Burka suggests that the recent entry into the Speaker Sweepstakes by Rep. Ed Kuempel represents a realistic scenario for Tom Craddick to lose, since everyone likes Kuempel and he doesn't represent a threat to anyone. Hey, any scenario that involves someone else getting elected Speaker is fine by me. I'll still feel more confident about such a possibility when it's one consensus candidate against Craddick instead of a cast of thousands. One thing that occurs to me is that I'm not sure I buy the conventional wisdom that Republicans who vote for a non-Craddick Speaker, who will by necessity be elected with majority-Democratic support, are taking a big risk of a primary backlash. I mean, some of these guys - Geren, Jones, Merritt - have already survived Craddick's best shot to kill them off. Others who were openly opposing Craddick by the end of the 2007 session, like Pitts and Keffer and Byron Cook, had no primary opponents this year. I know the State Republican Executive Committee has come out firmly for Craddick, I'm just wondering how much teeth this threat has. Just a thought.