply »
paulburka says:
To Judge Roy –
You’re going to get banished to Langtry if you violate the common decency standard for posts.
Reply »
Pat Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Yes of course…but what if we speak in Shakespearian metaphors, from, say, MacBeth? haha.
Reply »
paulburka Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 12:52 am
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee:
–I have the not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the Craddick-oppressed brain?
Reply »
Anonymous says:
Paul:
I do find it interesting that Craddick’s office has never issued any type of statement concerning his withdrawl from the Speaker’s race or an acknowledgement that Straus had the votes to be the next Speaker. That fact alone may validate your intelligence from one of the ABCs that he is plotting a comeback. I have it on very good authority that a press release had been drafted and was to be issued to the news media by Alexis DeLee last Sunday night informing the world that Craddick was out and would be freeing his pledges, but Sunday night came and went without any such release. Instead, the news about Craddick’s withdrawl was left to be delivered by Reps Sid Miller, Will Hartnett, Leo Berman and others attending the Sunday night Sullivan’s meeting. Don’t you think it strange that there has been no formal acknowledgement by Craddick that he is out and Straus is in? Did Pete Laney make a formal press announcement six years ago when it became clear that he was out and Craddick was in? Paul, your comments on this detail might shed some additional light about Craddick’s true intentions.
Reply »
Anonymous Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
ummm, who cares about a press release? unless you’re alexis delee, who knows if one even existed? who cares if there’s no “formal acknowledgement?” that doesn’t change the vote on tuesday or in two years. who cares what laney did six years ago? MOVE ON!
Reply »
Anonymous Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
If House members want to guarantee that Craddick will not rise from the ashes like a vengeful phoenix, then they had better take this golden once in a lifetime opportunity to impose term limits on the Speakership. Otherwise, anything could happen.
Reply »
Anonymous says:
I spoke with the Speaker — yes, he is the Speaker until Tuesday morning — I don’t believe he is plotting a “come back” but he certainly intends to continue to serve his constituents in the Texas House…if the statements by Straus are true that the house will be conducted in such a way that members will be free to rise to the level of their expertise, influence and so forth, then you can bet Representative Craddick will be a force in the House…
For all of you who are making these statements re sabotage and underhandedness on Craddick’s part, give me a break. What in the hell do you think Dunnam, et al have been doing for four, if not six, years now?
Do I wish Tom would ride off into the sunset? Yes. Will he, no. Why? There’s too much at stake and it has nothing to do with Laney and everything to do with the fact that Tom is and continues to be the darling of the conservative influence in Texas.
Reply »
Phillip Martin Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Water.
I think Craddick is going to do some big, big stuff with water right now. He’s going on thirty years since he passed his first statewide water plan. And Straus isn’t going to know how to negotiate, argue, or control any sort of debate on water. It will be (like last session) a lobbyist vs. lobbyist battle, where Craddick has more knowledge about the state, the Members, and the lobby. I really think he’ll help coordinate some major water legislation.
Just a thought.
Reply »
John Johnson Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Yeah … Craddick and his cronies might get some venture capitalist group to put up a bunch of money for the rights to Texas water … similar to the deal the monopolistic electricity generating companies got. All it takes is about 100 lobbyists and approx. $13M in throw-around cash. They could then jack up the price per gallon to who-knows-what. They could take the money that is left over and pay talking heads to tell us commonbreds how good we have it, and to conduct biased surveys which show that we like being bent over.
Reply »
cow droppings says:
he issued a release sunday night releasing his pledges numnuts (as in plural, since there are so many of you.)
Reply »
Ed Cognoski says:
I’d say stranger things have happened in politics, but I’m not sure that’s true. This comeback, if it happens, would be the equal of the most unlikely political comebacks of all time.
Reply »
Anonymous says:
Maybe straus should name him natural resources chair.
Reply »
Floozikins says:
Parkinson’s.
Reply »
paulburka Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Wasn’t it enough that we had to put up with Bill Frist’s diagnosis of Terry Schiavo based on what he saw on television? Do I have to report Floozikins to the Board of Medical Examiners for blogging medicine without a license?
Reply »
John Johnson says:
Anon p @ 1:39pm: Am I reading ur post correctly? You think that Craddick’s underlings have not been pro business? They have given Big Business everything they asked for. As a small business owner, they failed me miserably, as they did most hard working Texans. We didn’t get screwed by a Dem or Repub … we got screwed by Big Business’s money that ran through the Speaker’s office.
Reply »
Anonymous says:
For what is worth here’s how I see it the money people that TC used to fund the campaigns have no real respect for the house or TC they paid for and demanded their return most of what they wanted has already happened. Don’t think TC will reach into his own pocket to fund camgaigns. The fight will be over the heart and soul of the Republican party no different from what happened to the Dem’s years ago. TC has not been that successful in the past with canidates that run to the far right and I don’t see that changing so in my opinion it will be hard to comeback he would need to pick off close to 20 to 25 seats. In addition you have to fiqure more of TC’s people are likely to retire since they will be out of the power seats. One more thought TC has never been much of a force on the mike and he has but a few in his circle that are capable of floor debate most are totally useless in debate and working members outside their group and if Straus does his job there won’t be enough raw meat to feed the far right in the primaries
Reply »
Anonymous Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Exactly, if straus plays his cards right, he will take the wind out of the sails of TC and the far right radicals. The SREC has been liberated, too. At least regarding TC they no longer have to walk in lock step or fear an opponent supported by the RPT.
Reply »
Jeff Crosby Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
I’m not so sure about this one. We are in a post-Craddick world, but that is not necessarily a post-partisan world. I suspect the Sullivans crowd — with the assistance of activist groups like Empower Texas — will force members to take tough votes. If nothing else, they’ll do it to undermine Dems in competitive seats. Thats’s politics.
Reply »
Texas Grad Student says:
So he should run Nadine as “two speakers for the price of one”?
Reply »
Anonymous says:
So what is the latest news on where Craddick must relocate to? Is it still the plan that he goes down to level E2 and moves into Straus’ low-seniority office? Or has some type of deal been worked out whereby Craddick gets fancier digs?
Reply »
Anonymous says:
Maybe all Craddick wants is one big parting shot. Maybe that one shot will be to get 51 votes and kill Straus’s bid to legalize slot machines at his family’s race track.
Straus will almost certainly be challenged as speaker in 2010. If the Ds win a majority, he’s out. If the Rs keep a majority, he will be challenged by someone more experienced and respected by the members, who will start with a block of around 60 votes + any other members who he pisses off in the 2009 session.
Reply »
Вячеслав Меньшиков says:
Кстати подобное придумали порядка лет 10 назад .:
Reply »