Eagle's Wings over Craddick

Speaker Craddick: Now if only the Eagle Forum could vote in the speaker election, he'd be fine. (Photo by Richard Whittaker)

Some conservatives love Speaker Tom Craddick, and they're not afraid to say it.

Flash back to last August: Fundamentalists the Texas Eagle Forum PAC, the arguably misnamed Free Market Foundation and the ACLU of Texas (continuing the confusion between cash and freedom of speech) joined forces to get the Speaker Statute overturned. This meant anyone could stick their fingers and cash into the speaker race, which forum President Cathie Adams did with glee today. She sent out an email condemning the ABC (Anyone but Craddick) Republicans, and urging loyal conservatives to call their state rep and tell them to back Craddick as the one true right-winger.

"During the 2007 legislative session," Adams wrote, "a renegade legislator led a walk-out less than two weeks before the session ended, which in turn caused numerous bills to die. Some of those renegades lost their re-election bids, others chose not to run again, but still others are back to their old shenanigans."

The "renegade" was Best of Austin-winning Rep. Pat Haggerty, R-El Paso. He lost in the primaries to the Craddick-backed Dee Margo, who then lost in the general election to Democrat Jo Moody, 45%-52%. The same thing happened in Round Rock, where Democrat Diana Maldonado's campaign to replace Republican Mike Krusee was made easier when Craddick et al backed conservative Bryan Daniel over marginally more moderate Dee Hobbs.

How that helped conservative and Republican causes is unclear. But since the forum holds that global warming is a UN conspiracy, analysis may not be their strong point.