A lot of questions are going to get answered on Tuesday. One that may not have a clear resolution is the matter of who will be Speaker of the Texas House. If the Democrats wind up with a majority in that chamber, it’s virtually certain there will be a change from current Speaker Tom Craddick. If not, there still may be a change if the Dems make some gains.
At least one Republican, Rep. Jim Keffer of Eastland, has been actively campaigning for the post.
“Regardless of how the Republican and Democrat numbers change in the Texas House, there is a majority desire for a new speaker,” Keffer said. “The sentiment for change is not personal, members in the Texas House just want bipartisan leadership which is committed to restoring the rules of conduct and fairness.”
Democrats, as well, have been mobilizing for swift post-election movement, should the minority party suddenly become the majority.
In fact, the Democrats plan to meet on Wednesday to get all their members on the same page while reaching out to anti-Craddick Republicans. Craddick certainly still has plenty of supporters. The best shot at ousting him lies in unelecting some of those folks. But the gamesmanship that will begin on Wednesday will be important as well. The next legislative session won’t wait until 2009 to get started.
Not to be a cynic, but the chances of the House Dems getting all their members on the same page is about the same as McCain’s chance of winning the presidency.
Most likely, the Republicans and Democrats will have about the same number of seats in the House. Whoever will be speaker will have to reach across party lines to get enough votes, just like Craddick did last session. There is nothing wrong with the House Dems not having a consensus candidate come our of the caucus. I would rather have the Dems acknowledge that there is not a consensus candidate than have them try to achieve consensus and fail bitterly. The House Dems will not have the votes to ram their choice down the throats of the Republicans, and I bet the Craddick loyalists keep a strong voting block of about 50 members.
Very interesting dynamics.