Posted on Sun, May. 27, 2007
By JAY ROOT and AMAN BATHEJA
Star-Telegram staff writer
If House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, was worried about becoming the first speaker since 1871 to get the boot, it didn't show.
If House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, was worried about becoming the first speaker since 1871 to get the boot, it didn't show.
* External Link Local delegation speaks on fight
AUSTIN -- His enemies call him a dictator, unfit for high state office. But on Saturday it was hard to argue with House Speaker Tom Craddick's staying power. Never mind the resignation of two top aides hours earlier. Forget the coup plotters.
The Midland Republican gaveled in the House at 11:15 a.m. as if he weren't facing the political fight of his life, as if the state police hadn't been ordered to the chamber to beef up security -- as if he had absolute power.
"The House will come to order," Craddick said calmly. He then instructed members to start debating legislation while his parliamentarians -- hurriedly sworn in Friday night to replace the two who quit in protest -- methodically blocked opponents from taking him out.
If Craddick was worried about becoming the first speaker since 1871 to get the boot, it didn't show. He laughed and joked while state photographers snapped pictures of him and his wife, Nadine, posing with the staff of the House sergeant-at-arms.
The previous night, those same security officers were scrambling to keep an angry band of lawmakers from storming the podium to protest what they see as Craddick's iron-fisted rule. Then, and again Saturday, Craddick asserted absolute authority to cut off any talk of removing him from his powerful job.
So did many of his supporters, from both political parties, who took turns wielding the speaker's gavel while Craddick worked the members on the floor and behind closed doors.
"There is no appeal," said Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, echoing Craddick's assertion of unqualified authority.
"You don't have the power to overrule my appeal," said Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview.
The reply -- silence -- said it all.
Surreal replay
It was a replay of the surreal events of Friday night, complete with whispering huddles and a House gallery full of nervous lobbyists, who fear uncertainty more than anything else. Rumors have swirled for weeks that Craddick, accused of despotic tendencies and chaotic lawmaking, would face the rare spectacle of an internal move to oust him before the waning legislative session ends.
But when the moment of truth came shortly after midnight Friday, Craddick was ready with a brand-new legal argument, courtesy of his brand-new rules experts.
The denouement came after Rep. Fred Hill, R-Richardson, tried to make a formal motion to remove Craddick as speaker. Craddick cited "absolute discretion" to ignore Hill.
That left the coup against Craddick in limbo, and, depending on whom you talk to, threatens to stop passage of the state budget, which could spark a special session this summer.
The only thing that seemed safe to predict was a steady stream of uncertainty and bitterness. Saturday saw the announcement of a fifth Republican Craddick challenger, veteran Rep. Delwin Jones of Lubbock.
Many of the Democrats, meanwhile, wasted no time accusing the new parliamentarian, Terry Keel, and new assistant parliamentarian, Ron Wilson, both former state representatives, of conflicts of interest.
They also said Craddick was using the House security guards and state troopers to watch certain Democratic members and keep them from getting to the podium and other areas in the chamber. Craddick denied that.
Show of force
In an unusual show of force, uniformed Department of Public Safety officers guarded entrances at the front and rear of the chamber. Craddick spokeswoman Alexis DeLee said Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, appointed to oversee internal administration matters, requested their presence.
Craddick aides stressed their desire to keep order and minimize distractions. "The speaker's position is that he will see to it that the House conducts the important business of the state," DeLee said. "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."
The fight started Friday about 7:30 p.m. after Craddick was asked about procedures related to the removal of the House speaker. Over shouts and objections, the speaker declared a temporary recess, denying opponents any chance to challenge or even question him.
Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, said he decided then and there to run for re-election. He had been planning to retire. "I want to serve under a speaker, not a dictator," Geren said.
In parliamentary terms, Craddick says the rules give him unchecked discretion to "recognize" members. Members who aren't recognized can't cause trouble.
"The power to recognize is absolute," Craddick said.
That interpretation of the rules directly contradicted the advice he was given by House parliamentarian Denise Davis, several House members said. A couple of hours later, she resigned in protest and took her deputy, Chris Griesel, with her.
Craddick, after swearing in Keel and Wilson as the new in-house lawyers, laid out his updated legal theory. He said the only way to remove a speaker is through impeachmentlike proceedings and a two-thirds vote of the House.
'Dirty Thirty'
Some saw shades of the Sharpstown era in the early 1970s, except that back then Craddick was a member of the reformist "Dirty Thirty" members who opposed the heavy-handed tactics of House Speaker Gus Mutscher.
Now Craddick "has essentially ruled he can shut off the flow of speech on the floor by simply not recognizing a member," political analyst Harvey Kronberg said. "It's extraordinary. There is nothing even resembling this since 1971."
At least five Republicans are now seeking the speaker's ouster before the session ends, by law, on Monday. Only once has the House voted to remove its speaker -- in 1871, when Ira Hobart Evans, the first Republican speaker of his generation, was canned by the colleagues who had elected him.
The Republicans hold an 81-69 majority in the House, but there are members of both parties on each side of the Craddick divide. Several "Craddick D's" expressed dismay and embarrassment at the mutiny on the House floor. But four Democratic representatives said Craddick should remain speaker for the session so that the House can finish its work.
Staff writers R.A. Dyer, John Moritz, Patrick McGee and John Kirsch contributed to this report.
Milestones in Craddick's career
Republican Rep. Tom Craddick rose from a rank-and-file West Texas lawmaker to be the powerful speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Here are some significant events in Craddick's long legislative career.
November 1968: Craddick is elected to the Texas House at age 25, one of eight Republicans in the 150-member House.
May 1971: A legislative session concludes after the "Dirty Thirty," of which Craddick is a member, continually criticizes Speaker Gus Mutscher over the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal. The "Dirty Thirty" is made up of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans. Mutscher was a conservative Democrat.
November 2002: After years of planning his rise to power, Craddick announces immediately after the November election that he has enough pledges of support from House members to be elected speaker over incumbent Democrat Pete Laney when the Legislature convenes.
Jan. 14, 2003: Craddick is elected speaker as Republicans take control of the House. Craddick is the first Republican to hold the job in 130 years.
May 12, 2003: House Democrats, complaining about Craddick's attempt to push a GOP congressional redistricting through the chamber, secretly flee to Ardmore, Okla., to break a quorum and block the bill. The Democrats said they crossed the state line to be out of reach of state troopers Craddick sent to apprehend them.
June 2, 2003: Craddick's first session as speaker ends with the Legislature passing a Republican-pushed lawsuit limitation bill and deep budget cuts to cope with a $10 billion shortfall. The redistricting bill, however, is dead for the moment. It is approved in a special session later in the year.
May 30, 2005: The regular legislative session ends with Craddick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a fellow Republican, butting heads over school funding. Negotiations between the House and Senate leaders break down. Craddick later claims there was no tension between them, but Dewhurst jokes that he wanted to kill Craddick the last month of the session.
May 15, 2006: After two failed special sessions the previous year, lawmakers adjourn a 30-day special session after approving an overhaul of public school funding. Craddick, who had been at loggerheads with Dewhurst and Republican Gov. Rick Perry in previous attempts to pass school funding, leads his chamber to approve the plan.
Jan. 9, 2007: Craddick narrowly defeats a GOP insurgency and survives a close re-election battle.
May 8, 2007: Craddick suffers a rare rebuke over a rules dispute, sparking rumors of rebellion.
May 25, 2007: Facing a mutiny, Craddick declares he has absolute power to block a motion to remove him. Two top aides resign.
-- Staff writer Jay Root, The Associated Press
Noriega compared to terrorist
In a dispute over what exactly happened Friday night in a chaotic Texas House, Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker, compared Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, to a terrorist in Afghanistan. Laubenberg was speaking at a news conference Saturday evening in which she condemned Noriega for rushing the dais reserved for Speaker Tom Craddick on Friday night, after Craddick abruptly adjourned to boos and protests. Noriega said he was trying to turn the microphones back on so that debate could continue on whether a motion should be made to replace Craddick as speaker. Laubenberg, referencing Noriega's recent stint in Afghanistan, said she had feared he might have been trying to install himself as speaker in Craddick's absence. "Representative Noriega just came from Afghanistan ... trying to establish a rule-of-law system ... yet he used the same tactics last night that those who would destroy that democracy in Afghanistan [would use], which is just amazing," she said. Noriega called the comparison "irresponsible." -- Aman Batheja
A history lesson from a century ago
The Texas House of Representatives at least once before has forced out a sitting speaker during a legislative session. Austin M. Kennedy, elected speaker in 1909, ultimately resigned before completing his first term after being accused of improper spending for staff and furniture. Kennedy stepped down as speaker but was re-elected and served two more terms.
jroot@star-telegram.com
Jay Root, 512-476-4294