By Frank Cagle
Vote was failure for leadership
If the General Assembly were a parliamentary form of government House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh would have to resign and call for new elections.
The vote on his state income tax bill on Wednesday was a public humiliation demonstrating a total failure of Democratic control of the House of Representatives and an apparent inability to count to 50.
First, there's the Democratic leadership. Voting against the Naifeh income tax were House Majority Leader Gene Davidson as well as an assistant majority leader and four committee chairs, who owe their positions to the speaker. The most notable of these was Rep. Frank Buck, chair of the Judiciary committee.
But the real shock was about six junior House members that had told the Speaker they would vote for the proposal and they voted instead to embarass him on live television and on the front pages of the state's newspapers. At least two lobbyists told me before the vote that two of the members were going to vote against the proposal, which leads one to wonder how come the Speaker didn't know it.
It was universally remarked among political observers that the speaker's face registered shock and surprise when the vote totals hit the board and his plan failed. It had been widely put about all morning that he "had the votes" or he wouldn't bring the bill. The shock was such that the clerk was not instructed to record the vote for almost two hours while the red and green lights shown there, waiting to see if someone could be convinced to change a red light to a green. Meanwhile, the board was being recorded by live television cameras -- with 45 House members hanging there on the line, on record and putting a bullseye on their backs come the fall elections.
Before the vote Naifeh paraded Speaker Pro Tem Lois DeBerry, Rep. Tommy Head, Rep. Shelby Rhinehart, Rep. Zane Whitson and Rep. Matt Kisber to talk about doing the right thing. They had the air of a group sure in its position, about to ram through a bill, horn honkers be damned.
Voters for the income tax included Republican Leader Steve McDaniel and Assistant Republican Leader Stancil Ford. The rest of the Republicans were Jimmycrats, like Whitson, Rep. Ralph Cole, Rep. Ronnie Davis and Rep. Raymond Walker.
But of serious concern to Democrats is the number of members from conservative rural areas who put their careers on the line to vote as the speaker asked. For nothing. Because he couldn't deliver.
The happiest group of people under the rotunda Wednesday was the state senate, which didn't have to vote to concur with a House income tax bill.
Before the final vote was recorded there were enough votes switched to "not voting" to prevent the measure from being totally eliminated from consideration. It was sent back to the Calendar and Rules Committee where it faces an uncertain future.
If the House were to be in session the following day and the night were spent drawing and quartering the apostate, the bill might have a chance of passage. But the House won't be in session again until next Wednesday. That gives the folks back home time to beat on the pro-income tax voters. It doesn't seem likely that there will be more votes next week than the green lights on the board Wednesday.
The income tax is beaten back for now. But the fallout from Wednesday will be interesting to watch. Will disgusted Democrats and Republicans get together and start wondering whether new leadership might be in order?
Someone that will put the income tax away and try and find another way to deal with the budget crisis?
It isn't likely. It requires a talented, brave and politically savvy leader to emerge. House members with those qualities are, at present, to new to be in leadership positions. If the General Assembly had one of those, we wouldn't have endured the last four years.