Battle For Speaker is Joined ... and Then Withdrawn

I tried to get the streaming video at work during my lunch break but discovered that the State House's server was fully subscribed. With the traffic we get at work I doubt it would have been able to handle it anyway.

So I got home and logged on to find that the video portion of the streaming video has been disabled, and only the audio is up. Smart move on that. Now its the more the merrier.

And I was able to listen to the debate on HR 35 the resolution determining whether the House vote for Speaker would be a public vote or a secret vote (the Merritt Amendment actually required that the vote be counted and destroyed). Motion to table the Amendment was carried by 91 Ayes to 51 Nays.

Craddick will get his public vote if HR 35 is passed. Moments later at 5:06 PM, the resolution was passed 132 to 16.

I can now say that I have personally witnessed the dynamics of this. You can't see the nervous fear of retribution, but you sure can hear it. Thirty five votes swinging to the dark side.

5:21 PM

HR 36 by Allen Vaught and an amendment introduced.

After Candidates are nominated, SOS will recognize candidates in order that they were nominated. Candidates speach will not exceed 10 minutes in length

5:25 The resolution is withdrawn.

Chair Recongnizes Representative Pitts: (here it comes):

I don't want members to put in a public record how they voted. That didn't happen today. So it's time to heal. So reluctantly I would like to withdraw from the race. I will not be nominated as speaker.

Well that's it. Craddick gets to be speaker for another 2 years. Honestly it looked like he had the votes anyway. In the end, all Pitts could muster was 51 votes, nowhere near the required 75. That's my take. Votes to keep the ballot public = Votes for Craddick.

OK now on the Democraddicks, as they have come to be called. The numbers: 91 Craddick votes, 14 of them (at last count) Democraddick votes. 91 - 14 = 77. According to Hal's Law of Totality, [some of it - Republican votes] + [the rest of it - Democraddick votes] = [All of it]. And guess what, in this vote, [the rest of it] didn't matter, did it?

5:35: Talton is addressing now. As you know Mr. Pitts has withdrawn. I stood with him as long as he was in the race. We need to allow the process to work.

A general conciliatory speech.

5:38 - Jean Morrison - Nominates Craddick.

5:45 - Aaron Pena - 1st seconding speech.

5:49 - Warren Chisum - 2nd seconding speech

5:50 - Patrick Rose - 3rd seconding speech

5:52 - Dan Gaddis - 4th seconding speech

Now all we need are 69 more seconding speeches and Craddick is automatically elected . . .

I wrote some more stuff, but with all the open processes and Real Player running, my system ran out of memory. Pity. I was brilliant, but now I just want to drown my sorrows in some iced tea.