Burnt Orange Report

Maybe he should build on his years in the legislature and run for lieutenant governor.

Gammage and Laney might be just the combination Democrats in Texas need to get voters to the polls next November and take back the Texas legislature as well as the governor's mansion.

An interesting thought, though I doubt it will happen.

You never know.

I like Laney for Lite Guv.

But Gammage is going to have to start explaining his role in the Morales-tobacco lawsuit scandal, whether or not he enters the race for governor.

I like how it took the Chron this long to finally run a story on him. Let the attacks on Gammage begin... all it does it rob you of the moral high ground when you y'all bitch about me poking at Bell. :)

You must be talking to someone beside me when you say 'y'all', 'cause I ain't bitched.

"But Gammage is going to have to start explaining his role in the Morales-tobacco lawsuit scandal, whether or not he enters the race for governor."

Looks to me like he already has explained it. You and the other Bell supporters apparently just don't like the explanation or the reality behind it.

"Gammage said Thursday that he and the other two state arbitrators "dealt with the evidence that was before us.""

""There was a very detailed account of what he (Morales) said Murr had done," Gammage recalled."

"No one, he said, presented evidence against the fees."

"He also said the arbitration process had been approved by the federal judge presiding over the tobacco case and the panel's recommended award was conditioned on the judge's approval."

""I did not know Murr. I knew Morales, or thought I knew him. It was a heartbreak." he added. "But anyone who is guilty of corruption ought to go down, and he went down.""

It took the Chronicle this long to run it because it's all the Chronicle could find to slant a story about Gammage with and slam him in the process. The Chronicle obviously is going to endorse Bell. No matter what. The Chronicle isn't known for its objective endorsements. Most of their endorsements in fact seem to be made by their advertising department.

I've always thought Laney would make a good statewide candidate. Though conservative, he's stood up for many of the things we Democrats care about. And he'd help us up in the Panhandle with Republican voters willing to split their ticket. As a native of that part of the state, I can say that he's very well-respected in both Amarillo and Lubbock.

Yes, Laney would be a positively excellent candidate for all Democrats to run with in West Texas, Jonathan, particularly a Populist like David Van Os, and a veteran's advocte like BAR.

BS, I just want to know why Bob Gammage resigned his seat on the Court in 1995, a year and a half before his term expired.

At the time he said he wanted to work with John Hill on Hill's judicial reform efforts. But he didn't do that, from what I can learn. He DID take a job in Garry Mauro's office. I would've thought that someone of his stature would have better prospects than that, so I hope it wasn't just so he could qualify for state retirement benefits.

Morales is about halfway through serving his prison sentence for his role in the tobacco litigation scandal; I don't know if Gammage owes us an explanation, but his actions around that time are extraordinarily odd.

Your apoplectic accusations about me being a Bell supporter are correct, though. *shrugs*

Is this the same guy Bush used as his beard?

The guy who can't put two words together and get them out of his mouth?

Folks really think his would make good impression in the urban areas of texas where 85% of the folks live?

Could you see him on a debate?

and lastly is he the same guy who has collected millions from the state for flying his own airplane around the state?

This is the profile of a guy who will turnout the base?

Are you sure this is not an idea Rove planted?

Thanks hamiltonfan for adding a little sanity to this discussion.

A Bush-supporting "Democratic" House speaker desperate for a federal appointment HURT the party - not helped it. Wake up.

Hamiltonfan,

I don't know whether Pete Laney will run for Lite Guv, but I do know he deserves a hell of a lot more respect than your comments indicate.

Without his leadership, there would be no CHIP and hundreds of thousands of kids would still have no access to health care.

He pushed through real, lasting ethical reforms that restored some respect to the House (which the current Speaker promptly trashed).

No one has ever substantiated a charge against him like the one you mentioned. From everything I know about him, Speaker Laney ran a squeaky clean operation.

Finally, Speaker Laney didn't bail out on his party, unlike his recent predecessors and a certain Lt. Governor. In fact, he raised a hell of a lot of money for the party and Democratic campaigns.

I'm proud to know him and damned sad to see him leave the House.

Hey, I'm awake, and I'm tired of the ideological purity tests. Pete Laney would make a good candidate. No, he's not the Texas version of Paul Wellstone, but he has name ID, a good reputation among members of both parties, and, hey, he used that plane to fly representatives to Ardmore, remember? Are you trying to tell me you'd rather have another two sessions (not counting specials) with David Dewhurst? I think you're the one that needs to wake up. This is about winning elections, not being the "purest" liberal.

He was the Speaker when those passed, that's like saying Lt. Gov. Rick Perry made those things like CHIPS happen, is that what you are saying Laney worked with Bush and Perry to provide and include 1000s of kids health care?

We'll see that on TV this next year.

How many border Reps. served as committee chairs under Prefect Pete? How many urban Reps. did? how many gop rural Reps. were on his leadership team? Jeff that's a funny way to build or save a party, maybe that why things are in the shape were in with the ausitn backroom back scratcting from the political elite thinking like that!

Name one thing he demanded get passed when he was in the chair? Some rural community hack jobs plan for his buddies. Really its not a reocrd we want to review.

He was the Speaker when those passed, that's like saying Lt. Gov. Rick Perry made those things like CHIPS happen, is that what you are saying Laney worked with Bush and Perry to provide and include 1000s of kids health care?

We'll see that on TV this next year.

How many border Reps. served as committee chairs under Prefect Pete? How many urban Reps. did? how many gop rural Reps. were on his leadership team? Jeff that's a funny way to build or save a party, maybe that why things are in the shape were in with the ausitn backroom back scratcting from the political elite thinking like that!

Name one thing he demanded get passed when he was in the chair? Some rural community hack jobs plan for his buddies. Really its not a record we want to review.

Its the end of an era. One of the finest men in politics anywhere, one of the most important in Texas history and one of the last scions of a bygone era--meeting Pete Laney is tantamount to reaching deep into history.

Whether he finally earns the lucrative living he so richly deserves thanks to his decades of leadership and sincere friendships that never distinguished between parties or he chooses to further serve his beloved state in higher office, we should be happy for him and a bit solemn for the state of Texas.

Congrats, Mr. Speaker.

Hamiltonfan-

You are clearly unfamiliar with recent Texas politics and lack any couth as you attack an honorable man. CHIP would not exist at all in Texas without Pete Laney and Glen Maxey, among others. CHIP is a state/federal partnership--if a state chooses not to fund the program it doesn't exist there. Bush was running for president when CHIP was created and didn't want to deal with the flack he would in the GOP primaries for funding a big new social welfare program. His plan was to quietly not create the program.

Pete Laney refused to go along and Glen Maxey took the lead in getting the bill passed and funded. Thanks to their leadership the pressure was too great on the Senate and Bush to let the bill fail. Pete Laney did the right thing.

Laney is "conservative" because he had to be to represent his district, but he made sure to put solid liberals in positions of influence to keep bad bills off the books. He put Steve Wolens as chairman of the Calendars Committee to block some of the most right wing legsilation, for example. He also kept the GOP out of the majority in the House for 6 or 8 years through his Texas Parternship.

So watch yourself, read a book and try not to talk about things you don't know anything about.

-AD

Amen, Brother Dobbs.

Pete Laney has my vote for anything he runs for, be it Gov., Lt. Gov., American Idol, etc. I would be thrilled to have him on our statewide ticket and imagine quite a few Republicans would back him as well.

Give'm hell, Pete!

Ditto to Dobbs and some others in here. It's not about ideology, its about being a damn good Democrat, well respected, a worker, and being smart about it. Sometimes the respect you gain (even if people disagree with you) (kinda like Casteel in some ways) makes you a valuable politician.

Crosby and Dobbs are right. For all those reasons and more. Ain't no changing that.

District 85 Election Results

PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT
*BUSH/CHENEY (R) 34,859 - 76.3%
KERRY/EDWARDS (D) 10,817 - 23.7%

Yeah.. this is going to be a very hard place to hold.

I love that Andrew insults a poster with an opinion different from his by calling the poster "clearly unfamiliar with recent Texas politics." And then, he writes that Laney was such a swell guy because he made Steve Wolens chairman of Calendars. Well, that sure as hell probably comes as a HUGE surprise to Wolens, who was actually chair of State Affairs, and Mark Stiles and Barry Telford, who were actually chairs of Calendars under Laney.

So, Andrew, maybe before you insult other people, perhaps you should take your own advice: watch yourself, read a book and try not to talk about things you don't know anything about.

Oh, and as to your CHIP conspiracy theory, if I remember correctly (and I think I do), the CHIP legislation was a Senate bill, by Mike Moncrief. The House sponsor was Patty Gray. I have no doubt Maxey wanted the bill passed, by I think "taking the lead" is a stretch since he ddidn't even bother to file a companion bill. Your posting is an insult to Moncrief and the entire Senate (and, acccording to your own argument, then Lite Gov Perry) who actually took the lead in passing the bill.

Pete Laney is an honorable man, one of last political leaders able to work with and respect those with whom he disagreed. In that sense, I suspect Pete would be just fine with all those who expressed opinions about him here because he's pretty secure in who he is and what he believes.

There were many times, especially earlier in my legislative/political days, when Pete Laney and I were not on the same page on an issue or political method, but he was never one to disparage or disrespect if he knew you were genuine in your belief and doing your best. And although I can tell you from experience that he has a way of making his point very clearly, it was not done in public to harm or humiliate. That kind of personal respect is sorely missing these days.

So in Pete Laney's tenure as Speaker, as Crosby correctly noted, a guy like Glen Maxey could work the House floor with a petition to secure a majority of House members' signatures to not only pass CHIP, but also fully fund it. Yes, it may have been a Gray-Moncrief bill, but it was the Maxey petition and the work of folks like Garnet Coleman on the budget that overcame Rob Junell's (Laney's own Appropriations Chairman)and the Governor's (Bush) efforts to fund CHIP at a lower level. The fact that the Speaker allowed that process to work speaks volumes, and that's why he still has the respect of so many colleagues and former colleagues from across the political spectrum.

We all see events through different lenses, and more often than not, those different views were allowed to be resolved in a democratic process under Speaker Laney. And over time, I watched him work with people with whom he may have disagreed just a few years before.

So if you're looking for a pre-packaged, blow dried politician to fit perfectly on a ticket and march to your own ideological drumbeat, Laney would not be your man. But if you're looking for a guy who could sit down and have an honest conversation with high school kids about the value of public service, Pete Laney doesn't have to posture or pose.

Maybe that's why he took such great pleasure in confusing Delay's Homeland Security folks whan they were trying to track his plane to and from Ardmore.

One of the most skilled politicians Texas has ever seen. People who bitch about his D credentials are nuts.....think about the state we are in....he saved the D's from themselves in many cases and they held onto the House for way longer than they would have if some moonbat lefty had been Speaker. Quietly ran everything while never saying very much. One press release every two years, announcing that he was going to be the Speaker again. Regardless of his skill, the idea that he could win statewide running from the populous base of Hale Center is a joke.

CHIP (there is no S on the end) was going to pass no matter what, the debate was over what the income level was going to be.

Finally, the romantic views of Laney's even-handedness and bipartisanship are nonsense. He was a partisan D but he was content to just get things done without giving everybody a lecture about why he was so right. The evidence of his brilliance was the insane conspiracies that Republicans would attribute to him when the answer was pretty simple....he's better at his job than you.