In the latest twist in this fast-developing story, it turns out that Rep. Bill O’Brien, candidate for Speaker of the House, wanted to insert a new rule for GOP Caucus which will be held next week on the 18th. But the other main candidate for Speaker of the House, Gene Chandler, opposes the new rule. What is it? Read on….
This is the GOP Caucus Rule that Bill O’Brien is proposing:
"Any person accepting a nomination for Speaker at the Caucus shall agree not to oppose the Caucus’s nominee for Speaker of the House on Organization Day."
Sounds unobjectionable to me. The purpose, of course, is to prevent a losing Speaker candidate from making a pact with the devils…errrr….the Democrats, after the GOP Caucus has voted on who to support for Speaker. But get this: Gene Chandler opposes the rule! Well, well….
At some point in the dispute, former Governor and current State GOP Chairman John Sununu was brought into the equation. His position was that he couldn’t see that any Speaker candidate who lost at the Caucus would then turn around and continue to run for Speaker with Democratic support. So…why would oppose the above rule? Indeed….
In the end, the rule was adopted: It will be a rule of the GOP Caucus to be held next week on Thursday, November 18th.
Speaker Gene Chandler’s final position? The above rule "doesn’t make any difference" because when the whole state House of Representatives votes for Speaker on "Organization Day," the Republican Caucus will have been finished…and thus "the rules of the Caucus won’t apply."
Upon hearing the above, a longtime Republican member of the State House made the following observation:
"The governor is hoping for the best but that’s not the way the world works. Gene Chandler will never promote an elected leader unless that person is devoted head-to-toe to Gene Chandler first, before either the Caucus or Republican principles in general."
Uh oh. Houston Republicans, we have a problem….