Via Laylan Copelin at the Statesman comes words of Tom Craddick's last ditch attempt to salvage his collapsing speakership. But seeing the end, it's likely that he's going to release his pledges from his iron grasp.
There was an impromptu meeting in the speaker's office this afternoon with about eight members, including Dan Gattis and John Smithee.
Gattis reportedly has dropped his speaker's bid in favor of Smithee who's trying to gather support to bloc Joe Strauss.
Craddick began considering releasing his pledges with the news that four Craddick D's, including Austin's Dawnna Dukes, has signed on with Straus.
There is some degree of sweet cold justice that Rep. Dukes is standing Craddick up and that Tom could only pull together 8 members at this office this afternoon. Assuming that the reign of Craddick is about to terminate, the only real surprise is how quietly he goes into the night and if runs for re-election in 2010 out in Midland.
It's like tumbleweeds rolling across an increasingly empty playing field.
