Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, finally went public today with the first full press event in his speaker candidacy.
Full is the right word: The Capital Rotunda was crammed with legislators, staffers and media right up to the third storey. Once the hugging and hand-shaking amongst lege denizens was over, Straus and a healthy selection of his supporters from both sides of the aisles took to the podium.
The big news? With the latest additions, Straus stands at 94 pledged votes as more Republicans start to drift towards him. He confirmed that he had indeed exchanged phone calls with his remaining rival, Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, but was waiting to hear from soon-to-be-former-Speaker Tom Craddick.
Straus laid out his platform simply. “The November elections are over,” he said, “and the legislators are now working for the people of Texas.” He also called external pressure groups (some of which have been screaming that he’s a baby-killing tree-hugger) lobbying against his speakership “a distraction.” Ouch. Take that, Eagle Forum.
The consensus is that this is a done deal: what’s surprising is the speed. For example, Rep. Mike “Tuffy” Hamilton, R-Mauriceville (who two days ago was pledged to Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown) admitted he was caught so on the hop that he hadn’t even packed a suit and turned up wearing a bright red sweater vest. Now the ball is in Smithee’s court, but it seems highly unlikely that he conservative rump can derail the Straus express.
This article appears in 2008.
