| On January 9 the 80th legislative session begins, and the house will not be full. Business will go on as planned and a vote for or against Speaker Craddick will be cast, but with one less Republican than originally suspected.
With 69 Democrats and 79 Republicans, the Speakers race became far more interesting last night when Anthony DiNovo became the x-factor to force a runoff between Republicans Mike O'Day and Randy Weber.
Ideally, if the Democrats can vote as one to end the reign of corruption and the pay to play model Craddick has created, then all that is needed is 7 Republican votes to elect a new Speaker.
Rick Perry must have understood the importance of this single vote by announcing a near immediate special election after Glenda Dawson's passing September 12.
This is characteristic of Perry when Republican legislators vacate a seat for any reason (e.g HD-48, HD-106, HD-121).
Keep in mind that when Houston Democrat Joe Moreno passed away tragically in the early part of 2005, Perry kept the seat open for the final months of the general session and multiple special sessions.
On the other hand, as Texas Whip pointed out during the HD-48 special, Perry moves quickly when a Republican vacates a seat in order to give his party every advantage possible.
Perry has to be regretting that the race in CD-23 and HD-29 were not at the same time, but imagine the trouble Craddick would be in if Perry did what he has done to Democrats in SD-19 and HD-143.
Even though a Democrat is not on the ballot for the runoff, the Democratic caucus gains a huge advantage in electing a moderate and ethical Speaker.
This is another clear example of the advantages to a run everywhere model. |
