Wednesday Roundup: In Which Craddick Asks Everyone to Play Nice

In an unusually public display, Tom Craddick has gone to the grassroots in an appeal for party unity.

The Dallas Morning News has it, with a headline I didn't expect to see any time soon — "With possible foes in wings, Craddick urges GOP unity" — and Craddick's message was short and to the point: if the GOP is divided, the Democratic Party could position itself for clobbering time. He even spoke, probably in hushed tones, about the possibility of the GOP losing control of the state house.

I liked reading that State Representatives Jim Keffer and Brian McCall were also in the house: they are certainly not what you would describe as Craddick loyalists. Keffer has already put in to run against Craddick for Speaker at the beginning of the next session, and Brian McCall is likely to, as well. Here's a gem from Keffer, which illustrates why Craddick's appeal for unity is so strange:

"Too bad his management style created so many problems."

And that's it. No clenched-jaw respect for the old man as he builds up his own future. No "agree to disagree" begging off of public conflict. This is all out in the open, much to Craddick's chagrin. The Boss has lost control of the shop.

If you would join me in tuning in for this week's Democratic Legislative "Oh Snap!" Moment, State Edition: Jim Dunnam, Garnet Coleman, and Pete Gallego are asserting that the community college funds cut by Perry's veto this summer should be "restored out of the governor’s and Legislature’s budgets." We always have a surplus, they say, so why not find the money from among those resources? Dunnam also ponders why this hasn't been fixed in a quick special session, and supposes it is because Craddick doesn't want to call the session because he knows would be immediately nuked out of the Speaker's Chair, probably from orbit.

Speaking of environmental issues, the Texas League of Conservation Voters issued their report cards yesterday. They are always good for review, and I point you to a brief rundown by the Star-Telegram here. The Republican that scored the highest in TLCV's books? State Representative Kirk England, now a Democrat. Here's the Scorecard in PDF goodness for your consumption.

The strike was tentatively over quickly, as GM tentatively reached a tentative agreement with UAW. The deal must still be ratified by the employees, but this is at least a sign that things are headed in the right direction for everyone.

Oh hey, Sam Stein at the Huffington Post has more for you on how bad Republicans feel about their chances in 2008. If you're like me, you can't read stories like this often enough. So read it.

Lastly today — it seems like a while ago, every other story about the Democratic presidential candidate field included a list of dream tickets which would be invincible, and someone would always invariably pair up Senators Obama and Clinton, proclaiming it to be the Justice League of Presidential Tickets. Those stories have largely disappeared and we've gotten deeper into the political season, and now here's something new: The Politico's Roger Simon says that Hillary, assuming she is the nominee, will never pick Obama in a million years as her Vice Presidential nominee. It isn't a bad summary of why it would be good for her to put Obama on the ticket, why she probably wouldn't want to, and what Obama might do if he ends up being the nominee.