Texas can sure do a lot better than Tom Craddick as Speaker of the House. He is not very effective, which is good considering his beliefs about the role of government, and what he does get done he gets done by the pressure he puts on house members. Democrats, while I don't see how they can elect one of their own, can now team up up with enough unhappy GOP representatives to but a more moderate, bipartisan and effective Speaker of the Texas House in. Brian McCall looks like he may have enough GOP votes if he can get most of the Democrats. That would be a good thing for Texas and the Democrats who, except for a very few DINOs, have been locked out of having any say in Craddick's DeLay style of government. Common Cause wants Craddick to step down for his possible influence peddling but I am sure there will have to be a nasty battle to replace him.
McCall has a reputation of getting along with different factions. If elected, he is expected to bring a more even-handed approach to the role, allowing members to vote the interests of their districts, rather than succumb to the dictates of the speaker.Kuffner has a long informative post. Janette Sexton would have voted him down if she had defeated Talton but may have voted for having Senfronia Thompson as Speaker despite the unlikelihood of that happening. You can call your state rep. and ask they vote a better Speaker in. More here and here and here. An earlier post by Burka shows Talton is taking some of the action.
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The election of a Texas Speaker is a matter for Republicans. If Democrats wanted a voice in the process they should have won a majority in the Texas House in last month's election. Please see my post on the subject.
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