That question mark in the header reflects the chaos reigning in the House Crackpot Republican caucus after more than 2 weeks of dysfunction over electing a Speaker of the House. The latest plan (subject to change of course) is for a third vote to be held today following a morning press conference by insurrectionist MAGAt nominee Rep. Jim "Gym" Jordan. The WaPo's Aaron Blake:
Thursday brought one of the most embarrassing episodes yet in the GOP’s arduous 16-day quest to find someone — anyone — who can get the votes to be House speaker. With the realization that that might not be possible at this juncture apparently setting in, Republicans set about forging a temporary fix that seemed potentially agreeable to much of the House: giving acting speaker pro tempore Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.) more power to conduct vital business while everyone figured out a longer-term solution.
GOP speaker-nominee Jim Jordan even endorsed the plan, apparently believing that time could heal the wounds suffered by his sputtering speaker bid and give him another shot later on.
Then the party summarily rejected Jordan’s leadership — again.
Jordan announced Thursday afternoon that the plan was no longer in the works.
The back- stabbing nihilism at the core of the caucus may well have accounted for the latest train wreck:
That Jordan would even attempt something so haphazard and immediately doomed speaks to the fact that he’s running out of ideas. And he’s surely not alone in that distinction.
To be sure, there are very understandable reasons this wasn’t workable, personal feelings about McHenry aside. Some opposed the idea of a temporary speaker on constitutional grounds. Some Jordan opponents probably feared this could keep his bid alive, by giving him a couple months of McHenry potentially working with the Democrats (whose votes would help install him) to run against. And you can bet more than a few Republicans viewed this, correctly, as the capitulation to Democrats that it would be.
After all, this would have been Republicans effectively surrendering their ability to govern themselves, however temporarily. There is very little precedent for a bipartisan coalition electing a speaker for a reason. And while this arrangement probably wouldn’t have involved the kind of concessions that are often given to the minority party in coalition governments, it would set the House on an unpredictable course...
Since when has this caucus shown it can govern itself, particularly after former Squeaker McCarthy bargained away his speakership to get the votes of the likes of Rep. Matt "Teen Spirit" Gaetz? This is a party of misfits who fundamentally don't believe in government, or that government should work; you may have noted the applause that erupted on their side when Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar noted that Gym had never passed a piece of legislation in 16 years in the House. They're there to perform, to disrupt, to obstruct.
So, we'll see what happens this morning, or this afternoon, or tomorrow, or next week, as these clowns fumble around trying to elect a leader who won't be a leader at all.
UPDATE: Gym's press conference launched early, and to most observers (including Fox "News") it was a bizarre nothingburger. Thread by Aaron Rupar here.
UPDATE II: As expected, Trump-backed Gym is going down in flames for the third time, losing more Republican votes with each ballot.
UPDATE III: There it is --
Final vote tally. The two dems that weren’t there are Vicente González and Payne. pic.twitter.com/6WzJBdbsOB
— Mueller, She Wrote 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@MuellerSheWrote) October 20, 2023
UPDATE IV: Now Gym has lost a secret ballot in the caucus and is no longer the Republican nominee for Speaker; vote was 86 for Gym, 112 against --
Margin was large, sources tell me.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 20, 2023
(Photo: Gym strategerizing with mini- Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry / Alex Brandon, AP)
