Talk of ousting Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick grows

Talk of ousting speaker grows Possible rebels weigh political consequences and fate of legislation.

Members of the Texas House returned from the Mother's Day weekend Monday to rampant speculation that an effort to dethrone Speaker Tom Craddick would not wait until the next legislative session, but rather would play out before this session ends in two weeks.

And although several of the Republicans named as possible rebels distanced themselves from that notion, the man at the center of the talk remained coy.

"Everything is extremely premature to be guessing what is happening," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, said when asked about speculation that he is organizing an effort to overthrow Craddick so that Keffer could become the new speaker.

A majority of House members could vote to oust Craddick through a motion to vacate the chair. Then the full House would debate who should take his place.

Rep. Fred Hill, R-Richardson, said members must weigh the political consequences as well as the impact on pending legislation before voting to vacate the chair and elect a new speaker.

"If they can get the votes, they'll do it," Hill said. "They are working the floor now."

When the Legislature convened in January, Craddick, a veteran lawmaker from Midland, withstood an unprecedented floor challenge to his speakership.

Last week, the House voted to overturn a procedural ruling Craddick made on a proposal focused on Zapata County. Craddick had placed the bill on the major state calendar, a legislative agenda usually saved for bills with statewide impact. The resounding vote to overrule him was seen as the opening salvo in the race to see who would be House speaker in 2009.

That vote also fueled speculation that members of the House — some of whom think Craddick is too heavy-handed, others of whom think he has overcorrected and lost control — would move quickly to force him out with a motion to vacate, a procedure that has been used only once, in 1871, according to the Legislative Reference Library.

Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, last week consulted with Craddick during the procedural challenge and then encouraged colleagues to vote against the speaker, as he did. But he said Monday he would not support an effort to remove Craddick before the session's end.

"I don't think it's right for the body, for the membership, to be put through that mess," Gattis said. "Ultimately, what would be the reason? The only reason is so that somebody else could become speaker. And to put the body through that without running a legitimate speaker's race, I just don't think that's the right way to do it."

An e-mail sent to Republican county chairmen, chairwomen and members of the State Republican Executive Committee in recent days named Gattis as one of 12 Republicans who might vote to oust Craddick. Lampasas County Republican Party Chairman Skipper Wallace sent out the e-mail to rally support for Craddick, saying a coup "would greatly empower the Democrats in the next election by taking out the number one fundraiser for the House and the only one who can connect effectively with the party and with grass roots."

Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, said he was surprised his name was on that e-mail because he had voted to support Craddick in the recent fight over the House rules.

He suggested Craddick's allies might have prompted the GOP chairmen to stir up the grass roots.

Hilderbran said trying to remove Craddick at the end of the session doesn't make sense when the House is negotiating so many bills with the Senate.

"Why would we weaken the House by weakening the speaker literally at the two-minute warning?" Hilderbran said. "If an attempt (to remove Craddick) is ever in the cards, it would be very, very late in the session."

Craddick spent much of Monday off the House floor, leaving others to preside. Spokeswoman Alexis DeLee said he was meeting with groups about issues on the floor.

Keffer had his own meeting with Craddick in recent days but declined to discuss the details.

"We had a conversation and spoke about many things," Keffer said. "I'm just not at a juncture to talk about that now. You'll find out in due time."

Four months ago, Craddick narrowly survived a challenge from Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, for the speaker's job.

Criticized as being too autocratic, Craddick promised to change. Hill said some members think Craddick has become too disengaged in the past four months.

In 2003 and 2005, Hill said Craddick concentrated power in his office and not in his committee chairmen and chairwomen.

After defeating Pitts, Hill said, Craddick relaxed his grip on the process without empowering his chairmen and chairwomen.

With Craddick loosening the reins, Hill complained of legislation being written in haste on the House floor and members being forced to take tough votes on bills that have little or no chance in the Senate. He cited a proposed statewide ban on smoking and legislation requiring voters to present identification before casting ballots.

"If we had strong middle management in the committee chairmen," said Hill, who leads the Local Ways and Means Committee, "we wouldn't be talking about this (revolt) today."

The House Democrats, in the minority with 69 of the 150 members, have tried to keep a low profile on the talk of a challenge to Craddick.

"We've purposely tried to stay clear of it because everyone will say it's us," said Waco Rep. Jim Dunnam, who leads the House Democratic Caucus.

Also, Democrats have their political considerations. Some think their party has a better chance of winning more seats if Craddick remains in office.

Others might balk at unseating Craddick at the end of the session without knowing who would replace him.

As for the rumors about Keffer running for speaker, Dunnam said, "I don't know of any Democrat that Jim Keffer has called about a candidacy."

A challenge to House Speaker Tom Craddick could come at any time. Here are the most likely scenarios being discussed at the Capitol and the advantages and disadvantages (for the opposition) of each:

A rare motion to vacate the chair would allow a House majority to replace Craddick.

Advantage: By acting before the May 28 end of the session, Craddick's opponents would nullify his advantage as an incumbent speaker to use his $4 million war chest and ties to GOP donors to help or hurt House candidates on the campaign trail.

Disadvantage: If Craddick's opponents fail, they paint a target on their backs for the 2008 election and can be blamed for any legislative train wreck at the end of the session.

An incumbent speaker typically sends his lieutenants out on the House floor the last night of the session to collect pledge cards as a sign of strength.

Advantage: Given the track record of dueling pledges four months ago, when many members pledged to more than one candidate and one of Craddick's opponents was on his list of supporters, any list of pledges is suspect. If Craddick tries but fails to collect enough pledges, he gives credence to the perception that he is vulnerable. Not trying to collect pledges, or keeping the total secret, could have the same effect.

Disadvantage: If Craddick could muster an overwhelming majority, it might take some of the momentum out of the campaign against him.

Change comes about through the party primaries and November 2008 election, perhaps with announced speaker candidates helping those running for the House.

Advantage: Craddick opponents could target his supporters, needing only to replace a few to put Craddick in serious jeopardy. A Craddick challenger could use the election to build up good will with the people who will vote for speaker in 2009.

Disadvantage: Craddick has millions of dollars to spend and can raise much more to help new candidates. Some of those House members who are mad at him now could lose or retire.

As Reps. Brian McCall and Jim Pitts tried before this session, someone files for speaker after the November 2008 election and makes a late run at dethroning Craddick.

Advantage: Wait and see how the election shakes out before taking the risky move of filing for speaker. If more Craddick supporters lose, those who are left might think they have to force change to avoid the same fate the next time.

Disadvantage: New members, particularly Republicans, tend to be loyal to Craddick and could be hesitant to rock the boat by helping a challenge to his authority.

•The palace coup: A motion to remove the speaker is submitted in the House during this session.

•Sine die pledge party: Weak response to speaker's bid for future support leaves him vulnerable.

•Guerrilla war: Challengers woo those up for House seats through campaign season.

•Grinch Who Stole Christmas II: Foes move as the 2009 session begins, as they did at the start of this one.

It’s a battle of liberal RINOS from Dallas/Houston vs. the rural conservatives (Craddick).

IMHO, Craddick, et al, basically got tired of money flowing from rural to cities for the last 150 years and upset the status quo.

2 posted on 05/15/2007 7:12:37 AM PDT by MeanWestTexan (Kol Hakavod Fred Thompson)

Yup, he really torqued the marxists when he and his wife -remodeled the speaker’s apartment last year. They really hate him.

3 posted on 05/15/2007 7:13:46 AM PDT by cweese (Hook 'em Horns!!!)

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