Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

This really is a full service blog.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Decision time: keep arguing about the last election, or try to win the next one?

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

We will not go back.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

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Vote 8, Day 3, In Case You’re Losing Track

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And here we go again!

 

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249Comments

  2. 2.

    The Moar You Know

    Boy, the MSM really wants the Dems to throw the Republicans a lifeline.

    And I was thinking about that.  The reason the NeverKevin 20 are NeverKevining is because they don’t trust him to do what he says he will do.

    That’s the guy we’re supposed to make the deal with?  Hard nope.

  3. 3.

    PaulB

    Reminder, for those keeping score at home:

    Not Kevin:
    Andy Biggs
    Dan Bishop
    Lauren Boebert
    Josh Brecheen
    Mike Cloud
    Andrew Clyde
    Eli Crane
    Byron Donalds
    Matt Gaetz (Trump?)
    Bob Good
    Paul Gosar
    Andy Harris
    Anna Paulina Luna
    Mary Miller
    Ralph Norman
    Andy Ogles
    Scott Perry
    Matt Rosendale
    Chip Roy
    Keith Self

    Present:
    Victoria Spartz

    Playing Games (but, so far, still voting for McCarthy):
    Ken Buck

  4. 4.

    Martin

    @The Moar You Know: Just keep repeating that Hakeem has won the plurality vote 7 out of 7 times. Why won’t Republicans come through to push him over the top since that’s obviously the shortest path to getting the House operational.

  5. 5.

    Poe Larity

    So much winning.

    Perhaps they should set an example and drown themselves in the bathtub.

  6. 6.

    BR

    @Martin: ​
    I still want to see Dems bear hug some swing district GOPers and say that “these are our compromise candidates, they are friendly to Dem policies” just to get the base to hate them and make them vulnerable in 2024.

  9. 9.

    PaulB

    After 7 rounds of this, can’t we limit the nominating speeches to 30 seconds or less? Maybe hire the Academy Award orchestra to play loudly and shut down an overly long speech? It’s not like those speeches convince a single member, or a single watcher, to think differently about the candidates.

  10. 10.

    C Stars

    Who do they want? Boebert or Gaetz as Speaker? I mean, it’s the GOP, why not dive right to the lowest common denominator?

  12. 12.

    Martin

    Man, this process is great for showing just how stark the contrast is between the performative bullshit is between every one of these speeches and what is actually happening to win the vote. Why is nobody proudly talking about how My Kevin will gut the ethics committee on behalf of the American people?

  13. 13.

    $8 blue check mistermix

    “And here we go” is the catchline of the Hydraulic Press Channel on Youtube, right before they crush something.  Seems appropriate for what’s left of Kevin’s nuts, which are about to get crushed again.

  18. 18.

    mrmoshpotato

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Kevin McCarthy is a pathetic loser and those pundits who are saying that Ds should rescue him are clowns. 

    Can we keep clowns out of this?  They don’t deserve that insult.

  19. 19.

    Roger Moore

    @Martin: ​
     

    Why won’t Republicans come through to push him over the top since that’s obviously the shortest path to getting the House operational.

    Because the Republicans don’t want an operational House. SATSQ.

  22. 22.

    PaulB

    Okay, Jeffries, McCarthy and Donalds are once again nominated. Will Gaetz stand to officially nominate Trump after Biggs is done nominating Donalds? Place your bets.

  23. 23.

    Barbara

    Actually, if Republicans wanted to force the issue McCarthy should just ask some of his supporters not to show up so that he could engineer a vote that would make Jeffries speaker if the nays don’t cut it out.  If Jeffries is at 212, presumably, that would happen if just 11 Republicans stay away (with a quorum of 423 representatives).  That would basically call their bluff, in that there would be a speaker — no more performance art voting — no matter how they vote, and they would get to decide whether it would be Jeffries or McCarthy.

    Anyway, McCarthy doesn’t need Democrats to help him play a game of chicken.  He can do it on his own initiative — but that would require him to take a non-trivial risk that they might be crazy enough to let Jeffries become speaker. If McCarthy is really that repellant to Boebert et al. then he has a much bigger problem.

  26. 26.

    Immanentize

    @Martin: repeated from an earlier thread:

    If I were the type who wanted to celebrate the insurrection, solidify the date of January 6 as one of snek rebellion, and disrupt Biden and the Dems plans to recognize those who saved the Union that day — I would certainly force votes (if I could) to continue until tomorrow.

  27. 27.

    geg6

    Who is this nut?  Talking about exchange of ideas and such.  But he’s a bore.  Not to mention delusional talking about how unified they are as a party.  LOL!

  28. 28.

    M31

    “And then Biden blotted out the sun and caused the oceans to boil and caused the crime and locust and lava and fentanyl border crisis”

  29. 29.

    piratedan

    each time that the MSM tries to shift the agency on the responsibility for this debacle, I wish that the Dem would say that the Democratic Party recognizes that the will of the public was enacted in the last election and this IS the will of the people.  We cannot solve the struggle within the GOP as to who would best represent their policies and self-governance within their own conference.

    You wanted to retain access to the GOP, they’re right over there… ask them.

  30. 30.

    Betty Cracker

    Great news about Damar Hamlin, #3 on the Buffalo Bills, who was injured in the MNF game. According to a press conference my husband is watching on CNN with the Cleveland Cincy docs, he’s awake and doesn’t seem to have any neurological deficits. He’s still using a breathing tube so can’t talk, but they said the first question he wrote when he woke up was, “Did we win?”

  32. 32.

    The Moar You Know

    If I wanted some old fucker to lecture me with a crapload of Fox News talking points I’d call my mother.  Just fucking vote.

  38. 38.

    Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]

    At this point I’m just watching to see how many more elections he fails vs the historical rankings. He starts climbing up the rankings after failed elections 10-13, and the next one after that is after 23 failed elections.  A long way to go for the top spot of 133 failed elections, but it is something to look forward to.

  40. 40.

    scav

    Given that the real goal is often media attention and speachifying, what if we locked team R into a room without recording equipment and put strait jackets and muzzles on all the press and waited until the white smoke (or stench of rotting flesh) appeared.  If team D needs to go into a similar room, let them take their popcorn, pillows, rolling cocktail bar and maybe a kazoo & slide whistle to play when they technically need to announce their vote.

  41. 41.

    brendancalling

    @The Moar You Know: That’s what we get for being the responsible, governing party. Everyone wants US to fix the mess, and then we don’t get any fucking credit.

    Let the GOP come to us, hat in hand. Not that i trust any of these fuckers—I don’t—but make them beg.

    I’m happy to be without a House for a few more weeks.

  42. 42.

    Roger Moore

    @Barbara:

    I’m not sure allowing Jeffries as speaker would be an effective threat, given that a unified Republican caucus could vote him out whenever they felt like it.  They would have to get some Republicans to actually support him, rather than just withhold their votes to allow him to become speaker, for the threat to be effective.

  50. 50.

    Brachiator

    So, are the Republicans coming back later today for another attempt at a vote, or will they put things off until tomorrow?

  51. 51.

    M31

    OK, vote 8 let’s go!  I think we’ll know by the H’s if McCarthy is still taking the loser train to loser town

  55. 55.

    Barbara

    @Roger Moore: Maybe so.  But my guess is that it would change the overall rules structure that will be voted on, in that there is sufficient Republican support to ditch the changes negotiated to placate the cray crays.  However, the undercurrent is that it’s hard to see that there is sufficient unity for much of anything on the Republican side.  I wouldn’t trust McCarthy to keep any promises to Dems in exchange for help.

  58. 58.

    Leto

    And now all the people are yelling “ORDER” for Boobert “speechifying”. To paraphrase 46: Won’t you shut up, dumbass?

  59. 59.

    PaulB

    Boebert is nominating someone outside the chamber, but the noise was such that I didn’t hear the name.

    It sounded like she was describing a member of the Senate?

  62. 62.

    Scout211

    From the CNN live update: The unity party.  Hahaha

    Scott Perry:

    We don’t want our speaker to be working with Democrats,” Perry replied when asked about Democratic Rep.-elect Brad Sherman’s claim that moderate Republicans would have to work with Democrats to govern, continuing “as long as our speaker is true to what we believe in as Republicans across the board, we’re going to be in fine shape.” He described a Republican speaker seeking Democratic votes on issues such as government funding would be an “act of combat.”

    Unnamed GOP congress persons:

    Committee and subcommittee gavels have been part of the ongoing negotiations, sources tell CNN.
    But two Republicans, who both serve on the panel responsible for awarding committee assignments and gavels, predicted that the conference would reject that sort of deal — not only because there’s so much resentment toward these holdouts, but also because it would be unfair to jump someone else in line for a coveted gavel.

  63. 63.

    Sparkedcat

    This is like being at the crap table and the point is 5. Deuce and a trey. Four and a one. C’mon 5!!

  65. 65.

    PaulB

    That’s two votes for “Others,” although I didn’t hear either one. I’m assuming that’s Boebert and Brecheen?

  71. 71.

    NotMax

    @Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]

    You mentioned another Maui mini meet-up a while back. Crickets since then, still up for it? WG and AL have my e-mail. Someplace with outdoor eating? Or bring plate lunches to the park (place in Wailuku for take-out I’ve been itching to try)?

  72. 72.

    PaulB

    @Alison Rose:  Thanks. I couldn’t hear who they were referring to.

    The unanswered question: if they really wanted Hern, why didn’t they officially nominate him?

  73. 73.

    bjacques

    In the words of Olivia Cooke from “The Limehouse Golem”:

    Well…here we are again!

    I keep hoping to hear “Carter of Mars” and “Moon of Alabama”…

  74. 74.

    Scout211

    Matt Gaetz (on CNN live updates)

    This sounds . . . uh, interesting?

    “Either Kevin McCarthy withdraws from the race, or we construct a straitjacket that he is unable to evade,” Gaetz said.

  77. 77.

    M31

    I hope Gaetz nominates Trump again, that way Trump will lose again, behind Jeffries, McCarthy, Donalds, Hearn, Present, and Other

  80. 80.

    Leto

    @Scout211: ​ every time some dumbass on tv/print mentions how Dems need to do… something… this needs to be brought out each time. They’re never going to work with us, stop fucking bringing it up. While most of the conservative base is lost to prion disease, I hope the “normies” really wake the fuck up on this reality.

  84. 84.

    rikyrah

    @JaySinWA:

    Kevin’s scalp. They don’t want Kevin. Kevin can only give them that by giving up the Speaker run.

     

    THAT craven SOB…

     

    For the ‘Good of the Party’?

     

    BWA HA HA HA AH HA HA AH

  93. 93.

    Alison Rose

    @PaulB: Well, there’s this:

    Representative Kevin Hern (OK-01) introduced the Protecting Life from Chemical Abortions Act, which will prevent the Executive Branch from declaring an abortion-related public health emergency. Second, this legislation reinstates safety regulations and in-person dispensing requirements for dangerous chemical abortions. It further bars the FDA from waiving these protections in the future.

    I have no fucking clue what an “an abortion-related public health emergency” is.

  104. 104.

    PaulB

    @WaterGirl:  Whats the clapping about now?

    Jeffries voting for himself. They’ve done this every time, just as Republicans have clapped when McCarthy votes for himself.

  106. 106.

    JaySinWA

    I chuckled a bit when they called “Graves of Louisiana” to vote. There’s a “Graves of Missouri” as well. They raise the dead to vote! /s

  108. 108.

    Immanentize

    @PaulB: Another example of Republicans just copying Democrats because the Rs have no integral sense of propriety.

    (J before M in alphabet)

  109. 109.

    trollhattan

    OT California weather gods: “Here assholes, have some more rain. Now stop bitching about that ten-year drought, you losers, and go fetch some sandbags.”

    And a happy Glug Day to all.

  110. 110.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Martin: I would guess that the reason the Dems don’t talk about this is that gutting the Ethics office would increase McCarthy’s support among Republicans, and they don’t want that.

  111. 111.

    Ken

    @dmsilev: Surely the 8th time will be the charm.

    Especially since I’m sure Kevin spent the, what, 20 minutes since the last vote huddled with the nay-sayers, negotiating what it would take to get their support.

  112. 112.

    MisterDancer

    I fundamentally agree with Josh over at TPM (members-only article, sorry!) on this point:

    [Insurrection/Debt Ceiling hostage-taking] and other recent events are signs of the breakdown of the constitutional order and civic democracy. What’s happening this week isn’t. This is the failure of a party within the proper practices of the democratic order. It’s a distinction we should keep at the forefront of our minds.

    This is why we need to resist the calls to not only capitulate to fix” the House, but also the urge to “send the right message”.

    There is nothing that can be said to any reporter, that I think speaks more loudly than this moment. Indeed, I think trying to play it in the media more than shining the light risks making it about the Democrats, risks diluting the wreckage of the GOP House more than some reporters are already trying to do.

    As the great actor Watanabe said in that Godzilla movie, “Let them fight.” We — the good guys — don’t need to play this in the media, or get in the way to save them, or try to put a fix in that’s likely to backfire on us. Those are all landmines that I think come from feeling like we have no power, and that we always have to be doing something to prove we’re better.

    Sometimes, the only way to win, is not to play.

  114. 114.

    PaulB

    Halfway through and the only change is that Boebert and Brecheen voted for Hern (who subsequently voted for McCarthy).

    Manu Raju is reporting that “Scott Perry barely made the vote [in the last round] as he was doing a Fox intvw. Several conservative members came out trying to get him to vote in time. He ran into the chamber and voted for Donalds.”

  116. 116.

    PaulB

    Manu Raju also reporting, via Twitter: “Asked at what point will he make a realization that the outcome won’t change, McCarthy told me: ‘After I win.'”

  117. 117.

    Matt McIrvin

    Actually electing Trump would be a very very very very dangerous situation for reasons I trust I don’t have to explain.

  118. 118.

    scav

    @PaulB: There’s another clue that it’s the personal media hit that’s driving a solid portion of this, along with the burn it all down ethos.

  120. 120.

    HumboldtBlue

    @trollhattan:

    I have to say, it’s been pretty mild up here, so far the main path of the storm is to the south of us. We got some sustained heavy winds yesterday and a lot of rain, but only some scattered showers so far today and very little wind.

  122. 122.

    feebog

    @Barbara:

    Actually, if Republicans wanted to force the issue McCarthy should just ask some of his supporters not to show up so that he could engineer a vote that would make Jeffries speaker if the nays don’t cut it out.  If Jeffries is at 212, presumably, that would happen if just 11 Republicans stay away (with a quorum of 423 representatives).

    Actually, McCarthy could have say, half a dozen vote present and then tell the insurrectionists the next time it will be a dozen and Jefferies will become Speaker.  A real game of chicken.

  123. 123.

    PaulB

    @scav:  There’s another clue that it’s the personal media hit that’s driving a solid portion of this, along with the burn it all down ethos.

    There is speculation that this is why MTG is sticking with McCarthy and is publicly feuding with the crazy caucus. She got there first and negotiated a sweet deal with McCarthy, giving her a much broader platform from which to spew her nonsense. The crazy caucus is putting that deal in jeopardy.

  124. 124.

    Percysowner

    @Matt McIrvin: I assume you’re talking about the fact that TFG might want to change “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” to “I could stand in the State of the Union Address and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” because, yeah, I can see that. Or if he won’t do it, then getting Boebert or MTG to do it is the second option.

  126. 126.

    PaulB

    Bishop and Donalds missed their vote calls but the rest of the crazy caucus continued to vote for not-Kevin. Spartz missed her call, as well, but presumably will continue to vote Present.

  128. 128.

    JBWoodford

    @FelonyGovt: Yeah, but then every RW nutbar with a gun would be going after POTUS and VPOTUS. Since replacing VPOTUS takes a majority of both houses (thanks, 25th Amendment!), there’s a real chance of catastrophe if Trump gets anywhere near the presidential line of succession.

  133. 133.

    Kent

    @feebog: That accomplishes nothing.  it only takes 5 of them to initiate a vote to remove Jeffreys the next day and we are back to square 1.

    The only way you get a stable speakership is if you have a stable majority that supports it.

  134. 134.

    Barbara

    @feebog: But the quorum number has to change — So long as Jeffries is at 212, he won’t be speaker even if a handful of Republicans abstain.

  135. 135.

    Immanentize

    I would expect that, at some point, a few Republicans will be checking in with Jeffers, very hush hush, about what they would get for switching parties. HJ needs six to switch. And the Ds ought to get at least one more in a month. Maintaining seniority would be condition one, I suspect. Six. That’s all.

  136. 136.

    Barbara

    @Kent: They can initiate a vote to remove Jeffries, but that doesn’t mean they will get the votes to carry through, and they still have the problem of who will be speaker at the end of the day.  Also, that particular rule has not been adopted, and I am not exactly sure who has the final authority to set the rules that will be voted on.

  137. 137.

    Kent

    @PaulB: I think MTG actually wants power and is smart enough to know where it comes from.  I would not be surprised if she sees this as a stepping stone to Senator or Governor in the future.  You can’t burn all your bridges if you actually have ambition.

    Boebert and Gaetz are too stupid to do either.

  138. 138.

    PaulB

    One thing I’m curious about: were all of the stories last night and this morning about how there was real movement towards McCarthy just so much hot air and wishful thinking? Or were they just premature and there are a few more details to nail down, at which point things will finally change?

    I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

  139. 139.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Village Junior Leaguer trolls trump!

    Jake Sherman @JakeSherman 1h

    unless something changes, Trump will be the low vote getter in this speaker vote. will lose resoundingly!

  140. 140.

    Kent

    @Barbara: Exactly.  The point is that it really isn’t much of a threat for McCarthy to threaten them with Jeffries since he couldn’t stay speaker without a stable majority.

    These 20 insurrectionists obviously don’t care if we are back to square 1 because that is actually where they want to be.

  142. 142.

    Delk

    maga nutcase Ali Alexander is calling MTG a whore and he has proof she has committed a crime and will be expelled from office. I guess Ali doesn’t know that all the popcorn has been ordered already.

  143. 143.

    Geminid

    @Matt McIrvin: When it comes to Trump, there are many more implacable no-voters than there are for McCarthy. Even Trump’s allies know he’s too fickle and lazy.

  144. 144.

    lowtechcyclist

    What’s the old line – insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result this time?

    Yessir, the GQP is crazy.

  146. 146.

    Immanentize

    @PaulB: Since last November, McCarthy has been running the “I’m the inevitable choice” plan. His move into the Speaker’s office was a bold, but perhaps stupid, part of that plan. It is clear he has no plan B.

  147. 147.

    PaulB

    @Barbara: But the quorum number has to change — So long as Jeffries is at 212, he won’t be speaker even if a handful of Republicans abstain.

    Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought that the winner only needed a majority of votes of those voting for actual named candidates. If members vote Present or don’t vote, that lowers the threshold required for victory.

    That said, the odds of Jeffries being named Speaker are effectively zero.

  148. 148.

    WaterGirl

    @PaulB: My guess – based the whining from the 20 about how “someone” (Kevin) broke confidence – Is that  whatever was being discussed in the negotiations last night evaporated because of the broken confidence.

    My guess, again, is that some of the 20 are playing themselves against some of the other 20 for chairmanships, etc, and word got out.  So they are pissed and said “no dice” on whatever was being negotiated last night.

  149. 149.

    TriassicSands

    @Kent: These 20 insurrectionists obviously don’t care if we are back to square 1 because that is actually where they want to be.

    Not as long as square zero is available.

  150. 150.

    eachother

    “This is like being at the crap table and the point is 5. Deuce and a trey. Four and a one. C’mon 5!!”

    8 the hard way.

  151. 151.

    Cameron

    The suggestion has already been made, and I whole-heartedly concur, Republicans should come together behind Mike Lindell.  He’s got the whole package.

  152. 152.

    randy khan)

    @Barbara:

    Anyway, McCarthy doesn’t need Democrats to help him play a game of chicken.  He can do it on his own initiative — but that would require him to take a non-trivial risk that they might be crazy enough to let Jeffries become speaker. If McCarthy is really that repellant to Boebert et al. then he has a much bigger problem.

    Yep.  And I think he’s right not to take that risk.

    There is a less-risky alternative, which is to have his first 11 supporters vote “Present” to see what the dissenters would do and then change their votes as necessary to prevent Jeffries from winning.

  153. 153.

    Barbara

    @Kent: Huh?  Pelosi changed the rules so that challenges to the speaker’s status had to be proposed by a certain number of members with sufficient leadership/seniority.  McCarthy apparently wanted to retain that rule but the flame throwers want to move to the five or even one challenger rule.  The latter rule is not in effect and it’s not clear that it has to be part of the rules going forward.  It’s all up in the air. I am not gunning for Jeffries to be speaker, but ISTM that McCarthy must be a really bad tactician if his only strategy is (A) keep doing the same thing followed by (B) can’t one of you guys over there help me out here?

  155. 155.

    M31

    too bad there aren’t any Republicans interested in actually governing and serving their districts, because right now a group of 5 switching to the Dems could get so much pork delivered right to their constituencies it would be Porkopolis central

  158. 158.

    Immanentize

    @M31: As I said above, if the house gets adjourned for the weekend (possible) Jeffries is gonna be on the phone a LOT.

  159. 159.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Barbara:

    But the quorum number has to change — So long as Jeffries is at 212, he won’t be speaker even if a handful of Republicans abstain.

    The quorum number doesn’t matter, just the number of votes for actual people.  So eleven abstentions/’present’ votes/absences would lower the number of total votes to 423, and 212 would be a majority.

  160. 160.

    Bostondreams

    @PaulB: Yes, it’s a majority of votes for a candidate, not a majority of members. So present votes or do not votes would reduce the number needed.

  161. 161.

    wombat probabilty cloud

    @Matt McIrvin: If I’m understanding you correctly, I think any of the R insurrectionists in the #2 successional slot will be dangerous; just different versions of the same nightmare.

  162. 162.

    trollhattan

    A steel spine such as Nancy SMASH possesses is necessary for the jerb. This is the antitheses of what McCarthy brings to the table and yet, wants the jerb SO MUCH. Suppose it’s self-evident he does not realize how miserable he would be should he actually land the thing–worse than dog catches truck, at least the dog gets to stick his head out the window.

    Nice work, Bakersfield.

  163. 163.

    Kent

    @Barbara:@Kent: Huh?  Pelosi changed the rules so that challenges to the speaker’s status had to be proposed by a certain number of members with sufficient leadership/seniority.  McCarthy apparently wanted to retain that rule but the flame throwers want to move to the five or even one challenger rule.  The latter rule is not in effect and it’s not clear that it has to be part of the rules going forward.  It’s all up in the air. I am not gunning for Jeffries to be speaker, but ISTM that McCarthy must be a really bad tactician if his only strategy is (A) keep doing the same thing followed by (B) can’t one of you guys over there help me out here?

    And you don’t think you could find 5 votes within the 222 or so House contingent to remove Jeffries tomorrow?  There are shitloads of GOPers who would jump at that chance, even if they aren’t one of the 20.  Like MTG for example, or any other GOPer in leadership like Jim Jordan.

    You think any of them will oppose a motion to remove Jeffries?  Of course they won’t.

    That is why the notion that McCarthy can threaten them with Jeffries is false.

  165. 165.

    PaulB

    So, the crazy caucus and Victoria Spartz hold firm. Ken Buck, despite coyly hinting that he wouldn’t keep voting for McCarthy, does in fact keep voting for McCarthy. And all 212 Democrats continue to vote for Jeffries. Very much the status quo.

    Perry is being quoted as saying that there is no current discussion about a deal. And another reporter is saying that there will likely be one more vote, after which there will be a vote to adjourn.

  167. 167.

    Old School

    Have they considered being an anarcho-syndicalist commune wherein each member takes turns to act as Speaker for a week?

  168. 168.

    PaulB

    @Kent:  And you don’t think you could find 5 votes within the 222 or so House contingent to remove Jeffries tomorrow?

    That, too, is not a current rule of the House. That was a compromise proposed by McCarthy. Under Pelosi rules, only a member of the House leadership could offer a motion to vacate.

    While I agree that Jeffries isn’t going to be Speaker, it’s not at all clear what the rules would be to remove Jeffries were he, by some miracle, to win the vote.

  169. 169.

    David Anderson

    I wonder at what point do Democrats start rat-fucking by having a Dem whose name starts in the 2nd half of the alphabet vote for random back bench Republicans drawn from a hat…. throw a few curveballs of distrust into the GOP caucus—-

     

    Democrats should also have a plan to buddy up with McCarthy voters if they start voting present to play chicken with the HFC — if GOP Adams votes Present, Dem Adrack votes Present…. apply the pressure and pass the popcorn

  170. 170.

    lowtechcyclist

    Every time I see Matt Gaetz (more often in 2023 than in all prior years put together), I think, “1962 wants its hairdo back.”

  171. 171.

    danielx

    At what point does McCarthy start asking himself “why do I want this job?” He’ll be the most powerless Speaker of the House in history and liable to be defenestrated at any point, which would be the final and greatest humiliation. He’ll have the chair and the gavel, with no power to enforce anything and in the complete contempt of the Republican conference and Democrats alike. If you are the Speaker and have to succumb to the whims of any of these twenty assholes or for that matter any member of his conference at any time, what’s the point? It’s not like he’s going to accomplish anything meaningful, unless presiding while the government goes into default for the first time in history counts.

  174. 174.

    PaulB

    CNN is reporting:

    A normally restrained and reliably conservative member of Congress from a red state summed up the predicament to CNN as: “We’re frustrated as hell.”

    The member continued, “This should not be mistaken for overwhelming love for Kevin, but we can’t cave into demands from people who have no interest in governing or any clue how to do it.”

    This Republican, who is supporting McCarthy but losing patience, said that with each passing ballot, it becomes even more difficult for an alternative to successfully emerge.

    A Republican donor and longtime friend of McCarthy, who is watching this drama unfold from the West Coast, offered a similar sentiment, telling CNN: “It’s ironic McCarthy is still standing — not because of any great love for him, but because of burning hatred for [Rep. Matt] Gaetz and his gang.”

  175. 175.

    Immanentize

    @M31: Ahhh, were you a US Attny in a past (or your current) life? This is a plea negotiation scenario for sure.

  176. 176.

    bbleh

    @Martin: @Barbara: @WaterGirl: @feebog: @Kent: I can’t imagine any Republican, by action or inaction, allowing a Dem to be elected Speaker, much less actively supporting one.  S/he’d be primaried in an instant, assuming the Second Amendment types didn’t finish the job first.

    And in any case, I think a Dem would be foolish to take the job.  Even a skilled Republican Speaker (which obviously excludes McCarthy) will have trouble managing this monkey-house.  A Dem would have far more trouble, not least because at least half the Republicans are reflexively anti-anything-Democratic.

    I’m still with Betty a/o yesterday: at some point, they’ll put the fix in, they’ll nominate someone they’re ok with and will vote for, eg Scalise, and that’ll be that.

  177. 177.

    tobie

    @Delk: Seriously? Or just…”in my dreams it would be great if MTG and the other insurrectionists in the House were indicted”?

     

    Sorry…I just saw this diary over at DailyKos. I’m behind the times.

  178. 178.

    bbleh

    @M31: it didn’t work with Manchin, and he’s nominally a Democrat!  Now, Manchin is not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but that goes many times for a lot of House Republicans.

  180. 180.

    Leto

    433 Votes cast:

    212 Jeffries
    201 MuhKevin
    17 Donalds
    2 Uhrn (dude from OK)
    1 twice-impeached shitgibbon
    1 present

  181. 181.

    Immanentize

    @WaterGirl: She threw a very public tizzy about it. Her support for McCarthy is one of the reasons, I suspect, that Ali Alexander is threatening her with — evidence.

  183. 183.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: I hear Pete Aguilar and Nikki Budzinski have hatched a scheme whereby she’s going to butt in on Republican nominating speeces with interruption after interuption!

    You know, make a name for herself.

  184. 184.

    Roger Moore

    @danielx:

    At what point does McCarthy start asking himself “why do I want this job?”

    Never.  Any Republican with enough brains to ask that question is already angling for something more useful, like chairmanship of an important committee that will let them be on TV regularly.

  187. 187.

    catfishncod

    Round nine now starting. O.K. smiling and fistbumping, as if this was a great victory instead of what needed to happen on round two.

  189. 189.

    Leto

    Not sure who this hair club for president dumbshit is, but he can fuck right off too. Hitch a ElonMuskrat rocket right out.

  190. 190.

    Immanentize

    @tobie: The Ali Alexander statement regarding his claim he had proof that Marg is a whore criminal is true. He just called her a whore. Twice I believe.

  193. 193.

    Leslie

    @bbleh:

     

    I’m still with Betty a/o yesterday: at some point, they’ll put the fix in, they’ll nominate someone they’re ok with and will vote for, eg Scalise, and that’ll be that.

    I keep thinking of Imm’s comment upthread that the Never Qevins are prolonging this process until it’s the anniversary of Jan. 6. At which point they’ll do something even worse to commemorate it.

  195. 195.

    Immanentize

    @WaterGirl: i’ll scratch around for where I saw it

    Here. Actually “harlot” once, “whore” once. Guy’s got extensive vocabulary! Embed Link brings up the sound of Alexander….

    Ali Alexander is threatening to release evidence that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene "committed a crime" that will get her expelled from Congress: "I will not suffer this harlot. I will not be taught vows and loyalty, commitment from a whore!" pic.twitter.com/4NUFiX2nao— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) January 5, 2023

  196. 196.

    Redshift

    Has anyone looked at the history of the previous standoffs for Speaker? My guess is that there were changes in the voting as they tried to work out a deal, not just having the same vote over and over again like this, but I haven’t actually looked it up. If so, it just makes this even more stupid.

  197. 197.

    David Anderson

    @randy khan): the easy counter for that is for the Democrat after a McCarthy support votes Present is for that Democrat to also vote Present.  Increase the internal to the GOP coalition and make them pop like pre-prom zits

  198. 198.

    Elizabelle

    Every day of this clown parade is another reprieve for Hunter Biden and the Biden family.

    I don’t care if it continues another week or two.  It’s not like they’re going to do anything good.

    Would love it if a whole lotta indictments drop while this performative BS is underway.  Wake them up fast.

  205. 205.

    Redshift

    @danielx:

    At what point does McCarthy start asking himself “why do I want this job?”

    If he’d ever asked himself that at any point since Boehner was forced out, he wouldn’t be doing this. The only explanation is that makes sense is that it’s a prize he wants to have earned, to have his name in the history books and maybe have more status for a wingnut welfare job after he leaves. But I’m not convinced he’s even thought it through that much.

  206. 206.

    Zzyzx

    Tomorrow they’re going to nominate Donald Trump and when he wins all of the votes, it’ll turn out that Kevin McCarthy had a secret overnight name change.

  211. 211.

    Burnspbesq

    What we really need is for the Governor General to prorogue Parliament and use the authority vested in him by King Charles to order a new election. It’s obvious that the Republicans and the Leopards Eating Faces Party can’t form a governing coalition.

    Oops—that only happens in Canada.

  213. 213.

    lgerard

    this Rosendale guy is hilarious

    he keeps putting on his glasses and then whipping them off and waving them around. over and over

  216. 216.

    gvg

    @Kent: Initiate a vote means nothing. They have to actually have a majority to get rid of a speaker. The rest of the rules are important too.

    Apparently Nancy had no problem operating with a rule that 1 could initiate a motion against her. But a democratic Rep who did that would get primaried. I guess some Republicans think they won’t. That is the problem. Their voters actually hate their own party except for their own choices.

     

    @Kent:

  224. 224.

    PAM Dirac

    @PaulB:

    While I agree that Jeffries isn’t going to be Speaker, it’s not at all clear what the rules would be to remove Jeffries were he, by some miracle, to win the vote.

    Usually right after the Speaker is chosen, the vote on the rules happens. People seem to think because the the Rs can’t unite behind a speaker, they can’t unite behind a set of horrible rules. I don’t think this is near reality. They will be united and have the votes for all kinds of nonsense. What’s stopping them now is the can’t get past the Speaker problem and it is just insane for the Ds to give them the slightest help to solve it.

  226. 226.

    KenK

    @Martin: “…that’s obviously the shortest path to getting the House operational.”

    You’re assuming the GOP is looking for an operational house??

  227. 227.

    geg6

    @Redshift:

    I haven’t studied up on it (though I plan to at this point), but I’m sure that there probably was.  Maybe not during the ones in the run up to the Civil War, but I’m sure during the others.

  232. 232.

    MisterDancer

    @PAM Dirac: it is just insane for the Ds to give them the slightest help to solve it.

    Yep! Just leave the GOP to fuck themselves, gang!

    Seriously — clever schemes and cunning plans will not avail us in the face of both media ineptitude and Conservative intransigence. In fact, any action on our part is more likely to trip over the media’s “Democrats fucking with the vote” desires than to do anything that’ll materially help us when the House session starts.

    Yes, it sucks to watch this and feel dis-empowered. But sometimes, life is like that! If you don’t realize those moments and hold your fire, you’re just setting up to shoot yourself in the foot.

    Y’know, like the House GOP is doing right now.

  233. 233.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Burnspbesq: I kinda wonder what they’ll do if he does withdraw. I get the impression that kicking the shit out of Kevin is half their game, especially Gaetz and Boebert (interesting pair: The trust fund meathead who got DUIs in the Beemer his daddy bought him, and the knocked-up drop-out whose pre-political social life, I gather, centered around the bowling alley bar where her husband got arrested for flashing his dick at two minors )

  234. 234.

    Geminid

    @David Anderson: Democrats are better off keeping this simple. It’s a Republican problem and Democrats should own no part of the solution. I expect a unanimous vote for Jeffries will be repeated throughout.

  235. 235.

    PAM Dirac

    @Burnspbesq:

    who do you think is going to get stuck with cleaning up the elephant poop.

    There’s going to be much more elephant poop after a Speaker is chosen. I think the plan was to elect the Speaker, pass the rules, and a bill to make sure no white rich people are audited by IRS and then adjourn for 3 weeks, so it’s not like there is any pressing business to do. That eventually won’t be true, but not for months.

  236. 236.

    Immanentize

    @geg6: Actual number of votes in past; highest was 133 ballots in the 34th Congress (1855):

    Of the 14 prior instances in which it took multiple ballots to elect a Speaker of the House, eight made it past the sixth ballot; only four made it past the 12th:t.co/oGNl8ox4iy(And only *one* post-dated the Civil War and the emergence of the modern party system): pic.twitter.com/nNyLa1R0rK— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) January 4, 2023

  237. 237.

    James E Powell

    Some of those things that the guy who nominated Donalds wants would significantly impair the Republican practice of not letting Democrats do anything when Republicans are in the majority.

  240. 240.

    Geminid

    @geg6: I think that was as in 1855, when they elected “the Bobbin Boy,” Nathanial Banks after well over 100 ballots. Banks got that name as he rose in Massachesetts politics because he had started working as a boy, in a cotton mill.

    Having been a Whig, a Democrat, and an American “Know Nothing” Party member Banks made a good compromise choice. Later on, he made a pretty crummy Union general.

  241. 241.

    Ken

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Fine points of congressional rules that I never thought I’d know

    Think of it as like your car — or better analogy, your body. There are any number of small parts that you can remain happily ignorant of, right up until something goes wrong.

  243. 243.

    Barbara

    @lowtechcyclist: Right — so long as they have a quorum they can get a majority of that number.  So I really meant the numbers that are actually present, which is not necessarily equivalent to a quorum, which usually means a minimum number of members present.  Still, there would have to be fewer members present in order for 212 to be the majority number.

  245. 245.

    Barbara

    @Kent: Five members can’t remove the speaker, they can only initiate the process by which a vote for removal is undertaken.  They still need 200+ to do that.

  246. 246.

    Barbara

    @Betty Cracker: My BIL had heart failure and was initially resuscitated by my SIL, and then EMTs, and they had him sedated for multiple days.  They didn’t know how long he had been without oxygen and tried to prepare the family for anything, but when he woke up, he had the same kind of reaction: “What the hell are we doing here?”

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