Tick tock. It goes without saying that Kevin McCarthy won’t sleep much tonight and not because he’s like a kid the night before Xmas, waiting to wake up to find his most desired toy under the tree. No, McCarthy’s losing sleep because instead of the Speaker’s gavel, he might well get a lump of coal.
All his enemies all allied against him and right now the voice of reason in the GOP, at least the one on his side, is Marjorie Taylor Greene. Need any more be said about how thoroughly phuqued McCarthy’s situation is?
Greene claims that her colleagues in the House, who won’t vote for McCarthy, are indulging in shameless self promotion. How sad that Irony is already dead and isn’t here to hear that one.
Unreal that people claiming to be America First are negotiating for ‘Me First’ positions when it comes to the Speaker’s gavel.
The base deserves the truth.
They would be as sickened as I am.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) January 2, 2023
Marge doesn’t respect people who put self interest above party or country. Righto. Duly noted.
Simply put, if McCarthy doesn’t get the gavel on the first ballot, more rounds of voting will take place. This is the first time in 100 years that this has taken place. The last time it happened, America was between two world wars and the entire geopolitical structure was shifting. Looks like the tectonic plates are wobbly again.
The year was 1923, and it took Republicans nine rounds to settle on Frederick Huntington Gillet. Before that, the longest speaker showdown took place in 1855. That went on for two months and a total of 133 rounds of votes. Hopefully, this issue will get solved somewhere in the middle. A congress that’s paralyzed for two months is nothing we’ve seen in modern times and is beyond imagining. Semafor:
If McCarthy can’t secure the gavel after the first ballot, House members will have to keep voting until they’ve picked somebody as speaker. His backers are promising to put up a fight. In an letter dated Friday, leaders of the 70-member Republican Main Street Caucus said their group was “prepared to vote for him for as long as it takes.”
Some backers say they have limits, however. One relatively ardent McCarthy supporter told Semafor that they would probably be willing to go up to 12 rounds of voting, which would likely last between 3 and 4 days. The aide to another, slightly less ardent supporter said their member would be willing to sit through 3 to 4 rounds, or about a day’s worth of action.
Meanwhile, a senior Republican staffer said aides were whispering that members might only tolerate just one or two rounds of voting before sitting down to try and strike a backroom deal on a compromise candidate. Right now, the leading alternative to McCarthy appears to be Rep. Steve Scalise.
Exciting as it would be to the Capitol Hill press corps to witness a once-a-century event, it doesn’t seem like congressional Republicans are hungry for an endless floor fight that makes it look as if their party has been paralyzed by dysfunction.
And this is intriguing. Republican Don Bacon of Nebraska says that if McCarthy can’t win, and it looks like things are deadlocked, moderates like himself might team up with the Democrats on a compromise speaker. “We don’t want a very small number to keep a gun to the future Speaker’s head on every tough vote. It makes the majority weaker and easily held hostage by a handful of people.”
Bob Good is out to get McCarthy, as you may recall, and he’s the one who has a secret Speaker up his sleeve. I have opined that Fred Upton might be that Speaker.
All that can be said about tomorrow, is that we will know more. Reminds me of Donald Trump’s admonition before January 6. “Be there. Will be wild.”
Here’s a point to ponder – and a video clip we can hope upon hope getting to see. McCarthy has already moved himself (and presumably his staff) into the Speaker’s suite of office space in the Capitol. Can you imagine the humiliation for him if he doesn’t wind up being chose and has to move all his shit out? Now THAT is some video I’d love to see. That sad walk out the door and down the hall. And of him entering wherever he’s assigned. Looking around and fighting back tears over karma having made him its bitch! So, cross your fingers folks. This could be second only to that video of Trump returning from that Tulsa rally.
What is to stop the minority party getting together with five (or more) saner members of the very divided, disunited majority and choosing a Speaker?
Does the Speaker even have to come from the majority party?
Are these are questions about to be answered?
Answer #1: given Dem unity, absolutely nothing. Answer #2: given how the Speaker need not even be a sitting member of Congress, rather doubtful. Answer #3: given who we are talking about, highly likely.