The Republican caucus of the Georgia House meets Thursday to choose a new speaker, speaker pro tem and majority whip, sequel to the Glenn Richardson lobbyist-linked scandal that cost him the speaker's job.

In the past, the election of a speaker came down to which candidate could line up enough votes by promising committee chairmanships and other plums in exchange for support.

Will it be different this time?

Will the majority of the Republicans - the party in control of the legislature - pick a new speaker and other top leaders who will open the closed doors and let the people in on their business? And put the interests of the people first instead of feathering their own nests and using their positions to garner largesse from lobbyists and other powerful interests?

Are rank and file Republican members of the House ready to get rid of the "hawk" system? That's the big hammer Richardson used to make certain he got his way on every committee. He did it by appointing a group of super committee members called hawks with the power to sit on any committee and vote on any bill. Just their presence or the threat of their presence was enough to do the trick.

Talk about a cleanup. Gov. Sonny Perdue's senior floor leader in the House, Rep. Jim Cole of Forsyth, has proposed a seven-point "action plan for out next leadership team," circulated among fellow Republicans and picked up by an OnlineAthens.com blogger.

Cole's proposal calls for the new speaker and the entire leadership team to "take a pledge on their first day in office to be faithful to one's spouse and family" - as opposed Richardson's female lobbyist entanglement - and among other things, conduct "negotiations with other elected leaders and branches of government with respect and decorum" - as opposed to Richardson's notorious fits of angry rhetoric directed at other officials, Perdue in particular.

Cole's proposed code also calls for House leaders to "pay taxes on time and in full, avoid the appearance of impropriety in personal business" and "avoid the appearance of any quid pro quo in the handling of legislation" - as opposed to Richardson's backing legislation for the employer of the lobbyist he was having an affair with, according to his divorced wife.

Cole wants the Republican caucus to adopt a ban on gifts over $25.

"There is nothing wrong with the Garden Club providing us cookies in our office," he said. "There is something very wrong with accepting a new set of golf clubs.

"We should work with our colleagues across the aisle to forge a bipartisan update to our ethics laws to ensure a consistent, fair standard."

Right on.

Cole, a former pro baseball player (Milwaukee Brewers), is a Mercer University graduate and now holds the position of assistant athletic director at Mercer and executive director of the Mercer Athletic Foundation.

Will his plan be a home run or a strikeout with the GOP caucus?

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