Thank you Rep. Pitts for your efforts....

Once the sting of today's leadership battle fades I believe there will be lessons learned. First, The Texas GOP is an organization of fighters that believe in independent thought. We refuse to sit on the sidelines when we see problems arising. Jim Pitts' challenge to the Speaker is such an example.

It would have been easy to sit on the sidelines to ensure a position of power within the Texas House. Yet, Pitts heard many of the concerns being voiced by his fellow members across the state. Between himself and Rep. McCall a challenge to "business as usual" was mounted.

While Mr. Craddick succeeded in retaining the speakership I believe the Party, and as such, the state of Texas will be better in the long run. True, there may be repercussions for the actions of individuals over the past few weeks. But there should be little doubt the leadership has heard the concerns of its' members.

Moving forward into this years' legislative session hopefully we'll witness a more focused & conservative agenda coming out of Austin. And while compromise is not always acceptable Austin must realize that egos should be set aside and the people's business must come first.

For the resaons above today's excercise was not a waste of time. Let's just hope that the lessons learned will not be soon forgotten.