Speaker's Race: Other Possibilities

After having some hours to turn yesterday's press conference over in my mind, I wanted to return to it for a sort of pre-weekend summation of the whole deal. It has been suggested to me by a few sources that while what I'm saying is possible, there are other things that could be going on that I'm not fully considering, so I will do so here:

A) Craddick is sufficiently weakened and Pitts/McCall are making the smart move by not handing over a list.
I admit it. In the physical universe which we occupy, it is within the realm of possibility that Pitts and McCall have the votes to win and that Craddick can't come back, secret ballot or not. I think it would require a real Frank Capra moment for a sufficient number of people to stand in opposition to Craddick and the old guard he represents. The idea that the immediate payback for support in the race is a lack of threats and domineering from Craddick is not beyond logic to consider; indeed, the whole reason everyone has a problem with Craddick is because of the very tactics McCall and Pitts claim to be protecting their pledges from.

B) The fact that Craddick refuses to release anymore lists means he's scurrying to lock everything down and is feeling uncertain.
OK. I think this is more to avoid any potentially embarrassing situations for Craddick. Unless I'm mistaken, the last list he released had Jim Pitts on it, and the media made no small deal of that hilarity when Pitts declared. This could be indicative of danger for Craddick, but it could just as well be damage control.

C) Craddick won't release any more lists because he doesn't have to, because he's Tom Craddick. This will be his way of proving to everyone, when he wins, that he is not to be trifled with.
See there? Just as likely that this is a calculated move - if the other guys put out a list and then a ton of those people end up voting for Craddick on the day, in public, then who looks like the Supreme Chuckleheads?

D) I bet no one knows for sure what's going on.
I don't agree with that so much. There's probably some degree of uncertainty, and a united Democratic front would help ameliorate that slow, creeping, dreaful feeling of uncertainty, but these guys are all professionals. That being said, everyone might think they know what's going on and end up surprised in the end. Not that I think the Speaker's race rates some X-Files style conspiracy, but you never know.

I said it earlier today.