The Gavel No One Wants

Daniel Newhauser – National Journal

…Mem­bers ab­sorb­ing the shock mused be­hind closed doors that any Amer­ic­an could be elec­ted, since the Con­sti­tu­tion does not spe­cify that the speak­er has to be a mem­ber of Con­gress. Former pres­id­en­tial can­did­ate Mitt Rom­ney or Mitch Daniels, some mem­bers said, should be draf­ted to lead the ram­bunc­tious House.

The far-flung sug­ges­tions il­lus­trate just how dumb­foun­ded mem­bers are at their in­ab­il­ity to come to a con­sensus can­did­ate for the post. Rep. Peter King said some mem­bers were cry­ing in the Re­pub­lic­an cloak­room after Mc­Carthy’s an­nounce­ment, be­moan­ing the bit­ter di­vi­sions in the part and its lack of dir­ec­tion. Oth­ers were simply at a lack for words….

When asked who could pos­sibly be the next speak­er, Rep. Dav­id Sch­weikert replied, “Right now, there’s a chance all of us could be.”

 Watch Ohio Republican John Boehner Resigns as Speaker of the House

5 Reasons Nobody Wants to be House Speaker

Glenn Thrush – Politico

Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s abrupt and shocking (well, not that shocking) withdrawal from the race to succeed John Boehner has raised an existential question the ochre Ohioan himself always asked rebellious members: Who the hell would want this job?

We have our answer.

Nobody with the slightest sense of political self-preservation or the scantest hope of having a future. McCarthy (looking ten years older than he did a week ago) used English words to explain his ‘later-for-you statement (“If we’re going to unite and be strong, we need a new face to do that”)…. When asked if he was interested in the gig, Rep. Mac Thornberry, conservative from Texas cattle country, told reporters on the Hill, “I’d rather be a vegetarian.”

This is because the overstuffed 247-member House majority (brilliantly secured in perpetuity by Bush-era electoral gerrymandering) is, like New York in the 1970s or the Washington Nationals right now, essentially ungovernable.

Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., arrives for a meeting on Capitol Hill ahead of a nomination vote to replace House Speaker John Boehner, who is stepping down, and retiring from Congress on Oct. 8, 2015. (AP)

A Caucus in Chaos

Rachel Brody – U.S. News and World Report

Following the closed-door meeting, McCarthy told reporters the GOP needed “a new face” to lead the party. He reiterated the sentiment in a statement released soon after, saying, “Over the last week it has become clear to me that our Conference is deeply divided and needs to unite behind one leader.” …

But why now? It’s simple, wrote Russell Berman at The Atlantic: “McCarthy knew he was still short of the threshold he needed on the floor, knowing that Democrats would vote as a bloc against him.” He may have had the votes for a simple majority, but not enough to unite the fractious Republicans.

The tea party-aligned conservative Freedom Caucus, about 30 members strong, “was threatening to block his ascension unless he agreed to empower its members through committee and leadership slots, procedural reforms, and possibly even legislative promises that he would be unable to keep.” …. Add to this the calls from constituents of “rank-and-file” Republicans to ditch McCarthy. Clearly, Berman concluded, McCarthy’s support was in danger, and he knew it.