No Future for the GOP?

[IdleRich]

BREAKING NEWS: House Republican chaos continues. Kevin McCarthy has just lost the THIRD vote for Speaker. The third time is not a charm.

I get that Jefferies can't really win, but it feels like McCarthy can't either unless they back down. If he gives up who would or even could they nominate?

Obviously in MAGA fantasies it's Trump.

 

[IdleRich]

On the third round of votes, Byron Donalds flips his vote from Kevin McCarthy to Jim Jordan for House Speaker

Does that mean it's getting worse or did others flip the other way?

 

[Leo]

He was the only one to flip.

If for some reason McCarthy can't get any additional votes, pretty sure the most likely backup choice is Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), current House majority leader. But he'd probably have to make some concessions to the holdouts too.

Three possible Speakers-in-waiting to watch if McCarthy falls

The fate of Speaker-designate Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is hanging by a thread as a group of nearly 20 House GOP lawmakers voted against him for the top spot on the first ballot to become Speaker. …

thehill.com

 

[IdleRich]

EVERYONE hates Kevin McCarthy. Democrats, moderate Republicans, and independents hate him for supporting Trump’s January 6 insurrection. Trump Republicans hate him for not supporting the insurrection enough.

Sounds right to me... so may well need a back-up choice.

 

[IdleRich]

Guardian says....

McCarthy had acknowledged he was unlikely to win the speakership on the first ballot, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy delay before new members of the House could be sworn in. McCarthy suggested he was comfortable breaking the record for the longest speakership election in history, which stands at two months and 133 ballots.

And if that did happen would that mean government grinds to a halt until it's sorted?

 

[Leo]

kind of. even though the Senate and Executive Branch (White House) could continue to propose and vote of legislation, lots of things need sign-off from the House.

 

[Leo]

now starting to think McCarthy might not pull it out.

 

[IdleRich]

And there is no tie-breaker or other method to break the deadlock? It could go on forever if neither group of cunts backs down?

 

[Leo]

it's not a deadlock, there's no tie that can be broken, McCarthy is 20 votes shy of making it.

the most fucked up part is most people hold out on supporting someone as a bargaining chip, there are specific concessions or actions they insist on before they will change their vote. in this case, many of the 20 "no" voters aren't even asking for any concessions, there's nothing they are demanding of McCarthy, and nothing McCarthy can give them to get their vote. They're just opposing him because of, I don't know, some weird, far-right fantasy of how the world should be or something.

 

[IdleRich]

Jefferies is 6 votes shy - and there are 20 guys who would rather drink a pint of diarrhoea than vote for either, that sounds like a deadlock to me.

 

[Leo]

I was thinking of deadlock as in a tie.

 

[IdleRich]

Of course we'll find out in a few hours if they've managed to do any backroom deals overnight but if not then it seems to be a deadlock as in it's stuck in an irresolvable position.

 

[Leo]

McCarthy and the rebels are both digging in, threatening to turn the speaker battle into a war of attrition when the House returns tomorrow at noon. Asked how long he's willing to let this go on, leading anti-McCarthy Republican Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) told reporters this evening: "Six more months."

 

[Leo]

Bloomberg opinion columnist Joshua Green traces today's crisis to the chaos blueprint perfected by Donald Trump. "Unlike their Tea Party predecessors a decade ago who made life miserable — and short — for two previous Republican speakers, John Boehner and Paul Ryan, McCarthy’s enemies aren’t driven by a desire for aggressive conservative policy reforms," Green writes. "They want to blow things up. They want McCarthy’s scalp. And the narrow Republican margin in the House makes it extremely difficult for anyone to stop them."

 

[IdleRich]

Yeah I think he's agreeing with you (and I do too) in pretty much saying that they are against a lot of things but it's hard to see what they're for. And one of the things they are against happens to be McCarthy unfortunately for him.

 

[IdleRich]

Oh dear, seems a bit of a Catch 22 situation for McCarthy, he wants to adjourn so as not to show how few votes he has - but he can't adjourn cos he has so few votes.

McCarthy allies want to adjourn for the day but he may not have the votes to delay a fourth ballot, sources say​

From CNN's Manu Raju, Lauren Fox and Melanie Zanona

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy and his allies are holding active discussions about adjourning the House until Thursday — but they are uncertain to go that route because they may not have the votes to pull it off, according to multiple sources.
McCarthy and his team are fearful that if they go to a fourth ballot, they could lose more votes, something that could undercut their claims of regaining momentum. That is why they have discussed adjourning the House until tomorrow — but to do that, they need 218 votes, which they don't have.

 

[IdleRich]

So there are only 351 present, seems extremely unlikely that anyone can get near 218 in those circs.

 

[Leo]

I think I read somewhere when fewer than the full number of representatives are present, the winning threshold is lowered proportionally below 218. there had been scuttlebutt about McCarthy/moderate Republicans maybe trying to make a deal with Democrats to not show up, so McCarthy could lower the number of votes needed to win.

 

[Mr. Tea]

It would be funny as hell if Republicans ended up persecuting someone called McCarthy, you have to admit.

 

[Leo]