The Nine New Candidates for House Speaker

12 thoughts on “The Nine New Candidates for House Speaker”

1. "May the odds be ever in your favor!" I'm just sayin'…

   Log in to Reply

   1. I'm afraid that movie is looking less dystopian every day… at least there was fashion. Republicans hope to cripple our advancement to some western wear clown show like Yellowstone.

      Log in to Reply

      1. They'd have to hold the competition in the House office building or similar; no way most of them would hold up outdoors. But the whole sponsorship / special delivery thing could keep it spicy for a while.

         Log in to Reply

2. Recognize Emmert and Sessions.

   When did George Hamilton change his name to "Dan Meuser" and run for congress???

   Log in to Reply

3. Besides Emmert, could only recognize Donalds.  I used the "one of these things is not like the others" method I learned on Sesame Street.

   Log in to Reply

4. I could only name Jeff Sessions and Byron Donalds. Lauren Boebert nominated Donalds, so he probably meets the standard for conservative Black men; they must be more extreme right wing ideologues than their lighter-complected colleagues. 

   Trump also endorsed Donalds, as a “pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, anti big-government” candidate.

   He supports Governor DeSantis new  social studies standards: (Don’t mention race, worker’s rights,  LGBT issues, any modern civil rights heroes since MLK ( and only the one line about “judging by the content of their character” from MLK’s “I have a dream” speech). However, Donalds did draw the line about the new DeSantis standards “Slavery was a net benefit to African-Americans” line. 

   Log in to Reply

   1. I think you meant "Pete" Sessions although the error is understandable.

      "Jeff" was the xenophobic cracker who was too ethical to remain Trump's AG.

      Log in to Reply

5. FDFQ says "he's sitting this one out".  Guessing he doesn't want to back another loser?  Measure twice, cut once? 

   Hern says he wants to see a private roll call vote before they go to the House floor

   House speaker candidate Kevin Hern said that he spoke with Donald Trump and that the former president indicated he was not planning to endorse any of the nine declared Republican candidates at this stage.  

   “He just wanted to know what was going on in the race. Obviously, nine people getting in the race. He knew some of us at different degrees and levels,” Hern told CNN’s Manu Raju. “I think he's going to sit this one out.”

   Hern added: “So I think when you look at this now, he's gonna let this play out. It's gonna happen pretty quickly. Tomorrow, so let's see where it goes.”

   The Oklahoma Republican also said that he and other candidates in the race believe the conference should hold a private roll call vote ahead of going to the House floor to test whether the GOP nominee has 217 votes to be elected. That would avoid the spectacle on the floor that derailed Jim Jordan’s bid. 

   Log in to Reply

   1. "it's gonna happen pretty quickly"

      When you have nine people about whom not a lot is known and to whom not a lot of favors are owed, at least not publicly, I don't see how this goes quickly.

      Because of his work chairing the House GOP campaign committee, Emmer probably has the greatest number of IOU's. But he isn't going to get 111 votes on the first ballot. And if he should fall far short of 111, and the others are relatively close to one another, then this thing will go on for three or more ballots.

      Only then does the fun begins because at that point, the nominee needs to have 217 votes for when they reach the floor.

      Dogs bark but the parade marches on!

      Log in to Reply

      1. Well the Bride of Bettlejuice is yapping "We're not going home until we elect a Speaker!  This is embarrassing!!" (as she returns to DC after last week making the same pronouncement). 

         I miss Moddy.  What the hell is he up to?  We could benefit from his insight. 

         Log in to Reply

      2. When the smoke from the People’s Out House turns white we’ll know we have a winner! 
          

         

         Log in to Reply

6. By (pre-Trump) conventional wisdom, Emmer would be the likely victor.  House Majority Whip now, and previously "two terms as the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)."

   But this is the new Trump-ified Republican Conference, and Emmer has several not-Trump positions. 1. Emmer voted to certify the 2020 presidential election results. 2. Emmer voted for the deal to defuse the debt ceiling crisis rather than shutting down the government.

   Unless there is a new commitment to majority rules and then a willingness to support the majority's sentiment instead of an on-going inability to rule, I don't see how ANY of the 9 will be able to get sufficient support to win. Without a willingness to vote for someone who isn't acceptable on the ideological / pragmatic choices, the Republicans will continue to NOT reach the 98% support threshold needed to elect a Speaker without Democratic supports.

   Log in to Reply