GOP REJECTS GRIFFIN OFFER TO LEAVE RACE

JEFFERSON CITY -- Amid the bitter battle for control of the Missouri House Wednesday and Thursday, Bob Griffin offered to withdraw from the speaker's race.

Griffin told Minority Leader Mark Richardson, other Republican leaders, and some Democrats involved in the effort to dump him, that he was willing to withdraw from the race and let the Democratic caucus choose someone else.

Griffin essentially said that if he was the problem, he would step aside for another Democrat.

He also offered to step aside when Democratic representatives met in caucus.

But Richardson said he told Griffin Republicans weren't interested in having another Democratic speaker who exercised the same kind of power that he had.

"He did inquire of me as to whether that scenario would break the deadlock," Richardson said. "I told him we would have to see something concrete. We are not interested in vague or open-ended types of agreements."

Because no one took Griffin up on his offer, he was able to win an unprecedented eighth term as speaker over Richardson 82-80, after a Democratic defector returned to Griffin.

Many Republicans ran for the House last year on pledges to never support Griffin for speaker and do what they could to oust him. Republicans have portrayed Griffin as someone who has abused power, built a power base that includes only a handful of loyal supporters and punishes opponents, including Republicans.

Some were also concerned by a federal grand jury investigation that is reportedly being conducted into some of Griffin's dealings.

Rep. Larry Thomason, D-Kennett, the House majority whip and a strong backer of Griffin, charged that Republicans were not really interested in getting rid of Griffin but rather only getting Richardson elected speaker.

"He offered to step aside and they refused the offer," Thomason said. "The Republicans talk about how they were going to get rid of Griffin, they had an opportunity to do so, and then got greedy and passed up the chance."

He said if Richardson and Republicans were really serious about keeping their promise to dump Griffin they should have taken the deal.

"It tells me that he (Richardson) wanted to go for the brass ring," Thomason said this week. "He is going to find out it is only copper."

But Richardson said even though the GOP focus was on Griffin, the situation is far more complicated than that.

It not only involves getting rid of Griffin, he said, but also making major changes in House rules to give members an equal say on legislation.

"At this point there is so much water under the bridge that it is a matter of self-defense for Republicans and any Democrats who bucked him," Richardson said.

Democrats have the power to come up with their own replacement for Griffin, and do not need Republicans, he added.

"They should find a Democrat who can get 82 votes from their caucus," Richardson said. "They have 87 members and we are only 76."

From a practical matter, it would have been difficult in a short time to reach consensus on a new speaker candidate that could win on the floor without Republican votes.

Richardson is also optimistic that when it comes time to make rules changes next week, even Democrats who supported Griffin for speaker would favor some proposed GOP changes.

He predicted Republicans would stay united, but doubted whether Democrats could hold a solid 82 votes for rules that would continue to concentrate power in the speaker.

But Thomason contended some rule changes Republicans will propose will not have unanimous GOP support.