Fired Up Missouri: Majority leader blaming Richard for session's problems

Democratic blog Fired Up Missouri says Majority Leader Steve Tilley is throwing Speaker of the House Ron Richard, R-Joplin, "under the bus" for problems during the recently completed session:

For much of the session, the disorganization and ineffectual leadership on key priorities was assumed to be the unavoidable byproduct of the unique arrangement between Tilley and Richard. In this symbiotic bargain, Richard would hold the title of Speaker, promote himself as the most powerful man since Caesar -- even though he didn’t really know how to manage the House -- and ready himself for a promotion to the Senate. In return, Tilley would actually run the show with far less scrutiny – crucial to his game -- and blame any problems on Richard, since Richard won't be around anyway.

However, the marked increase in Richard-bashing from Tilley makes one wonder if everything transpired according to plan. Is it possible that this soiling of the Speaker’s reputation is all part of the deal?