Phelan's choice

It's not Sophie's choice, but it is interesting, the future for current Texas Speaker of the House Dade "Dade" Phelan.

A majority of incoming Texas House Republicans want the practice of committee chairs for Dems to end. It's presumed that if Phelan agrees, Dems won't support him for Speaker again. It's also presumed, in that Trib piece, that Phelan would agree. Neither logically stands up. Even without getting committee chairs, Dems could still see the alternative as far nuttier, and break 100 percent for Phelan. Or Phelan, a political creature, and knowing that the 46 Rethugs so far are only a tiny majority of the GOP caucus, could tell them to go get stupid and go to business as usual. This ties with Phelan winning his runoff and meaning that GOP factionalism still exists. Weirder yet, both Trib pieces are by the same author.

Elsewhere, the same Trib author, Jacob Scherer, who's not a rookie, notes that Shelby Slawson has joined Tom Oliverson in officially running against Phelan. The old horse-racing theme of "when the favorites split" would seem to apply. So would a certain lack of horse sense from Scherer.

Besides, per the Monthly, crossover Dem voters presumably helped Phelan win the runoff.

Two other takeaways. First, I remember when $10 million being blown to run for a US Senate seat was obscene. $10 million for a state House seat? I also remember when Texas Rethugs lambasted Dems for taking so much out-of-state money. Well, with that Phelan runoff and beyond, we're shockingly in the land of the hypocrisy alert. Shock me that, at the top, it's über-Zionist nutbar and now, part of new Dallas Mavericks ownership, Miriam Adelson.