AutoCraddick Leadership
So a few weeks ago Speaker Tom Craddick almost lost his job. A bipartisan insurgency in the House rose up against him and tried to elect another Republican, Jim Pitts, as speaker.
Craddick eeked out a win. Now it's payback time. Craddick gets to assign committees!

SCENE - Somewhere behind the House Chamber. JP= Pitts, TC=Craddick.

JP: How've you been?
TC: Fine.
JP: Are you thinking of anyone for Appropriations Committee Chair?
TC: I don't want to talk about this.
JP: Why not?
TC: I don't want to talk about it.
JP: Why can't we get past this? I mean, are we gonna carry this thing around forever?
TC: Forever? It just happened.
JP: It happened three weeks ago. You know how a year to a person is like seven years to a dog?
TC: Yes. Is one of us supposed to be the dog in this scenario?
JP: Yes.
TC: Who is the dog?
JP: You are.
TC: I am? I'm the dog?
JP: Uh huh.
TC: I am the dog? I don' t see that, Jim. If anybody is the dog, you are the dog. You want to act like what happened didn't mean anything.
JP: I'm not saying it didn't mean anything. I'm saying why does it have to mean everything?
TC: Because it does, and you should know that better than anyone because the minute that it happened, you started calling other members and walked right off my list of supporters.
JP: I didn't walk out -
TC: No, sprinted is more like it.

(Special thanks to Harry, Sally and Texas blogger Eileen for the inspiration)