By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX – House Speaker Tom Craddick is not the only one who is miffed about the 50-odd members of the Texas House who were no-shows when the House legislative session began Monday.
Gov. Rick Perry called the Democratic House members' actions "cowardly and childish" and said they were like "the pouting child who doesn't like the way the game is going and stomps off the field."
Perry said the no-show by Democrats endangers thousands of Texans because if major legislation does not come out of the House by midnight Thursday, it is dead.
"This childish prank endangers tens of thousands of Texans who stand to lose access to health care by blocking passage of medical malpractice reform that is crucial to enabling doctors to continue to practice medicine," said Perry. He further noted it "endangers funding for our public schools, thus hampering the access of all Texas children to a quality education."
Perry further said the walkout by Democratic members also puts at risk passage of insurance reform legislation that could mean lower home insurance rates and "jeopardizes dozens of other pieces of important legislation."
"These legislators have been elected and paid to come to work by hardworking Texans," said the governor. "They are asked to work for 140 days every two years - not to hide out because they don't like the way the debate is going."
The governor said that during his 20 years serving the state of Texas, he had never seen "such a blatant abdication of responsibility."
Perry did not address what would happen if that legislation does not make it out of the House by the Thursday deadline. However, at a press conference earlier today, Craddick said he had talked to Perry this morning and the governor indicated he would "call us right back" for a special session to address any meaningful legislation that might be aborted by the members going AWOL.