I see that Jim Jordan has decided not to become a three-time loser, instead ending his run for Speaker of the House. What a wuss. Kevin McCarthy was willing to endure 14 rounds of humiliation before he finally became Speaker.
So what now? It's not too late to go back to McCarthy. Maybe a few of the eight folks who voted him out in the first place have had a change of heart?
AFTERNOON UPDATE: Jordan has apparently changed his mind and will try again. Stay tuned.
OT: Kraken pleads guilty.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/19/politics/sidney-powell-fulton-county-georgia-2020-election-subversion/index.html
Today is quite a spectacular day! Gym Jordan has discovered that many in his own party hate him (the plan was apparently to switch their votes one by one with each new ballot to make it look like there was growing opposition to him) and...
Sidney Powell has reached a deal to plead guilty and testify for Fani Willis!!!
I also heard that speculation about the vote-switching, but WaPo reports Rep. Womack saying there wasn't an organized opposition. I think the explanation may be that party leaders persuaded a few of the caucus to commit to one or two votes for Jordan, hoping for a quick end to the mess. Also, once some doubters saw they had some cover, they were less fearful of voting for someone who might have actual qualifications.
link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2023/republicans-voting-against-jim-jordan-house-speaker/?itid=hp-top-table-high_p001_f005
A lot of Republicans just don't like him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is good news. Jordan is a radical, a bully, and was manifestly unqualified to be Speaker.
And what's good news for America is of course bad news for Trump. First, his former lead attorney pleads guilty in the GA RICO case, and then his top choice for Speaker taps out. I wonder who he endorses with his kiss of death next?
The plan appears to be to vote to give McHenry temporary Speaker powers so bills can get passed until January. That lets Republicans work with Democrats in an obscure enough way that they can convince low-information voters that they didn't really work with Democrats. Then they can blame everything on McHenry and go back to Speaker voting after the holidays.
It seems the idea is to stop other people from entering the race and keep Jordan as the "Speaker designee", and give him few more months to terrorize objectors.
Yes. I don't think Jordan is giving up. He should do, but he's going to lose in any case.
This is correct. Jordan is out-ish.
No, this analysis, as well as Kevin's, is incorrect. Jordan is explicitly refusing to drop his bid for Speaker, though the timing of a third vote, as well as any concrete plan forward, is uncertain. As with Drumpf, the nation is being saved--probably temporarily--from fascism because Jordan is thick as a brick and absolutely incompetent at traditional politics. Most sources see no way Jordan can now win, but bullying and death threats have worked before.
Why would they? Chaos is what they wanted. It's what they believe their core supporters want. "Government isn't the solution to the problem, government is the problem."
As reasonable alternatives, I propose House Republicans with prior experience as state legislative leaders:
Daniel Webster was Florida House Speaker
Mike Flood was Nebraska unicameral speaker but is barely in his 1st House term.
...and that's all.
Dusty Johnson was governor of South Dakota, now in his 3rd House term.
Tracey Mann (Kansas) and Michelle Fischbach (Minnesota) held statewide office as lt. governors, but both are in their 2nd House terms. (Ditto Matt Rosendale, previously Montana State Auditor.)
Just for a moment, allow me to cosplay being a GOP, Jordan-adjacent strategist:
First: Let's throw Gaetz out. I think we can get the Dems to go along with that. And yes, that reduces our majority by one, but he's working against us anyway, so no loss.
Second: We hint to all the rest of the Republicans crying about "strong arm tactics" that they're next on our list. We'll even tell them when we're coming for them.
Third: Get all the House Republicans in a room except the holdouts. Let the holdouts sit on the outside gnawing on their own entrails. We don't have to actually do anything in that room (Why start now?), we just want to let the holdouts know we're moving on.
Fourth: Release the Hannity.
Fifth: Profit!
Well, I'm with you on (1).
Ha! Cosplay terminated.
My point is that there's no need to discuss any further the possibility of a fracture in the Republican Party. That has happened. They just haven't accepted the fact yet.
I want Jordan out of the race but I'm not sure he's finished. Vibe I'm picking up is that Jordan will continue to press to become Speaker, even if it takes much more time and increased heavy-handed pressure.
NPR is reporting that the plan to empower McHenry was rejected by the caucus, and Jordan is going to try for a third smackdown. Bobby Jindal tried to warn the GOP …
I'm thinking this is a new series called Game of Speakers.
HBO, start paying attention.
????
Which episode does McHenry get beheaded?
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), on the proposal to expand Rep. McHenry’s powers:
“To bring it to the floor it would have to survive with Democrat votes … that would certainly end in a civil war within the GOP.”
Really? What do you call what is happening now?
Relatively mild disagreements.
Ask Paul Pelosi how civil war looks, and he was lucky.