Sly Turner has asked the Governor to call a special session because Senate Bill 482 died on a procedural point of order.
Turner felt strongly about SB 482 as well. So strongly he wants our legislators to come back after a tumultuous final week.
There is also a looming concern that the demand for electricity is growing at a faster rate than the growth in generation capacity. That possibility threatens not only residential consumers but also the vitality of Texas' economy. The nation watched in 2000 and 2001 as California suffered from blackouts and it is imperative that Texas does everything in its power to prevent such an occurrence here.
The 80th Regular Session ended without any legislation to assist residential consumers. The bipartisan compromise bill, Senate Bill 482, passed the Senate and would have overwhelmingly passed in the House if not for a technical error. I believe that the Legislature has the will to codify consumer protections.
The last line is particularly concerning. SB 482 would have passed overwhelmingly if not for a procedural error? Well there was a procedural error. Many procedural errors. I believe there were close to 5 points of order. Would Turner have ignored them?
I agree that we need to fix our energy crunch, but maybe it is time to look at energy re-regulation and not just put a bandage over a bullet wound.
Paul Burka says what many of us are thinking, Sly Turners run for Speaker is a cheap political ploy.
More likely, this is not a play for speaker at all. It is a play to protect the Craddick Ds from a primary challenge. Turner's candidacy gives the Craddick Ds the opportunity to pledge to a Democrat. This removes the main argument that can be used against the Craddick Ds in the primary. Then, safely reelected, they can deliver their votes to Craddick in January 09.
Until the Craddick D's say publicly that they will not support Craddick at any point and apologize for ever supporting him, I say challenge them.
Primary them all.
Why? Because they can't be trusted to do the peoples work. Just last night, only 5 hours after announcing his candidacy for Speaker, Turner was quoted in the Express-News and Houston Chronicle saying, "I remain loyal to him. We are friends..."
Robert Puente (Craddick D- San Antonio), takes it to the next level.
Rep. Robert Puente, a San Antonio Democrat named Natural Resources chairman by Craddick, said he would back Turner, his desk mate. Asked if he'd support Craddick again, Puente said, "Not with Sylvester in the race."
Puente has served has Natural Resources Chair under Craddick for multiple sessions. He is another Craddick loyalist.
This is a political move to help Craddick. Either Sly wins, and Craddick has one of his most loyal lieutenants as Speaker or Sly withdraws and throws his support back to Craddick. In either case, the primaries and general election calendar is the math we need to fix this problem.
Sly Turner (Craddick D- Houston) has just filed as a candidate for Speaker for the 81st Session. Turner says the reason he is running is because political agenda's got in the way of governing. From the Chron blog:
Turner says he's a free agent as far as the 2009 speaker's race is concerned.
Turner, who was already back in his Houston law firm Tuesday afternoon, said he's had enough speaker's politics to last him six months.
``I don't want to think about the speaker's race for the duration of the year,'' said Turner. ``I haven't made any commitments or signed pledge cards.''
Wait, sorry, that was from yesterday. Here's today's announcement:
“I don’t ever want to have another legislative session like the one just completed where taking care of the people’s business took a back seat to political agendas,” Turner said. “We have too many problems in this state to waste most of a legislative session on political agendas that do not include providing lower electric rates to the low-income and elderly or more funding for mental health programs."
Interestingly, Turner's early support for Craddick is a main reason Craddick remained Speaker. Some speculation is that Craddick sees the writing on the wall, and is not 100% sure Republicans can maintain control of the House.
This unease has caused Craddick to ask Turner to run so he can still have influence over the next Speaker. There are only 4 people that believe that the rule of the Speaker is absolute, Craddick, Turner, Keel, and Wilson. Makes sense that Craddick would want his legacy to continue.
Jim Pitts moves to vacate the chair, Sylvester Turner refuses to accept the motion.
Hartnett moves to allow the Speaker to ignore all future parliamentary inquiries. Turner takes that ruling under advisement.
Craddick is nowhere to be found...
UPDATE: The strategy is clear. Ignore it and maybe it will go away. So far, Craddick, Turner, and Gattis have refused to accept any motion from the back mic. They are using an insane interpretation of rule 5 section 24 and saying the Chair has absolute and unappealable authority.
As the day goes on, Merritt has a point of order in queue even though Speaker Keel (I mean, Turner) will not rule on it. The point of order is still absolutely there and it puts every bill that comes up at risk.
Speaker Pro Tempore Sylvester Turner is looking more and more like this session's Charlie Brown. Getting oh so close to kicking that football only to have Republicans pull it away at the last minute.
Turner, foiled again on a point of order by Republican Robert Talton, has yet to pass either one of his primary (election) protection bills, which would partially restore CHIP and the System Benefit fund. Craddick is laying his Speaker Pro Tempore out to dry- begging for the a Dem to go after Turner come February/March.
Speaker Craddick sustained a point of order to kill Rep. Sylvester Turner's compromised CHIP bill. This story is really one that should be told in two parts. Today, we will discuss the egregiousness of Craddick's decision to sustain a point of order, and how Rep. Turner should not be surprised by the decision of the Speaker he voted for.
Tomorrow, we will talk about how this should open the door for a much, much better bill to come to the Floor.
Remember the Craddick 15. The 15 Democrats who helped Tom Craddick retain his seat as Speaker of the House. As a result, here are the assignments Papa Bear Craddick gave to his children:
Sylvester Turner: Speaker Pro Tempore; CBO of Regulated Industries; Calendars; Appropriations
Kevin Bailey: CHAIR of Urban Affairs; Business & Industry; General Investigating & Ethics
Norma Chavez: VICE CHAIR of Calendars; Appropriations; CBO of Financial Institutions
Joe Deshotel: CHAIR of Economic Development; Redistricting; Transportation
Dawnna Dukes: CBO of Culture, Rec & Tourism; Appropriations; Calendars
Kino Flores: CHAIR of Licensing & Administrative Procedures; Redistricting; Ways & Means
Helen Giddings: CHAIR of Business & Industry; VICE CHAIR of House Administration; Higher Education
Ryan Guillen: VICE CHAIR of Appropriations; Calendars; Natural Resources
Harold Dutton: CHAIR of Juvenile Justice & Family Issues; General Investigating & Ethics; Public Education
Tracy King: CHAIR of Border & International Affairs; Environmental Regulation
Eddie Lucio: CBO of Environmental Regulation; Appropriations; Local & Consent Calendars
Ruth Jones McClendon: CHAIR of Rules & Regulations; CBO of Pensions & Investments; Appropriations
Aaron Pena: CHAIR of Criminal Jurisprudence; Ways & Means
Robert Puente: CHAIR of Natural Resources; Local Government Ways & Means
Patrick Rose: CHAIR of Human Services; Higher Education
I want every Democratic activist to remember this list during the entire 80th Legislative Session - the 15 Democrats who enabled Tom Craddick to retain his undeserved Speakership:
Kevin Bailey
Norma Chavez
Joe Deshotel
Dawnna Dukes
Kino Flores
Helen Giddings
Ryan Guillen
Harold Dutton
Tracy King
Eddie Lucio III
Ruth Jones McClendon
Aaron Pena
Robert Puente
Patrick Rose
Sylvester Turner
Before I get into the heart of my argument, I want to give credit where credit is due. Democratic Leaders in the House, like Representatives Thompson and Dunnam and Gallego and Coleman, did yeoman work in holding 54 of 69 Democratic votes. Two sessions ago, Democrats couldn't get 50 votes for anything (just ask the trials). Two months ago, no one would have believed that Tom Craddick would have to endure am unprecedented 6-hour spectacle on the first day of session to retain his gavel. Now we're within striking distance of taking down the Speaker.
We witnessed real acts of courage from good democrats; Ritter and Eiland risking their chairmanships to do what was right, Hopson taking a principled stand at a critical moment, Martinez returning to the Democratic fold, and Raymond challenging the Speaker directly.
Despite the great work of these great Democrats, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the 15 Craddick Democrats provided Craddick with the margin he needed to get re-elected Speaker. These 15 Craddick enablers put their own best political interest ahead of their party and their constituents. Had just 7 of these 15 Democrats voted their conscience, voted their convictions, or voted their constituents - instead of merely voting their own selfish best interest - we would have kicked Craddick's ass off his $1000 throne.
We should thank each and every one of the 54 Democrats who had the courage to try and make Texas a better place. But let us never forget the Craddick 15.
(These 15 Democrats haven't budged and are set to give Craddick the margin he needs to remain as speaker. We brought 55 Democrats to the table to vote for change. They'll keep fighting through the session but we have long memories. Personally, I'm thinking these 15 may earn themselves a special place in a front page box here on BOR... - promoted by Burnt Orange Report)
Edited from the film below, here are the 10 Democrats who attended Tom Craddick's dinner at the Austin Club on January 7th to pledge their support. If they follow through and vote for him tomorrow, expect primary challengers to find this footage available to them. The House needs cleaning though it begins with Tom Craddick.
1. Joe Deshotel (512) 463-0662
2. Kino Flores (512) 463-0704
3. Ryan Guillen (512) 463-0416
4. Aaron Pena (512) 463-0426
5. Helen Giddings (512) 463-0953
6. Sylvester Turner (512) 463-0554
7. Dawnna Dukes (512) 463-0506
8. Ruth Jones McClendon (512) 463-0708
9. Norma Chavez (512) 463-0622
10. Patrick Rose (512) 463-0647
Other Democrats who have are still suspected as holding out for Craddick are as follows.
11. Kevin Bailey (512) 463-0924
12. Tracy King (512) 463-0194
13. Robert Puente (512) 463-0452
14. Harold Dutton (512) 463-0510
15. Eddie Lucio III (512) 463-0606
Please call your Representatives and the ones on this list to let them know that it is not too late to make the right choice. There is no need to go down with a sinking ship. Craddick can't touch many of these districts because they are so Democratic- they should be beholden to their Democratic Primary voters that put them into office.
