When the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives calls, money comes running. This is the natural order of power asserting itself. The Speaker helps regulate the world’s eighth-largest economy, and he will always be surrounded by those who want favors. But the Speaker, unlike the governor and lieutenant governor, is effectively elected twice, first as a member in his district and then as leader of the House by all the representatives in the chamber. To keep his job and do the business of the House, the Speaker must seek and win votes from members of both parties, and money from all sorts of interest groups. He is fragile in a way other power brokers are not.On February 16, money has come calling to the…
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