Conservative blog Texas Insider sparked the rumor today that “a phantom list of nearly 76 signatures is circulating that will take out Speaker Joe Straus when the time is right.” Which is news to the Democrats that are supposed to be running this coup.
While it’s little secret that Dems are still fuming about committee appointments and how long it took Straus to make them, the idea of a coup to remove him seemed like a stretch in a session where the GOP are looking like the obstructionists. House Democratic Caucus Chair Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, said the first she heard about any such list was the Texas Insider story. “I read what I read in an email circulated today,” she said, calling the rumor pretty implausible. Democrats, she added, have bigger problems at the moment. “I’m worried that we haven’t heard any bills,” she said. “I think this is going to be a quick session. We’re all going to be scrambling for the next few weeks.”
In fact, pretty much the only source for this gossip is Texas Insider. “I’d be suspect about who would want to start that rumor,” said Farrar.
This article appears in March 13 • 2009.
