GOPer's Dream Deferred: Tilley and the Speakership

It's been an open secret in the capitol that Republican Rep. Steve Tilley seeks to follow his close friend Rod Jetton as Speaker of the Missouri House if the GOP retains control of the body in the 2008 elections. Though just months ago his goal looked to be easily within reach, recent events have seen the prospects for a Tilley speakership dwindle and finally fade completely.

Now, Tilley's once-strong claim to the top spot in the House has been carted away by the authorities, an odd piece of detritus among the records seized as part of an ongoing federal investigation.

A story in last Wednesday's Post-Dispatch --largely unremarked upon at the time due to its mid-holiday publish-- detailed the strange facts surrounding the federal seizure of records from a healthcare clinic owned by Rep. Tilley's wife. Investigators from the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services took billing records and told clinic officials that the business would be audited. The story also reported, buried near the end, a fact that has proved extremely inconvenient for Tilley:

Earlier this year, Steven Tilley voiced concern at a hearing on a Missouri Senate plan to fight fraud in the Medicaid system that the plan could be too tough on health-care providers.

Even for the unbiased eye it would be hard (impossible maybe) to reach any conclusion but that Tilley used his elected office to help deep-six legislation that might have compromised the legally questionable practices of an operation from which his family profits. And unless your name starts with 'Governor', that's a big no-no.

While Tilley's lack of judgment regarding his apparent conflict was probably the final death-rattle of his bid for Speaker, his chances for the post had already taken serious hits in recent weeks.

Notably, whispers had begun to circulate in social conservative circles about Tilley's fitness to lead the Republican caucus after post-election campaign finance reports revealed that he had used his legislative district committee to funnel large amounts of money from supporters of stem cell research to other candidates. Over the 2006 cycle, the 106th District Republican Committee* accepted more than $25,000 from two entities that were engaged primarily in efforts to pass the stem cell research constitutional amendment. On October 31st alone, the 106th Republican Committee accepted more than $21,000 from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Supporters of Health Research & Treatments.

Tilley then spread the money from his district committee around to an array of ten different GOP legislative candidates, in what almost certainly amounted to an intra-caucus campaign for a future leadership race.

Nevertheless, muffled but growing discontent within the GOP ranks about a fixed-for-Tilley Speaker's race led fellow Republican Representative Ron Richard to begin drumming up support some months ago for himself as an alternative. Even before the story about the investigation of the Tilley clinic, Richard's candidacy was building solid if cautious support. After the revelations, it appears that the Speaker's gavel is Richard's to lose.

Though there are sure to be more developments as the federal audit of the Tilley clinic goes forward, one near-definite consequence of the investigation will be the dissipation of any hope Tilley had of following his friend at the dais in January 2009.  

*Interestingly, Tilley controls the 106th District Republican Committee with the help of deputy treasurer Tom Burcham, who also serves as attorney for Tilley's wife's health clinic in the federal investigation. Burcham previously held the 106th District House seat that now belongs to Tilley, and is now the license agent for the Farmington fee office after being appointed by Matt Blunt.