Speaker Joe Straus?

According to the Quorum Report, the ABC's picked Joe Straus, R-San Antonio as the consensus candidate for the next Speaker of the Texas House. (click on his name - his photo makes him look like a greedy corporate guy on some show about greedy corporate guys)

And - haha - some said they would pick someone out of left field who we knew very little about.

OK, so they did. Wow, the D's must have said no way to a whole bunch of more recognizable folks.

Somebody give me a primer on this guy.

Here were his committee assignments last go-round:

Committee Assignments
Economic Development, Vice Chair
Local & Consent Calendars
Regulated Industries
Electric Generation Capacity and Environmental Effects, Select

Uh. Oh. Is he one of the main characters responsible for our out of control electricity rates? They should call that committee Deregualted Industries.

Click here for the bills he authored last session and here for those he co-authored.

Next up, I'll be taking a look at his TEC reports.

UPDATE: Well, Burka is shocked, so that's something:

Maybe he will be a Republican Laney, who presides with a light hand and lets strong chairmen carry the workload. But if this goes south, and Craddick somehow survives, this will be one of the ghastliest mistakes I have ever seen in Texas politics.

Solomons was the safe play. If the ABCs choose him, the deal is done. They take a knee, run out the clock, and on Tuesday they own the House. The ABCs have 48 hours to get a bunch of Republican names who are commited to Straus. If they don’t get them, it’s going to be chaos.

I’m shocked.

UPDATE: The Houston Chronicle reports:

Straus quickly filed his official paperwork after the group unanimously turned to the San Antonio lawmaker, who arrived in the state House after a 2005 special election.

"It's gratifying to have the support of fellow Republican members who are committed to moving past this difficult spot that all House members have been in for a long time," Straus said. "We are going to be making calls over the weekend to show our solidarity. and our commitment.

There's been some commotion that putting Straus forward as a candidate prior to him filing violates the Speaker's Statute (Chapter 302 of the Government Code). It's probably this part of the code that will cause folks to ask who said what when in that ABC meeting:

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a speaker candidate may not knowingly accept a contribution, loan, or promise of a contribution or loan in connection with the speaker candidacy or make or authorize a campaign expenditure at a time when a declaration of candidacy for the candidate is not in effect.

Basically, what I get out of it, is that you are not supposed to be running for Speaker before you file for Speaker with the Texas Ethics Commission.

UPDATE: Oh, my, my, my. Straus got a 100 rating from NARAL in 2007. That's the highest pro-choice rating they give. Only 5 Republican legislators got above zero in 2007. Bust out the popcorn, because this is going to get crazy!

TEXAS MONTHLY interview with Straus - read the whole thing. Excerts that give me hope:

. . . he’s no friend to hectoring social conservatives—and he’s all for lowering the level of anger at the Capitol. He’s also one of the rare pols who see their time in office as public service.
[---]
"Any party that aspires to majority status or wishes to retain its majority needs to find a balance. This is very true for the Republican Party right now. We need to be an inclusive (“big tent”) organization and one that keeps its focus on specific principles in a way that doesn’t drive away centrists. It’s this balancing act that is difficult to pull off that will make or break the future for the party.

At the end of the day, we have the responsibility to govern. And governing requires compromise, which too often in our political dialogue is disregarded."
[---]
"I think we are getting to the point where renewable energy represents such a promising market that the large energy companies no longer view it as a small research investment, but a serious source of energy that will help power the energy economy. I see the day fast arriving when alternative energy is a mainstream source to power Texans’ lives."

This may be change I can believe in.