“Good thing we’ve still got politics in Texas–finest form of free entertainment ever invented,” the late Molly Ivins once wrote. Where’s Molly when we need her? I smile wondering what she’d make of the latest dustup in the Texas House, where politics has never ceased to be a full-contact sport. Although the last physical scuffle in the U.S. Congress dates (I think) to 1902, when South Carolinian Senator John McLaurin punched a colleague in the jaw, the most recent one in Texas dates to Saturday, when booing and hissing Texas congressmen launched an insurrection against House Speaker Tom Craddick that ended with Craddick bolting from the chamber and Democrats, who stormed the speaker’s podium, being restrained by the House sergeants-at-arms. Call in ESPN and set up the bleachers!
Craddick’s iron-fisted rule over his fellow Republicans has made him increasingly unpopular among moderates in his party, who complain that his insistence on party discipline has put them at odds with the interests of their districts. As I reported in October, close followers of Texas politics have predicted that Craddick’s strategy could backfire. Houston Republican Martha Wong appeared particularly vulnerable at the time, having kowtowed to Craddick on abortion and environmental issues. In November, her socially moderate constituents ousted her.
Wong’s unsuccessful reelection slogan was “Be Right, Vote Wong.” Add an “R” in there, and it could also be a perfect slogan for Craddick.
