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January 17, 2005
A Strong Office
No doubt you've read about the rules abuses of the incoming Republicans in the state House (and to a lesser extent, the Senate) and I don't really need to rehash them here. One thing I haven't really seen anyone comment on is the differences between a strong office and a strong man/woman/individual.
Since Georgia has only had males as speakers, I'll stick to the masculine. What I meant to shed light on is the fact that, due to the way Richardson and the Republicans have strengthened the office of the speaker, it points to the deficiencies in the man that Richardson is.
Perhaps nothing signifies this as well as Richardson's own admission that previous Speakers have wielded a heavy hand behind the scene, and he's just trying to make it more open. I disagree. Previous speakers, and make no mistake we are mostly talking about the great Tom Murphy (D - Bremen), may have wielded a heavy hand behind the scenes, but the overwhelming majority of their power came from a commodity that Richardson doesn't seem to believe he can earn himself - respect.
Tom Murphy didn't rig the rules of the House so that he would never lose a fight over legislation or the floor, and because of this every additional fight he (fairly) won strengthened his hand while maintaining the integrity of the body he oversaw. When Glenn Richardson bats 1.000 this year, everyone else will know that the ball was just sitting on a tee every time, waiting for him to take a swing. Will Glenn?
Posted by Chris at January 17, 2005 02:18 PM
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