Gattis: Shoot the hostage, vote 100 percent to overrule
Rep. Dan Gattis, Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (near tears), Rep. Patrick Rose, Rep. Dan Branch, a few others all huddled around the speakers chair at the back of the dais - with Craddick looking up at them. Kolkhorst walks away saying, "There's only one way out of this."
Not sure what she means but it sounded totally dramatic. Had to throw that in.
Trans Chair Mike Krusee, R-Round Rock, goes to the back mic and demands to know if everyone has just been instructed to sit down or not? "Because some members apparently don't think so. ... Is this a free for all?"
Agitation.
Gattis just got up to the mic and asked everyone - with the speaker's blessing - to vote to override the speaker because he was trying to help someone, "we all know it's a local bill."
"And then we should all check ourselves."
If everyone votes 100 percent to overrule the speaker, with his blessing, then the vote is meaningless.
But he probably knows that.
Comments
Sweet Lord, is it possible for Kolkhorst to stand down on anything? Her ingratiating behavior is probably even irritating to Craddick.
Posted by: Anon1 | May 8, 2007 12:30 AM
It was Kolkhorst who first figured out how to get Craddick out of this box. She forcefully urged Gattis to go up on the podium to talk to Craddick. Bonnen then announced the strategic retreat, followed more eloquently by Gattis. But Kolkhorst was the brains behind it all.
Posted by: David Siegel | May 8, 2007 12:48 AM
That's actually true re the idea being Lois' brainchild. It worked. One of the House GOP chairman who was part of that little coup, said this to me: "They kind of screwed it up for us." As in, they muddied up our votes.
Posted by: Brooks | May 9, 2007 11:15 PM