I did not respond to comments to the posting on Pitts’ press release blasting Craddick, but, in retrospect, one requires a reply, and not just in the area for comments:“I always knew the plaintiff’s lawyers were coordinating the anti Craddick campaign. But I respected Pitts. Now, I’m starting to lose
A Republican consultant writes that he was reminded of the complaints about committee assignments in church this morning when his minister quoted C.S. Lewis:“Everyone says forgiveness is a wonderful idea until he has something to forgive.”
The question is whether Craddick made a good-faith effort to treat members fairly in making committee assignments. There are two ways to look at this. One is individually. Did Craddick retaliate against members who challenged him for speaker? This is what is likely to get all the attention. But the
Here are the committee chairs for the 80th Legislature:Agriculture — Sid Miller. Can’t do too much damage here.Appropriations — Warren Chisum. As expected.Border/International Affairs — Tracy King (Craddick D)Business/Industry — Giddings (Craddick D)Calendars — Woolley. Vice chair, Nancy Fisher. Includes 4 Craddick Ds (Chavez, Dutton, Guillen, Turner)Civil Practices — Byron
“In spite of his repeated assurances to members of the House and the public that there would be no retribution, it appears that the Speaker has chosen retaliation over reconciliation.”Minutes ago, losing speaker candidate Jim Pitts issued a harshly worded press statement criticizing his treatment by victor Tom Craddick.
The controversy over the Bush Library at SMU continues to escalate. Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert gave the library the full treatment, with collateral damage to two SMU theology professors who wrote an editorial in the Daily Campus, the student newspaper, urging rejection of the library.The Daily Campus editorial board,
SurveyUSA’s monthly tracking poll for the job approval ratings of President Bush, Governor Perry, and U.S. senators Hutchison and Cornyn show improvements for all except Cornyn. The poll surveyed 600 adults (not necessarily likely voters) and has a margin of error of +/- 4%.Bush hit an all-time low in Texas
Tom Craddick’s committee appointments, which have been delayed until Friday, perhaps longer, will be closely examined for signs of retribution following the speakers race that started the session. This raises the question of what is “fair” retribution and what is “unfair” retribution? Craddick can hardly be expected to forgive and
Today’s New York Times has an op-ed piece by James Hollifield, the director of the [John] Tower Center for Political Studies at SMU, making the case for acceptance of the controversial George W. Bush presidential library by the university’s trustees. Hollifield writes that he was a graduate student at
On December 14, I first wrote about the protest by faculty and staff at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology urging the university trustees to reject the George W. Bush presidential library. As far as I know, that posting was the first mention in any news medium about the protest. I
Thanks to Will Lutz of the Lone Star Report and Evan of Rick Perry vs. The World blog for calling to my attention Denise McNamara’s comments about U.S. Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, which she posted on dallasblog.com.McNamara is the Republican National Committeewoman from Texas, and
The Washington Times reported today that President Bush’s choice to be general chairman of the Republican National Committee, U.S. Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, has met with heavy resistance among RNC members, including the three members from Texas. Martinez’s problem is twofold: first, he is strictly a symbolic choice–the
In the posting I wrote about the House rules debate, I mentioned Yvonne Davis’s amendment to provide criminal penalties under the Open Meetings law for illegal closed committee meetings. Joe Nixon, the chairman of the Civil Practices committee during the 2003 and 2005 sessions, sent the following e-mail shortly after
The House spent last Friday debating its rules. Since the rules don’t change much from session to session, you would think that this could have been done in an hour or two, but the House never does anything in an hour or two except break for lunch. It took a
Readers may recall the controversy in December on this Web site about the protests by SMU faculty members over the university’s decision to host the George W. Bush presidential library. I am still getting comments to be posted about that issue. I’m going to publish this one, because it has
I received this e-mail about Craddick’s prospects. The writer, who wishes to remain anonymous, disagrees with my assessment that Craddick will be reelected in 2009, if he runs again, because members will find that Republicans back home in their districts will not like their support of Craddick. The former member
The Associated Press is reporting that Senator Mario Gallegos of Houston has announced that he needs a liver transplant and may miss “most” of the session. Gallegos was elected president pro tem of the Senate by his colleagues on the opening day of the session. While the Capitol community
A reader posted a comment last night that raises the issue of whether Tom Craddick won the speakership because of his intimidation tactics:“The Legislature set a fine example for Texas children – elect the playground bully Student Body President. He will punish you if you don’t. Another feckless performance by
…what would have happened if Brian McCall had called a press conference in the Capitol on November 8 and announced that he would run for speaker? In his statement, McCall would have said something like this: “Today I intend to file the necessary papers to run for speaker of the
To walk in the House chamber at noon yesterday was to realize that we were witnessing an historic moment–a challenge to a sitting speaker. The “rig count”–the number of TV cameras on tripods situated on the floor–was 21, the highest I have ever seen. Every seat in the gallery was
See Section 3: Paper ballots to be placed in a ballot box, counted, and made public afterwards. I think this is a fair process. It allows the votes to be made public, which should be the case, but it prevents armtwisting, machine malfunctions, and and any other mischief during the
A reader sent in a comment to my earlier post this morning, “YouTube Ds,” which I want to address in the main portion of the blog, rather than in the comment section:The ubiquitous “anonymous” quotes me as saying, “The Craddick Ds were the firewall that saved Craddick’s speakership,” then asks:
It was definitely the Ds, or an affiliated group, who were behind the videotaping of arriving members at Craddick’s affair at the Austin Club Sunday night. The YouTube video of ten Democratic members arriving at the Craddick loyalty session can be seen on the Burnt Orange Report, edited by
There’s a story making the rounds tonight, from the Pitts campaign, that a Republican chairman has flipped. I talked to a noncombatant who had heard it from one of the main Pitts strategists.Here’s the list of Republican chairs, in alphabetical order of their committees. Chairs with an asterisk after their
I don’t think I’ll hear anything new tonight. Many members will be at the Legislative Wives Club soiree. My intention is to watch the BCS championship. I’ll take Florida plus the points (8). When you learn how bad I am at betting on football games (which I only do in
I have been told that there is an agreement that the vote for speaker will occur by paper ballot. As the Quorum Report related earlier today, the Pitts camp wants the ballots made public after committee assignments, so that Craddick, if victorious, would not be able to punish members who
Call from the Pitts camp … “the race is very much alive.” And this from someone who is not a current member but knows how to play the game.I’m not going to undo my call of the race for Craddick. But I do believe that the race is close enough–within
The news that the Pitts forces are pressing for a secret ballot, with the results to be released after committee appointments, is a clear indication that they feel they are behind. (And they’re right.) That consensus seems to be building in the lobby as well. I’m going to call the
A reader commented on the previous posting, “Photo Op”:Has it occurred to you that perhaps the videographer was there to cast suspicion on the Dems and neutralize the “intimidation” issue for Craddick? Dollars to doughnuts the guy was on Craddick’s payroll so the old man can say, “see, they do
The Craddick fete at the Austin Club seems to have drawn an uninvited street crowd. In addition to TV cameras, a freelance photograph took photos of arriving guests with a digital camera. You can bet that Craddick will know who showed up, so the cloud of suspicion falls on Democrats
I know that bloggers aren’t allowed to have a life, but just for once I’m going to try to have one today. There’s a big bridge tournament, I’m a serious player, I played a little yesterday and I’m going to play a lot today. I’m really sorry to be so
I chose a date in the future–about the time floor debate really starts to heat up and the calendar grows long and members start to realize that their bills are dead–because I really don’t think that the speakers race ends on Tuesday at noon. Oh, there will be a winner,
That was Jim Pitts’ description to me, in a brief phone conversation this afternoon, of the recent moves by the Craddick camp: the new double-barrelled pledge card, to be signed Sunday night, that reads (according to the Quorum Report), “I am committed to voting for Speaker Tom Craddick for
Congressman Silvestre Reyes16th District of TexasP R E S S R E L E A S EFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 5, 2007CONTACT: Kira Maas: (202) 225-4831 or (202) 225-2912 (cell)http://www.house.gov/reyesEl Paso to Receive Homeland Security FundsWashington, D.C. – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced that
I didn’t start this post until several hours after the Pitts-McCall press conference. It was such a letdown that I didn’t have any inspiration. There was nothing to analyze, just a weak performance that did nothing to bolster Pitts’ candidacy, not because they are weak people– quite to the contrary,
Despite some rather vehement contradictions from readers who posted comments, I continue to believe that unless Pitts comes forward with names today, he’s toast. Here’s why: The first person to produce a credible list of supporters with sufficient votes wins a speakers race. Craddick’s list has not been credible because
That’s the word from one of the ABCs, who called me a few minutes ago (around 11:15 a.m.). As it was explained to me, the defecting Republicans still live in fear of retaliation from Craddick, who is capable of generating pressure from the entire Republican apparatus, from precinct chairs to
Is it possible that the Democrats–can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? Some have their noses out of joint because McCall and Pitts did not consult them first before making their alliance? Well, if anybody could blow it, it’s this bunch. I’m reminded of the time when Patti Gray
I was beginning to have bloggers’ remorse about reporting that Jim Pitts and Brian McCall would be holding a press conference at 4 p.m. on Thursday, based on what a member deeply involved in the challenge to Tom Craddick told me, because I had not seen a press release announcing
Sorry to write about something other than the Speakers race, but … Reuters is reporting tonight that intelligence czar John Negroponte is leaving his job to take the number-two job in the State Department. This is the position that former Texas A&M president Robert Gates turned down in 2005
I’ve been derelict in my duty while going out to dinner with my kids and watching football, so I missed this statement e-mailed earlier today by Alexis DeLee, the speaker’s press secretary.Public StatementReleased by State Representative Jim KefferOn Speakers Election For Texas House of Representatives— The spirited race for Speaker
The official response from the speakers office to the McCall-Pitts alliance is that nothing has changed. I just talked to a former member who had talked to a current Craddick pledge, and the message the member had gotten from Craddick was, “It’s not true, don’t worry, we have 83 votes.”And
From a source in the McCall-Pitts camp: “McCall is making calls for Pitts. There will be a press conference at 4 p.m. tomorrow and the names will be pouring out.” If they are willing to publish names, the Craddick speakership is over.ADDENDUM: 9:52 P.M. I want to make clear that
This is what I was told. The source is close to several Craddick insiders but is not a Craddick fan.–At the chairs’ meeting last week, the Craddick forces divided up the list of members so that every member of the House was called three times. Anyone who lied had to
Phil King issued this press statement today:For Immediate Release: January 2, 2007Rep. King Denies Reports of Intent to Run for SpeakerAustin – Representative Phil King (R – Weatherford) issued the following statement today in response to reports that he plans to run for Speaker:”Contrary to the many rumors that have
I received this e-mail today from Alexis DeLee, the press secretary for Speaker Craddick:Dear Paul,Your most recent blog posting, “Plan B,” that would call for Tom Craddick to abdicate the speakership for another candidate and your vote count are categorically wrong.Speaker Craddick has shown that he holds the pledges necessary
The pre-legislative political season has been so heated that I overlooked SurveyUSA’s monthly tracking polls for December. Here are the job approval numbers for President Bush, Governor Rick Perry, and U.S. senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn in Texas. The poll of 600 adults has a margin of error
This letter signed by House chairs supporting the reelection of Tom Craddick as speaker was sent to this Web site for posting as a response to the item, “The Final Days of Tom Craddick: Plan B.” However, because many readers do not check the comments by readers, I am posting
In an earlier version of “The Final Days of Tom Craddick: Plan B,” I noted that a comment sent by an anonymous reader read like professional opposition research against Brian McCall from a professional political shop and that HillCo partners had been promoting Tom Craddick’s candidacy for speaker. I have
The sands are falling through the hour glass on Tom Craddick’s speakership. The Craddick chairs have started to worry about their own skins. I am told that Craddick has until the middle of this week to try to get the votes he needs, and then he will have to abdicate