Well, they're supposed to just roll over and let them do what they want! How dare they ask for facts, reason, and properly ran debates! The temerity of it all!
The one thing Republican Kevin McCarthy dared to do that was over-the-line was to work with Democrats to avert shutdown for the sake of the country. But that was too much for the right-wing extremists, who caused this in the first place...
Theodore Medad Pomeroy was elected as speaker on the last day of the 40th Congress on March 3, 1869. It was a gesture of respect and honor ahead of his retirement. He served one day as speaker, basically an honorary role, speaker for the day and then congres adjourned for the year. He was the shortest serving house speaker in US history. The second shortest serving house speaker is Kevin McCarthy.
Glad you enjoyed it! I just love the contrast. The shortest speaker was respected and honored and the house votes to put him in for one day like Rudy. It's a very sweet gesture. The second shortest speaker got knifed like Caesar by the crazies he helped to elect.
Wow what a change from the early days of respect and retiring to now where the oldest senator just died at "Fuck she was how old?!" and the current speaker got outed for being a shit eater and not being cruel enough by a handful of rich twats that don't understand debate or decorum... what a mess the late empire is.
On this day, McCarthy remembered -- this is exactly what everyone said was going to happen and why no one understood why he wanted the position so badly.
The only thing I find baffling is that he didn't negotiate with the democrats over the funding bill sooner. He knew he wouldn't last regardless and yet he still put party above principle. I don't understand someone getting stabbed in the back and then working with the stabber to stab others.
It's hilarious to hear Republican after Republican attack the Democrats over this ridiculousness, when they desperately need Democrats to vote not to vacate. They're not doing their own arguments any favors.
In a nutshell, here’s what happened. In January, McCarthy made an agreement with hardline conservatives, some of whose terms have never been made public, to ultimately secure their support as Speaker. In May, McCarthy made a (public) agreement with Democrats to set the federal budget at a certain level in order to avert a default on the national debt. In September, though, McCarthy (under pressure from hardliners) attempted to secure further funding cuts during negotiations over a potential government shutdown—then ultimately conceded to Democrats and helped pass a funding bill that largely did not include any of the cuts that the hardliners sought (which were cuts that McCarthy had originally, in May, told Democrats he wouldn’t seek).
McCarthy has left both his party’s furthest-right members and the entire Democratic caucus with the belief that he cannot be trusted, which is why Democrats are expected to join Monday afternoon with hyper-aggressive Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and at least five other conservatives in supporting a “motion to vacate the chair” in the House, i.e end McCarthy’s speakership. (Republicans currently hold 221 House seats to Democrats’ 212.)
If that happens—and it’s a fluid situation—there’s no telling what will happen next. No other Republicans have actually said they want to be Speaker, which would put us roughly back where we were in January: With McCarthy holding enough support among Republicans that no one else is a plausible candidate to become Speaker, but not enough support to win a majority of the entire House, which is what’s required, and actually assume the position. (And yes, the House needs a Speaker.)
If that happens—and it’s a fluid situation—there’s no telling what will happen next.
That's not strictly true. If there is no Speaker, then all the House can do is vote for one. So we know exactly what happens next. What we don't know is who will end up with the job, or how long it will take to pick that person. It could be over on the first vote, or it could take days (even weeks).
If that happens—and it’s a fluid situation—there’s no telling what will happen next. No other Republicans have actually said they want to be Speaker, which would put us roughly back where we were in January
Maybe the progressive bloc of the Dems should pull a freedom caucus and hold the party hostage until we get someone decent as speaker. I know that won't work for a million and one reasons but a man can dream
The mooch scale loses it's impact when the person doesn't work for trump or report to him directly. Still, in gop land this sets a record for fewest mooches b4 Getting kicked to the curb as speaker.
so basically they now have 45 days to pass a CR or the Republicans will shut down the government again and 20 of those days will be spent picking a new speaker...
McCarthy gets ousted by his own party, somehow manages to blame Democrats. Speaking to the press just now:
“I think today was a political decision by the Democrats. And I think I think the things they have done in the past hurt the institution,” he said.
What a piece of shit, good riddance. The 45 daystop gap funding bill he put on the floor for a vote an hour after it was introduced, leaving Dems no time to read 77 page bill to see if it had poison pills they couldn't vote for. Classy guy. Just today it was reported he was refusing to postpone votes on Thursday so membera could attend Dianne Feinstein's funeral.
The new guy doesn't seem to be any better:
As one of his first acts as the acting speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry ordered former Speaker Nancy Pelosi to vacate her Capitol hideaway office by Wednesday, according to an email sent to her office viewed by POLITICO.
“Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” wrote a top aide on the Republican-controlled House Administration Committee. The room was being reassigned by the acting speaker “for speaker office use,” the email said.
Only a select few House lawmakers get hideaway offices in the Capitol, compared to their commonplace presence in the Senate.
The former speaker blasted the eviction in a statement as “a sharp departure from tradition,” adding that she had given former Speaker Dennis Hastert “a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished” during her tenure.
Pelosi didn't even vote today, she was in SF with Fienstein. But don't let that get in the way of partisan bullshit. And she said she won't be able to pack up by Wednesday for the same reason. Fucking gouls.
Never mind that the only role he has as Speaker pro tempore is facilitating the election of a new Speaker. He doesn't have the power to rule on any other House business that isn't very narrowly and very specifically tied to that one, single purpose.
But then again, we're talking about a Republican here, so power grabbing moves are par for the course.
"If you throw a speaker out that has 99 percent of their conference, that kept government open and paid the troops, I think we're in a really bad place," McCarthy told reporters in the Capitol Tuesday morning.
Guess he's not talking about himself because he's got only 96.33%(210/218) of his conference...
Kevin then angerly throws a scrapbook of his first week in office across the room and throws himself onto a couch. He hiccup sobs into a pillow as The Cranberries ode to my family plays in the background
Nah has confused as to why these Republicans aren't falling in line like they're supposed to.
He's speaker after all. They did for a pedo like Denny hastert and Eric cantor and that wank stain Paul Ryan.
It's funny that they're starting to believe their own rhetoric instead of just making back room deals like usual.
I don't doubt that putin's interest is in creating disruption in the US, but I think the much louder call is coming from inside the house. American corporations and the wealthy benefit greatly from a congress that is too crisis-ridden to regulate them.
House rejects attempt to spare Kevin McCarthy a vote on removal.
The Republican-led House on Tuesday voted down a motion to table a resolution that would remove the California Republican from the speakership. As a result, the chamber will move forward with a vote on whether McCarthy should lose his position. His removal is being sought by hard-right members of his party and Democrats have signaled they won’t save him.
I think they wish to have the same excitement and goofiness of the British Parliament, but lack the awareness of when to be funny and when to shut the fuck up.
"The Speaker of the House is chosen by the Majority Party. In this Congress, it is the responsibility of House Republicans to choose a nominee & elect the Speaker on the Floor. At this time there is no justification for a departure from this tradition. The House will be in order" - Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi
He's not getting dem support unless he makes concessions. At which point he will lose rep support. He's boned if he can't whip his caucus into agreement.
McCarthy’s term as Speaker has been as embarrassing as it was short-lived. His insistence on caving to the 20 or so votes of the far right over reasonable compromises with the democrats’ hundreds of votes was certainly a choice. But it was a bad one and it was his ruin. Last minute moves to diffuse your own bomb don’t inspire loyalty.
Now who? Who wants it that isn’t a nightmare or a fuckup? Preserved head of Nixon?
That's for if he can't get elected at this point. That play was for 2020 if they could make a double impeachment stick. But they may try it again if he loses (somehow) to another GOP candidate.
Sounds like we may have 6 votes (Gaetz and crew) at least to vacate from Rs. Including potential others who are unknowns.
Assuming all the Ds also vote then that would be enough to vacate.
We get to repeat the spectacle of the House trying to elect a Speaker. Democrats will vote in unison, while Republicans will flail wildly before finding some kind of compromise candidate.
Any opportunity to repeat their absurd talking points... oh no, immigrants/great replacement! Oh no, we can't starve the government and make it ineffectual because debt and riders on the debt bills! Oh no, McCarthy compromised and compromise with Democrats is treachery!
We actually had a discussion on it, while I was against a megathread for the Diane Feinstein and Fulton County plea deal, this issue is likely to go on for DAYS given what happened last time (5 days, 15 votes). It makes sense to consolidate it down to a single Megapost.
That being said, we should have caught it quicker before any single post gained traction.
We do have future plans for sort of "Pre-emptive Megaposts" when there are scheduled events that we know the timing of. Expect to see those on primary elections, trial dates, that sort of thing.
The Speaker of the House is basically in charge of proceedings in the House of Representatives (the "lower" house of the legislature). No business can get done in the House until one is elected by the representatives. This is the first time in history that a sitting Speaker has been removed from the position in the middle of the term. This is a particularly awkward time since the government will run out of funding in 45 days if Congress does not pass a budget.
This is a result of a growing split between the ultra-far-right and the slightly-less-far-right factions within the Republican party.
I'm watching it on YouTube on the Wall St Journal channel. (For me C-SPAN required a log in from a television provider). ETA: I like the way she says "yay."
Seems like Dems propping him up so he doesn’t need the alt-right would have better than giving the alt-right more control of the party.
McCarthy is the far right. Just because there's another faction of the far right that's turned against him doesn't change that, and it certainly doesn't make him worth allying with. The Democrats tried a policy of spinless complacency for thirty years. It didn't work. It's not going to start working now.
McCarthy already reneged on deals he made with dems for their vote. Why the hell would they try make more deals with him? Especially when he explicitly said, before the vote, that he would not negotiate with Dems?