Tense moments
Tempers seriously flared on the House floor today. A couple of exchanges:
Chisum vs. Burnam
Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth: "The reason we have such conflict is … the minority part has been totally disrespected for four years. The minority party has an opportunity to, all of us, join temporarily the Calendars Committee."
Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa: "You bring up the issue of the minority party being mistreated somehow by the majority party. My feeling is, I generally served on the minority party. It is the purpose of the minority party to engage in the process and make it happen in a bipartisan manner. It is not the majority party....
"You’ve cut yourself off if you kill this deal here. In the minority party, you cut yourself out of being able to get your bills passed, and I encourage you not to do that."
Coleman vs. Branch
- Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston stopped in front of the press table on the House floor today, fuming at a GOP chairman's on-mic threat that "minority party" members who voted against suspending the constitutional order of business were going to be cut out of the legislative process entirely.
Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas: "He's just acknowledging the reality."
Coleman: "Well then we can just keep beating ya'll at the polls, Mr. Branch."
Branch points toward Mr. Coleman and looks around at people standing nearby: "Now, THAT was being threatening."
Coleman and Craddick
Coleman: "Is it appropriate for a member of the House to threaten people on a vote based on the party that they may happen to be a part of, from the front mic?"
Craddick: "I wouldn't think so, Mr. Coleman."