For It’s One, Two, Three Strikes…
Baseball season is 4 months away, but we just saw Kevin Q. McCarthy strike out looking in a historic vote for his long-coveted position of Speaker of the House.
Historic because there were three sequential votes with no one attaining the 218 votes to clinch the gavel. That’s the first time a speaker wasn’t elected on the first ballot in a century.
In 1923 it took Frederick Huntington Gillette (R – Mass) 9 ballots to achieve what Nancy Pelosi did in 4 (on 4 separate occasions).
McCarthy never got more than 203 votes. The rest of the 19 and then 20 votes went to several other Rs, then to 2, then to 1 (who initially nominated McCarthy): Congressman Gym Jordan.
Congress adjourned after three votes, and the last thing that I heard was a Jordan supporter (Matt “say you’re 18” Gaetz) threaten to vote for Democrat Hakim Jeffries before he’d vote for McCarthy.
Not believable, but popcorn-worthy nevertheless.
fwiw or He’s worth, David Jolly was on MSNBC stating: “If Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy doesn’t get the Speaker’s gavel — and it looks like he won’t — then it’ll be a surprise if he sticks around in congress at all, said MSNBC contributor and former Rep. David Jolly on Tuesday.”
Fantastic. If Qevin packs his ball & bat, Devolder-Santos is extradited to Brazil, then Congressman Jeffries is that much closer to becoming Speaker. Nibble, nibble and keep on quibbling GOP, your popcorn shoot is fast becoming entertaining.
1I’ll drink to that, but here’s the scary part. As bad as Qevin is, the really far far right off the cliff repugnanticans are looking for someone even worse, if that’s even possible. Yes it is, and they’re in congress as we speak.
2Barring some arrests and felony convictions, I don’t see Rep. Jeffries becoming speaker before Jan 2025.
The more likely path to blocking out the Freedumb Caucus (still a longshot) is for Democrats to support a non-crazy Republican as speaker in exchange for rules that allow the House to function.
Top of my list would be to end the Hastert Rule. Also appropriate would be to not let any members of the Freedumb Caucus chair a committee. I’m sure there’s more, but I’ll let the Dem Caucus figure out what they should ask for in exchange for giving the few remaining moderate Republicans a chance to govern. Recently retired Congressman Fred Upton has been floated as a possibility for Speaker in this scenario.
3I listened to the first two votes on CSPAN radio, before giving up and going back to NPR. Later, I was watching Norah O’Donnell and shaking my head at Qevin. Did he learn NOTHING watching Pelosi all those years? You have to be able to count votes and if you don’t have the votes, you don’t bring it to the floor. At least 5 Rethugs said they would “never” vote for Qevin, so what did he expect would happen?
4Jes sayin’ of course, but given how the majority must simply be won based on the number of Representatives present and voting, there’s one certain fortuitous event that could deliver a Democratic House Speaker.
5That would be to somehow have a/tomorrow’s Republican breakfast or lunch meal that just happened to be carrying a nice dose of e. coli or whatever…[or their supper today]
My fantasy Speaker election: Republicans propose a compromise – if Democrats vote for Upton, none of the “NeverKevins” get a gavel, there will be no impeachment resolutions, and no Hunter Biden investigation. The MAGAts cry “rigged election,” form their own party, and boycott the vote
6. With only 434-19 Representatives voting, Jeffries wins with 212 votes. Sounds crazy – but look who we’re talking about!
I noticed that George Santos voted for McCarthy and wondered suddenly if Santos is an actual US citizen.
7The funniest part of MAGA arrogance is 20 Reps are claiming the other 435 Reps are the ones that are out of step. Talk about the tail wagging the dog!!
8Grandma Ada @ 6,
I’d like to know if Santos has lied on his application for a Security Clearance.
Sandridge@5,
Well, the Reps took down the metal detectors in the Congress chamber, so there is that possibility.
9if this was a championship boxing match any sane referee would have already called a TKO.
10He’s lost 6 times now.
11The record, of course, is 132.