New speaker candidate(s)?
I know I really shouldn’t pass along gossip, really I shouldn’t, and I wouldn’t do it if I were still a serious journalist instead of just a blogger, really I wouldn’t do it, honest, but a lobbyist...
View ArticleBringing Down the House
Eileen talks with Burka about the cantankerous Speaker’s race, a House divided, Craddick D’s, ABC’s, and 2010 with KBH. Honorable video mentions include: Reps. Tommy Merritt; Jim Keffer; Pete Gallego;...
View ArticleThe proposed House reforms: Good ideas or not?
As most readers know, Jim Keffer has proposed several reforms for the House of Representatives, and Dan Gattis has proposed a constitutional amendment to provide a means of removing the speaker. Let’s...
View ArticleThe speaker’s race: Update
The long Christmas weekend is about over. Keep an eye on the Ethics Commission tomorrow (Monday) for new filings for speaker. Gattis is a possibility. McCall is a possibility. It was this time last...
View ArticleNo Time for Tom
Everyone wants to attend Craddick’s funeral, but the corpse is still breathing—barely. One more nail in the awaiting coffin: The Democrats published their names. It’s vital, as January 13 approaches,...
View ArticleThe Next Speaker
It will be Dan Gattis, John Smithee, or Burt Solomons. Gattis has to build some momentum. The test, in a speaker’s race, is not whether a candidate can reach out to other members. It’s whether other...
View ArticleConversations with Craddick
A noncombatant Republican, not a member, sent me this e-mail about several conversations Craddick had over the weekend with supporters, which were duly reported to my source: Over the weekend, there...
View Article79 and counting…make that 80
That is how many members appear to be committed to a course to elect a new speaker. It’s the 64 Democrats plus the 11 members of the ABC coalition (some of whom are not hardcore ABCs) plus the Gattis...
View ArticleFor Auld Lang Speaker
The final video of 2008. (You can thank me later.) Stick a fork in Craddick? Is he really done? Really? Honorably Mentioned: Gattis, Smithee, Solomons, Kolkhorst, Chisum, Straus, Hamilton, McCall,...
View ArticleStraus in the wind: claims 76 votes
Gary Scharrer has posted a story in the San Antonio Express-News quoting Joe Straus as saying that he has the votes to be speaker. Here are the first three paragraphs: Republican lawmaker Joe Straus...
View ArticleIch bin ein Speaker!
Burka and Eileen discuss probable Speaker Joe Straus, Craddick’s exit, horse racing, and whether bridge qualifies as gambling. Honorably mentioned: John Smithee, Burt Solomons, Dan Gattis, Jim Keffer,...
View ArticleLet the speculation begin
Committee appointments will be the first real test of the Straus speakership. How many of the 149 members can he satisfy? Here are some of the problems he will face: —Straus has said that there will be...
View ArticlePROPOSED NEW HOUSE RULES
The highlights: 1. A process is established for removal of the speaker following the refusal to recognize a member for a question of privilege. (The Tom Craddick Rule) This had to be done. The...
View ArticleThe TPPF unemployment insurance debate
The Texas Public Policy Foundation hosted a debate last week on the subject of whether Texas should accept the stimulus funds for unemployment insurance. The audio is available on the TPPF web site...
View ArticleHog Heaven
Yes, the feral hogs debate was the House at its finest. No other parliamentary body in America could have produced that debate. Where else could you hear a hog hunt described as economic development?...
View ArticleDoes Dewhurst have a future as lieutenant governor?
Senate Republicans continue to have conversations about what to do in the event that (a) Dewhurst resigns his office to run for the Senate, or (b) opts to run for lieutenant governor again. The GOP...
View ArticleThe Gattis-Bius race and TLR
The conventional wisdom is that Gattis is a heavy favorite in this Senate race, and I have to agree. He comes from the biggest county in the district, and he has been running hard for some time,...
View ArticleGattis out, Ogden in
An amazing development. Gattis has spoken openly of his desire to be president of the United States some day. Now he is out of politics, not even running for reelection to the House. It’s a double...
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