November 18, 2014 6:06 PM

Updated: HK: The High Price of Tim Dunn--A tale of two burned state Reps

"Does anyone seriously believe that Tim Dunn and MQS would not have veto power on any committee assignments a Speaker Turner might consider?"

Update at 6:06pm Tuesday: Michael Quinn Sullivan did not previously respond to our request for comment about the email he sent last week to people in Rep. Capriglione’s district. This afternoon, Sullivan confirmed that this email, seen here, is a correct copy of what he wrote – SB

Midland oilman Tim Dunn is one of the most powerful Republicans most people have never met. But his operations are well documented through his acknowledged subsidiaries, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Empower Texans and AgendaWise.

Speaker candidate Scott Turner doesn’t have a lot of direct Dunn money in his campaign, but he is currently the clearly anointed “not Straus” favorite of the Dunn interlocking directorates.

So Giovanni Capriglione rocked Dunn-world last week by saying what every sentient political professional at the Capitol already knew, that Turner had neither the policy depth nor the political support inside the Republican Caucus or House to be Speaker. The Southlake freshman was not naīve, he knew he would face the orchestrated wrath of the Dunn conglomerate.

It did not take long for Dunn spokesman Michael Quinn Sullivan to flame Capriglione’s district with an email attacking their rep. In fact, he effectively declared war on the Tarrant County lawmaker by saying Capriglione is "supporting Joe Straus, who has thwarted all conservative reforms."

By Harvey Kronberg