After writing about the battle between the governor and the Legislature over the legitimacy of executive orders, I remembered a story from my last year as a legislative staffer that seems pertinent. This dates from so long ago–1973–that conference committees actually met in public and debated issues in the open.
The election of Frank Corte as Republican caucus chair over Geanie Morrison was something less than an earth-shattering development, but the post-mortem was interesting. My assumption was that Morrison would win. She gets high marks as chair of Higher Education and she’s well liked. One explanation is that she is
The confrontation over Rick Perry’s executive order that all sixth grade girls should be vaccinated against the virus that is linked to cervical cancer is going to have far-reaching effects. If a governor can legally do what Perry is attempting–establish a program that spends money–the balance of power between the
I want to welcome my longtime colleague in covering the Legislature, Patricia Kilday Hart, to the blog. She will be posting on this site, but first we have some technology issues to work out. I’m going to publish her first post below, but later she will be posting here under
Is it just me, or does anybody else think that this is the weirdest session ever? Think of all that has occurred already: Ted Nugent at the inauguration; huge fights over routine matters (the House rules, suspending the 4/5 rule); bad ideas (an unconstitutional death penalty for repeat sexual predators,
A friend sent me a good piece from the conservative Weekly Standard questioning the Senate Democrats’ strategy on the Iraq War. I had been wondering the same thing. This is not a story saying that the Democrats’ strategy is bad for the country. It says that their strategy is
There’s an old saying in politics that it’s not your enemies who cause you the most trouble, it’s your friends. Such was the case when Rick Perry issued his executive order requiring that all girls entering the sixth grade receive a new vaccine for cervical cancer marketed by Merck, touching
I happened to run into Norman Adams, the anti-tax activist and outspoken critic of the business tax that passed during the spring 06 special session, and he was mighty glum about the prospects for his lawsuit against the tax. He said that Mark Lanier, the mega-litigator with GOP ties, had
Upon motion by David Farabee, the House of Representatives today adjourned until 2 p.m. Monday in memory of Molly Ivins.
In The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution Against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos, the best-selling author and Southern Methodist University professor of economics expounds on corruption and the keys to global prosperity.Your new book identifies a laundry list of global economic problems. Can you single out the most worrisome?
No one could describe Texas politics like Molly. She could do it with a keyboard, a droll remark, or something as simple as a roll of her eyes while sitting in the House gallery. For the thirty-five years that I knew her, she was the articulate, entertaining, unflagging, and ever-optimistic
In case you missed it, a group of Democrats led by Sylvester Turner and calling themselves “Democrats for Reform” had a press conference on Tuesday to announce their support for a far-reaching legislative agenda. They had one thing in common: All had supported Tom Craddick for speaker. The media treated
The fight over the 4/5 rule in the House yesterday was the sort of spat that, if the Rs (supported in debate by Sylvester Turner) and Ds had been married, would have caused a divorce–a desultory combination of bitter and meaningless. It was a fight that was not over the
They’re on the first amendment to suspend the 4/5 rule, and already the House has turned into a circus. Michael Villarreal has an amendment to suspend the rule for six particular issues. Then Puente wants to add water conversation. Then Charlie Howard says, You’ve left out education. Then Chisum says,
Article 3, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution stipulates that the first thirty days of a regular session of the Legislature should be limited to the introduction of bills and resolutions and acting on emergency matters submitted by the governor. The next thirty days is for committees to hear bills
From a Baselice & Associates poll, conducted 1/17-21 (501 Texas Republican primary voters, margin of error +/- 4.5%):Favorable/UnfavorableGiuliani 77/9McCain 62/22Gingrich 62/21Romney 24/7Presidential Primary ChoiceGiuliani 28%McCain 26%Gingrich 17%Romney 6%Brownback 2%Huckabee 2%Pataki 1%Hagel 1%Other/Undecided 18%I wonder whether Giuliani’s favorables can withstand attack. His public affair and subsequent divorce will not go over
ADWEEK reports that GSD&M co-founder Roy Spence has signed on to be one of three top advertising executives in charge of marketing strategy for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. Spence formerly was the lead media consultant for Walter Mondale’s 1984 presidential campaign. I wrote an article about Spence’s
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
