Embattled House Speaker May Step Aside

As his support slipped from being “five or six” short of retaining the Speaker’s chair down to the mid-50s in one day, a chief lieutenant of embattled House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) announced that the speaker may step aside and not seek another term when the Legislature convenes on January 13. 

The revelation that Craddick may step aside came from House Appropriations Committee Chair Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) late Tuesday. According to Chisum, the decision will come after an Austin meeting this weekend:

“He’ll decide one way or the other,’’ said Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Chisum said he was invited by another Craddick ally who told him: “We’re having hamburgers and ice tea and we ain’t drinking no whiskey. We’re going to make some serious decisions.”

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“I’m guessing in the numbers of 50 to 53, but that’s not enough to get there,’’ Chisum said. Craddick’s camp says the speaker has more than the needed majority but has not released a list of supporters.

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“At the end of the meeting, we’re going to have a plan,” Chisum said. “And the plan is that he stays and we’re going to do this and this. Or he decides that I can’t make it so you all need to move on.”

Chisum’s statement that Craddick may be down in the 50s in terms of members who are still supporting him was a departure from a statement he made earlier in the day, when he said Craddick was down by only “six or seven.” 

Craddick Spokeswoman Alexis DeLee and other Craddick Lieutenants backed away from Chisum’s statement that withdrawal may be likely:

Alexis DeLee, Craddick’s communications director, confirmed the Sunday night meeting but said Craddick’s possible withdrawal from the speaker’s race “is not at all going to be part of the discussion.” Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, who plans to attend, also softened Chisum’s description of the gathering, calling it a fairly routine strategy session in advance of the upcoming 2009 Legislature.

I’m far more inclined to believe Rep. Chisum’s statement, though. Number one, Chisum knows how to count votes pretty good. Number two, while other Craddick lieutenants might be likely to try to slap some extra straw into the brick mix and promulgate a snow job, Chisum isn’t that likely to do so. 

If Craddick is able to hold it together, which at this point seems more unlikely than it ever has, expect the Appropriations Committee and most of the chairmanships to be loaded up with both major Craddick loyalists and “late train” comers who jumped on Craddick’s bandwagon in the final hours to keep him on the throne.

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