Republican Dustin Burrows could expect to be perceived as the weakest Texas House speaker in modern history if the Democrats who he rode to victory are collectively snubbed when the chamber's new leader passes out committee chairmanships for the regular session in the coming weeks.
Burrows beat GOP caucus nominee David Cook by 30 votes this week when 49 of 62 House Democrat carried him across a finish line that he couldn't reach without a strong show of support from the lower chamber's minority party members. Democrats backed Burrows because he refused to play along with Cook's pledge to slash their power with the first ever ban on minority party committee chairs in the west wing of the Capitol in Austin.
Most of the Democrats who voted for Burrows did so on the belief that he would continue the tradition of fair representation for Republicans and Democrats alike in the House with standing panel chairs from both major parties. But the statehouse has buzzed since Burrows' win with predictions that he won't try to stop the Republicans from incorporating a prohibition on Democratic chairs into the House rules when they're up for a vote on Wednesday. Burrows - according to the narrative - would pretend to be helpless in the face of such a move as a representative who only has one vote
But all of the representatives who've won Texas speaker races in the past half-century have prevailed in fights over rules as the first real test of their strength and resolve to lead in the fashion they promised as candidates. Burrows runs the risk of making it look like he's rolling over in a belated bow to the same forces that attacked him relentlessly and accused him of being a Democrat who's been masquerading as a RINO.
Burrows' failure to appoint Democrats to committee leadership posts will give the impression that he's punishing those who elevated him into the speaker's office instead of rewarding them by making good on campaign promises to support the status quo in the committee assignment process.
But Burrows can blame some of his most ardent supporters from the GOP for telling voters before the speaker's election that they would vote to bar Democrats from committee chairmanships in the House rules regardless of the potential problems that perceptions of dirty double-dealing at the outset of his reign could cause for him.
The Democrats who effectively shut down an entire special session in 2021 when they fled the chamber as a group to protest a historically restrictive elections bill. They could be more likely to bolt if they feel like they're being stabbed in the back by a Republican who owes them a massive debt of gratitude for the high station he has now.
Burrows would be giving three Democrats who backed Cook on the second and final vote a golden opportunity to say `I told you so' if he shrugged off impotency in the rules fight as something over which he had no control.
Burrows' failure to appoint some Democrats to committee chairs could make it next to impossible for the Republicans to pass a constitutional amendment for the next four months in regular session. But Burrows and the Republicans couldn't even take a vote on a bill if they don't have a quorum with 100 members on the floor or in the building nearby.
All of four Republican speakers before Burrows knew they could pass or kill the legislation they favored or opposed regardless of the fact that Democrats were chairing some committees. All knew how to stack committees with Republicans to produce the desired results with or without Democrats leading them. Democrats who were relatively content and pacified are much less of a potential threat than those who are angry and feel betrayed and have nothing to lose.
