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Charles L. Cotton wrote:Confession time. I had to delete two of my own posts, then give myself some cooling off time before posting this. Several people, me included, need to take a deep breath, put emotion aside, and take a rational look at the impact of the first contested race for Speaker of the House in 40 years. Turner lost, but he did a great service for all Texans, other than ultra liberals.

Straus has helped numerous pro-gun bills pass and he has killed some pro-gun bills either in committee or the Calendars Committee. He has promoted far more bills than he has killed, though he has killed some that I consider critical.

For the first time in 40 years, we have a record vote for Speaker of the House. Obviously some people don't appreciate the importance of this vote and how it will impact this legislative session and the 2016 elections. More voters were aware of the Speaker's race this year than ever before, primarily because there was a contested race. Turner has broken the ice and we can expect to see many contested races for Speaker. That puts more pressure on the Speaker to perform up to public expectations.

Conservatives have won several seats in the Senate as well as the Lt. Governor's chair. The news media is running reports that the House till keep a lid on Lt. Gov. Patrick and the more conservative Senate. If conservative bills die in the House, you can bet that the 2016 campaigns will be broadcasting the results of the Speaker's race voting like it was a Super Bowl.

Some have argued that the public doesn't know or care about the Speaker of the House, but that ignores news reports. It also ignores how political campaigns are run. I personally don't think Straus will run in 2016, but I could be wrong. I am convinced that the Republicans who voted for him will demand that their support be rewarded and that their vote not become a political disaster. This is possible only because there was a record vote. If Straus does want to run again in 2016, he'll need those same Republicans to support him and to do that, they must be reelected. Straus already lost some of his closest Lieutenants in the primaries; he can't afford to lose more. If Straus doesn't want to run for the House in 2016, he'll run for something else. He can't afford to lose Republican support for any race he enters, nor can he alienate Texas conservatives.

I would like to have seen someone other than Straus and candidly, someone other than Turner. We need someone with clout, experience and credibility and Turner had only one of those traits. It wasn't to be, just as every experienced politico knew. But this is a new day and we have Rep. Turner to thank.

Chas.