Much has been said over the last week or so about David Ralston running for Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. The basic reasoning is because he challenged Glenn Richardson for the job last year and got about a quarter of the House Republican Caucus to side with him, he should now be Speaker.
The problem is, he simply doesn’t have the influence right now to pull off that play. Too many members of the Caucus -specifically current Chairmen – are worried about keeping their jobs if he is Speaker. The thinking here is that he will have too many debts to repay, and may have to move sooner rather than later to repay them.
What is seen as a much safer – and smarter – play for Ralston at the moment is to make a play for Speaker Pro-Tem and build a coalition with the more influential Speaker candidate of his choice. Current Speaker Pro-Tem Mark Burkhalter is seen as dramatically weakened by recent events, specifically due to an alliance of those looking to avoid repeated scandals and the rural legislators. It is thought that this coalition would be willing to stand behind Ralston for Speaker Pro-Tem, even if they might not stand behind him for Speaker. It would also allay current Chairmens’ concerns about their jobs, for the moment, and thus it is thought that a challenge for Speaker Pro-Tem may just be winnable for Ralston, as it would also send a message of reform to the House and the general public.
Members of the House Republican Caucus are set to convene in Macon Friday, purportedly for a “come to Jesus” meeting over the current and potentially future scandals.
Until the vote for Speaker – and potentially other positions – is taken, no one knows for sure what will happen. But the key thing to remember is that whoever wins these positions will need to exercise considerable restraint, while also cleaning up the mess they are inheriting. After all, these same positions will be up for election again in just one year.
Rock the boat too much, and you could be sunk from bringing on too much water. Don’t rock it enough, and watch the other two Parties in this State – the Democrats and the Libertarians – put a torpedo in your mid-section waterline.
