His House, His Rules
May 26th, 2007 at 2:38 am
We thought we’d seen Tom Craddick at his most domineering during the past four years. Turns out, we hadn’t seen anything yet. Not until tonight. The mud salesman from Midland clung to his House speakership tonight with a shocking exercise of raw power — even for him.
Craddick turned back several attempts to challenge his leadership of the lower chamber. He brought in two former members and allies to help him. With his hand-picked parliamentarians backing him up, Craddick simply refused to recognize his opponents for a motion to vacate the chair. Or a motion to suspend the rules. Or a motion to do just about anything. (Watching Craddick’s rigid dismissals, we couldn’t help but think of Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi: “No motion for you!”) When reps appealed, Craddick told them there was nothing to appeal. He has sole discretion to decide what motions to recognize.
It was a night of high drama on the House floor. Craddick reconvened the House promptly at 11 following the resignation of parliamentarian Denise Davis. It’s the first time we can ever remember the House convening on time. Despite the late hour, every seat in the gallery was filled.
The new parliamentarian had a familiar look — Craddick ally and former Republican Rep. Terry Keel. The deputy was another former rep and Friend of Craddick: Ron Wilson — the Lamborgini-driving Democrat from Houston (sadly, he wasn’t wearing those trademark Creamsicle-colored Nikes we remember so fondly).
First Republican Todd Smith, then Democrat Jim Dunnam challenged Craddick from the back mic. With Keel feeding rules interpretations into Craddick’s ear, the speaker began his repeated refusals to recognize a bipartisan group of critics for motions. (Keel has been working for Craddick all session — which Dunnam pointed out from the back mic.) His refusals brought chortles and cat-calls from the packed gallery. “Does anyone’s voice in this chamber matter but yours?” Dunnam asked.
“We’re going to follow the House rules,” Craddick shot back.
“We’re going to follow the House rules? When?” Dunnam intoned to a chorus of cheers.
Perhaps the greatest irony occurred when Dunnam once again brought up the precedent of 1971 when Sissy Farenthold challenged then-Speaker Gus Mutscher. Craddick was one of the “dirty thirty” who voted unsuccessfully to appeal Mutscher’s ruling. More than 30 years later, Craddick responded to Dunnam by suggesting that it was Mutscher’s discretion to recognize Farenthold.
“Are you suggesting that Speaker Mutscher was more fair than you?” asked Dunnam.
Craddick refused to engage that line of thinking.
In the end, the House adjourned until Saturday at 11 a.m. There was speculation that on Saturday someone might try to get a writ of mandamus from a judge to help wrench the gavel from the speaker’s hands. Others were looking toward the rules.
Craddick’s office put out the following statement:
“The Speaker’s position is that he will see to it that the House conducts the important business of the state. The other side wants to go outside the House Rules to carry out a speaker’s race during the session, and we are not going to play that game.”
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