By April Castroand Jay Root / Associated Press
AUSTIN -- 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 thats 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 wasnt 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 oclock so that committees could go have dinner and then turn around and say that were wasting time?
I dont see it as any level of obstructing he added. Were 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.
