Second verse, same as the first.
Some new actors have entered the stage. First is Byron Donalds from Florida, another member of the “Freedom” Caucus, who has taken Jim Jordan’s spot as the non-viable alternative to McCarthy.
New twist with Victoria Spartz, R from Indiana who said something to the effect of “Stop wasting our time (Kevin) and take a meeting to line up your votes before you make us do this again”. She sounds like Speaker material to me. Brief, to the point, and confident enough to lead in voting “present”. Sitting on her vote changes the number of votes needed for speaker but McCarthy is screwed anyway because more and more people are not liking him.
Maybe it’s because he’s wasting their time? Just a guess.
Use the comments section to keep the watch going.
We’re headed into a 6th vote unless McCarthy puts us out of his misery.
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The Confluence 
It is entertaining. But I still think that it will be either McCarthy or Scalise, now Scalise more likely. But who knows?
I am trying to think how Democrats could get something out of this, but no Republican that these “Freedom Caucus” people would support, would do one thing that we Democrats would want. There are almost no moderate Republicans in the House, and they won’t be Speaker. And neither McCarthy or Scalise is going to do anything at all good in that role. However, the reality is that the Republicans cannot govern without the Freedom Caucus radicals, and perhaps that will filter down to the American people in the next election. Actually, the Republican radicals are winning this battle in their own party, not for America.
It is fun to see McCarthy be humiliated, though. If he could have shown one iota of interest in working with Democrats as Speaker, some D’s would have voted for him to stop the Republican radicals, but he did not.
I’ve seen some tweeters say that watching Republicans get humiliated like this is better than sex. I guess Democrats are easily excited.
Anyway, I think that Republicans have to be the ones who decide that they’re willing to work across the aisle. Pennsylvania did that yesterday. The new Speaker was a Democrat but became an independent in order to get an agreement on Speaker. It’s the best they can do at this point while three safe D seats are still open and require special elections. (One of those open seats is for my stare rep who died before Election Day but who won his seat anyway.)
It can be done.
Today’s Republican work with Democrats? Not gonna happen. Republicans gladly accept support from Democrats but this is not a two way street. 2023 Definition of bipartisanship in the USA: Democrats cave to Republican wishes.
Agree. Yesterday, Jim Clyburn (gotta love him!) was saying he thought moderate House Republicans could come together with House Democrats to elect a consensus Speaker. He said Democrats need only six moderate House Republicans to make it work. Very nice idea but who are these “moderate House Republicans” of which he speaks? Name one, much less six! They don’t exist anymore.
The myth of the “moderate Republican” persists.People would like to believe it, but there are scarcely any in office. A few voted for Trump’s impeachment, but all, were voted out of office, or did not run for another term. This illusion, that there are these moderate Republicans who would work with moderate Democrats, who actually do exist, allows for all the both-sides media narratives.. Wait until the House refuses to raise the debt ceiling; moderate Republicans could vote for it, but there are not enough of them to do it, I do not think. We would need six, until they fill the PA House seat, but they won’t by then.
Sadly this myth of the Moderate Republican is held by too many Democrats, including Biden.
What is the possibility that the 20 holdouts are freaked out about the fallout from their part in the insurrection? They’re the collaborators. There is probably evidence that’s going to expose them. Who knows what the DOJ knows by now.
What if they think McCarthy will turn on them.
I can’t believe Scalise would be better.
McCarthy loses 6th vote. Last seen eating cold leftover pizza. House adjourns for the day.
I thought they were coming back at 8pm.
I think they should elect Putin. 😉
Or perhaps Boebert and Greene can mud-wrestle for the title.