A New Speaker?

This is a refrain I’ve been mumbling about all cycle, and one you’ll note as being mentioned several times as the Capitol Annex series “The Final Stretch” continues running:

Texas Democrats have no hopes of regaining control of the state House, but some are optimistic about winning enough seats in the upcoming election to trigger a Republican challenge of House Speaker Tom Craddick.

Democrats need to pick off only three or four Republican House members to leave Craddick, a Republican from Midland, vulnerable to a challenge from his own party, they say. Craddick’s firm leadership style — described by some as autocratic — has created an undercurrent of discontent, and Republican losses of House seats in the Nov. 7 election could inspire a revolt, said House Mexican American Caucus Chairman Pete Gallego, D-Alpine.

“There’s a sense of, ‘would they rather lose the whole chamber (eventually), or would they rather jettison the speaker,’ and I think most of them would rather jettison the speaker,” Gallego said.

Personally, I’m at the point where I believe that if we pick off Gene Seaman, then Craddick’s ship is sunk. If we add Goodman and Wong to that list, then we can officially start calling him “Titanic Tom.”