As we enter day four of the speakership race, the increasingly embarrassing and chaotic divide between the Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) allies and the 20 MAGA-infused conservative detractors are more fluid than ever.
Question: If KMac negotiates all these rules concessions, but someone else ultimately becomes Speaker, does this new person have to abide by those concessions? IOW, are the negotiated terms tied to the man (KMac) or to the position itself?
I think the idea is that he McCarthy is bound to use the speakership to realize those ends but I don’t think anyone else would be unless they individually made the same concessions.
Tuesday’s session turned into a yelling match
Situation normal.
As @generalsternwood says, those concessions are temporary. The House sets its own rules and they can change.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
But if you keep on trying and not succeeding, it may be a sign that you’re doing it wrong.
I don’t plan on watching the continuing drama of the roll calls - I’ll follow here for any updates.
I suspect ballots 11 - 13, maybe 14, will happen today, but nothing much else.
I haven’t seen any predictions of how it will end.
Some proposals for a deal, but no one is predicting. How do you think this will end?
Remember, folks, this is just a preview of what two years of a GOP House will look like. No legislation gets passed, they sink the debt ceiling bill and the U.S. Government defaults on its obligations for the first time in two centuries. We are all “frakked.”
These negotiations would have to be adopted in the Rules package as a passed piece of legislation after the speaker is elected. Separate vote requiring a majority.
So, no guarantees that some, all, or none of the promise stuff makes it through in the end, regardless of who becomes Speaker.
That’s part of the impasse right there-- the Suicide Caucus 20 are ensuring their demands are so outrageous and so crazy and give them so much power that everyone else in the House may well shit-can whatever they get McCarthy to promise them.
And even if elected speaker, if Kevin McCarthy fails the physical, he could return to free agency.
Just spitballin’ here, I think it ends when the large bloc of McCarthy supporters realize the holdouts aren’t really negotiating, they just don’t want McCarthy for a host of reasons and will never vote for him. Meanwhile the optics of R dysfunction look terrible, so it’s time to kick McCarthy to the curb. He’ll never withdraw willingly.
So the current McCarthy bloc holds its collective nose and accedes to a few demands from the holdouts – but not the one vote call for vote of confidence – and the R’s elect Scalise or Stefanik as Speaker. McCarthy then goes into a corner somewhere and starts sobbing.
This assumes a degree of rational thought that may not be there. It could get crazier and last much longer.
I am surprised that none of the MAGAs (who removed the metal detectors so they could bring in their firearms) has proposed a quick draw competition for the speakership.
Just remember, if by some cataclysmic event Qevin McQarthy gets elected Speaker, he’ll just stand at the podium with his little gavel and Marjorie Taylor Greene will work his mouth.
Well of course he’ll flunk the physical. He’s got no spine.
You left out “And every few days, there will be another round of votes for the new Speaker.”
Stefanik is clearly worse than McCarthy. So is David Duke without the baggage. Ought to be at least five sane Republicans who say never.
Would you want some who got rolled by Santos being Speaker or did she know what GOP ‘leadership’ is said to have known?
“The retreat included important trainings.” Bummer. Fortunately, wrecking things is easy. You just take a hammer and start bashing stuff. We’ll start with the full faith and credit of the US government. Have fun kids!
