Republican Speaker Joe Straus broke away Monday from the Democrats who lifted him to power, calling them "obstructionists" and criticizing the partisan gridlock he says they have brought to the Texas House.
Straus spoke out Monday as Democrats continued a fourth straight day of stall tactics to kill a controversial bill that would require Texans to provide additional identification before voting.
Straus said the delay tactics, known as "chubbing," have jeopardized a slew of unrelated bills that must be considered before a Tuesday night deadline.
"They are obstructionists, clearly," Straus said. "We have a lot of business that's unfinished."
Democrats wasted little time firing back.
A defiant Rep. Jim Dunnam, leader of the House Democrats, unloaded on the GOP-led administration he helped install. Dunnam said Straus and his lieutenants have adjourned early night after night, taken weekends off and frittered away valuable legislative time while Democrats continued to raise objections about the voter ID bill.
"Why wasn't the insurance reform bill on the House floor six weeks ago?" Dunnam asked. "Why did we go home last week every day at 6 or 7 o'clock so that committees could go have dinner and then turn around and say that we're wasting time?
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"I don't see it as any level of obstructing," he added. "We're fighting for the rights of people that live in our districts to vote."
Amid the infighting one thing seemed certain: Democrats were within reach of achieving their goal -- killing the voter ID legislation.
The author of the bill in the House, Republican Rep. Todd Smith, all but threw in the towel Monday.
"Short of the Democrats raising the white flag on their chubbing practices, voter ID is dead for the session," he said.
Republicans say tightening voter ID requirements are needed to prevent ballot box fraud. Democrats say it's all about suppressing votes.
Straus, however, said he still hopes voter ID can be addressed before the session comes to a close next Monday.
Using his strongest language yet, Straus called the tactics "abuses of the process." The public criticisms represent a tidal shift in Straus' image as a bipartisan leader and agent of compromise.
The speaker, who began his job in January, has long made it clear that he is taking a hands-off approach to leading the House. That's what many members claimed they wanted when they ejected their previous leader, Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, whose iron-fisted approach eventually led to his ouster.
Straus said his non-confrontational approach has worked in previous debates and he indicated he would rather coax members toward a result rather than clobber them into submission.
"When members have put aside their differences and worked things out themselves, it isn't because I've forced an outcome," he said. "I'll continue to try to be helpful and I'll engage and talk and encourage conversations."
