Pitts and fellow Republicans Charlie Geren, Brian McCall, and Robert Talton continued to fight what they called "arm twisting and intimidation," and late in the legislative session, other Republicans such as chairmen Byron Cook of Corsicana, Jim Keffer of Eastland, and Fred Hill, joined the fight to oust Craddick. The attempts to remove the Speaker were then unsuccessful because Craddick asserted that he held the absolute power as Speaker to acknowledge or deny motions, making it implausible, if not impossible, for one of his opponents to be recognized in order to begin the proper parliamentary proceedings necessary to remove the Speaker.