| First, the hero of this installment.
Senator Mario Gallegos, against the wishes of his doctors and after last week's follow up procedure on his liver transplant, was back at work in Austin today.
As reported on the Houston Chron's Texas Politics blog:
Ailing state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, has a hospital bed set up in the sergeant's office -- about a 100 feet from Gallegos' Senate chamber desk, Monday so that he could help block a contentious voter ID bill from debate...
Doctors wanted Gallegos to stay in Houston. But doing so would have given Republicans enough votes to pass a voter identification bill.
Gallegos and every Democrat oppose the legislation, contending that it's part of an orchestrated campaign to suppress voting of low-income and elderly citizens.
Check out the podcast of Senator Gallegos talking about why he is taking such an unprecedented risk.
Most profound gratitude to Senator Gallegos and the united Democratic caucus in the Senate.
The villain here is the man forcing his colleague to such extremes in defense of the right to vote. Lt. Gov David Dewhurst:
Remember the evil banker in an old Western movie plotting to take the land of a poor rancher he knows will be five minutes late paying the mortgage? Well, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has proven he can play the role of conniving villain as adroitly as any B-movie actor.
Dewhurst, whom I once considered among the best and most sincere leaders in the Legislature, showed his hand -- and his true colors -- last week when he planned an ambush of unsuspecting Democratic senators in an attempt to help pass perhaps the most repressive voting rights legislation in Texas since 1965.
When someone tells you how invincible are in Texas, remember this incident. It shows exactly what they already know-they can't win without stacking the deck.
Over in the other wing under the Pink Dome, the hostility to Speaker Tom Craddick's reign has come to the boiling point, though it hasn't boiled over into a motion to vacate the chair.
Republicans grumbled (nobody listened to the Democrats complaints, because in Craddick's legislature there are no Democratic allies, only hostages and who listens to what the hostage wants?) but they mostly stayed in line after the Speaker earlier this year staved off the first attempt to unseat him right after the session commenced.
Mostly, but not completely. And Tom Craddick being, well, Tom Craddick, post session retribution was not just threatened, but challengers were being recruited,
Finally, the majority caucus seems to have had enough however. In addition to last weeks filing for the 2009 Speaker's race by Rep. Jim Keffer, this morning Rep Jim Pitts refiled for Speaker in the 2007 session, just in case there is a motion to vacate the chair.
Showing that Julius Caesar's Rome had nothing on Texas politics (except a literal body count), this evening Rep. Byron Cook remembered he had a spine.
On a Point of Personal Privilege, he asked Tom Craddick to resign as Speaker.
I regretfully tell you that your actions may force this House to take an historic action…I beg of you to step down.
Please don't put this body through 18 months of Hell.
Release us and submit to the will of the House.
Vince reports that the chamber was eerily silent afterward.
I'll bet.
Then Speaker Craddick proceeded to the next item of business. Understandable. After all, what was he going to say, "Oops, my bad. Time for a little VACAY"?
Yes, the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Session of Speaker Craddick continues.
Tune in for the next installment. It should be riveting right up to the season finale, Sine Die, on May 28. |
