Whereupon We Realize Electing A New Speaker Did Very Little Good
Vince Leibowitz | Jan 18, 2009 | Comments 5 |
Jump, as he might, head over heels to join the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, the honeymoon for House Speaker Joe Straus was short lived. In fact, it ended on Friday, the minute he told reporters he favored Voter Identification:
VOTER ID — He voted for it in 2007 and thinks another examination of whether photo IDs are needed to combat polling fraud is appropriate. He said he does not yet know whether there are sufficient votes in the House to pass a bill.
I’m sorry, were House Democrats just so damned eager to get rid of Tom Craddick that they forgot to get any concessions worth a damned for all their troubles?
Somehow, I thought I heard whispered along the corridors of power in Austin that voter identification was dead because Straus wouldn’t bring it up in the House, no matter what the Senate did. I guess that’s changed in a week’s time. With rumors that he’ll leave State Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler) in charge of the House Committee on Elections as a concession to the rightwing members of his party running rampant as well, one has to wonder if House Democrats cobbled together a majority to elect a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
What’s going on? Is Straus just playing non-committal and not really going to let Voter ID have a chance, or is he seriously going to give it a chance, or did he just betray the Democrats–without whose support he would still be the junior legislator from Bexar County?
As we predicted, the new leadership is about the same as the old leadership, just not quite so dictatorial.
Related posts:
- CORRECTION: Post On Speaker Laney Bust
- Speaker Kolkhorst? Speaker Hartnett? Who Will Republicans Turn To If They Desire Change?
- Farrar Seeks Ethics Commission Opinion On Lobbyists Working For Speaker; Lobbysts Are Contacting Reps In Regards To Speaker’s Race
- Secret Summits, Shuttle Diplomacy Fixtures In Final Days Of The Speaker’s Race
Filed Under: 81st Texas Legislature
[...] change his commenters haven’t jumped all over him. Some of my colleagues think the Democrats got suckered on voter ID. I tend to disagree with that, but I’ve been saying all along we’ll know [...]
[...] | by travisfell Is Texas Ready for Voter ID Laws (I am) – Robbie Cooper, UrbanGrounds.com Whereupon We Realize Electing A New Speaker Did Very Little Good – Vince Leibowitz, CapitolAnnex.com The Ultrasound Bill & Important Pro-Life Events – Free [...]
All I can say is, what did they think would happen by electing another Republican Speaker? He can’t show favor to the entire Democratic caucus without losing his Republican colleagues. Dems should have kept tight lips and watched from the sidelines. This was a Republican battle from the start. Maybe the leadership style has changed, but it’s still a Republican speaker.