McCarthy is voted out of the speaker position

Of course there is going to be lots of drama in Congress when there is just barely a majority. Add in grandstanding fantasy-based reps, and it will be even more nail biting. 

Some of the play-by-play of the debate and the vote. A day before the vote, before Gaetz' motion to vacate was even filed, a pundit writes that McCarthy had fucked up all the goodwill he might have had from the Dems. Two days before the vote, this was the lay of the land, just after the surprise continuing resolution that avoided a government shutdown. 

The reasons why the Dems didn't save McCarthy's bacon. The less fun official version of it. A list of who's angry at whom, with the most interesting resentment in the second half of the article. Moderate GOPers thought the Dems would save McCarthy. The bipartisan ProblemSolvers caucus may actually dissolve over this, which would be a shame. 

The editorial board of WaPo recommends that House Dems vote present so that the new speaker doesn't have to make so many promises to the holdouts. We'll see...

My analysis

My own prediction was that the Dems would save McCarthy because they need him to pass appropriation bills and/or CRs, or there will be a shutdown of unknown length, and certainly longer because this leadership issue has to be settled first. That's what I thought and I was wrong. Reality didn't follow my logic, so I've been trying to understand the reasons. 

Here's my guess now: The Dems didn't think McCarthy was going to be able to deliver compromise appropriation bills. He was going to cave to the rightwing and pass big cuts, and then it would be a stalemate. There's a good chance that's how it would have played out. Well, in that case, you might as well dump McCarthy and try someone who might be more open to reality. Based on how McCarthy behaved, they had little to lose. 

Plus there is the issue of timing. If Dems were hoping to ax McCarthy, they can't do it at their convenience. They have to do it when a GOPer raises the motion. So if everything gets settled, maybe there's no disgruntled GOPer to make the motion and follow through, so the Dems have to continue dealing with McCarthy for months more and maybe straight through to the 2024 election. "Nobody trusts Kevin" was a quote I read from more than one representative. When enough in the House feel that way, you are OUT.

There have been so other twists and turns on this issue. A couple GOPers said they would nominate Trump. That's ludicrous because Trump doesn't have the work ethic or temperament for the job. But he's also a glutton for attention, so he said that he'd consider it for a short time. That set off warning sirens and the possibility has been shut down. Now on Friday, Trump has endorsed the slimy Jim Jordan for speaker. This is a major liar, a J6 coward, and a former coach at Ohio State University who didn't report all the sexual harassment that was going on. The other major contender is the next in the GOP leadership, Steve Scalise. I hate to think a scumsucker like Jordan can win. If he loses, it is a slap in the face to Trump, so all the more reason for it to happen. 

To be continued in the Extras...

Image: Newsmax

Extras. Trump was nominated as speaker back in January too with hilarious results. Lots of ridicule on certain networks.