Greg Sargent observes this tiresome dynamic in which the media expects the Democrats to vote for a far right Speaker of the House because the wingnuts won’t take yes for an answer. He notes that it didn’t work this time. There’s a lesson in that:
When Democrats refused to save Kevin McCarthy from the hard-right faction of House members who ousted the California Republican as speaker earlier this month, the pundit recriminations were thunderous and damning: Democrats had “burned” future possibilities of bipartisanship. They’d squandered a chance to own “the adult brand.” They should have “saved the country” but betrayed it instead.
But now, with Republicans still struggling to elect a speaker, Democrats’ strategy — largely charted by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — is plainly working. The New York Democrat’s approach to navigating the GOP’s disaster isn’t just proving to be good politics for his party; it’s likely to produce a better result for the country as well.
Only weeks ago, Jeffries faced stern questioning from reporters on whether his party would provide the votes to rescue McCarthy and prevent the House from plunging into prolonged chaos. But this affair shows that when Democrats ignore the disapproval of the pundit class, the spotlight turns back on GOP efforts to quell their mania within. It has forced Republicans to vote on whether a full-blown MAGA firebrand such as Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan really merits the awesome powers of the speakership.
Eight Republicans are now running to be speaker after Jordan fell short of the 217 Republican votes he needed last week. Punchbowl News reports that the “top contender” is Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who voted to certify Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, as well as for previous rounds of Ukraine aid and government funding.
By contrast, McCarthy relentlessly whitewashed the Jan. 6 insurrection. He also tried to renege on a deal to maintain spending at a level both parties support. Democratic aides tell me they consider Emmer a more reliable negotiator than McCarthy, though few will say this publicly to avoid rallying conservative support against him.
To Jeffries’s credit, McCarthy’s downfall also forced Republicans to vote publicly on Jordan for speaker (who maxed out at around 200 GOP votes), which benefited Democrats politically. As Ronald Brownstein writes for the Atlantic, the mere fact that most Republicans nominated a member so deeply involved in Trump’s 2020 conspiracy vividly showcases the GOP’s turn away from democracy.
But the vote also forced Republicans to defeat Jordan, compelling some to go on record rejecting the MAGA tactics wielded by his supporters, such as bullying their colleagues and threatening holdouts. The bloc of 20 to 25 Republicans who voted against him — a combination of vulnerable members from swing districts, experienced appropriators and military veterans — bucked MAGA and have lived to tell the tale.
If Republicans can’t get 217 votes for one candidate, they will have to revisit the idea of empowering Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (N.C.) as temporary speaker, Punchbowl reports. Though Republicans rejected that option last week, the pressure is mounting to find a solution, and several have offered resolutions that would let McHenry preside over passage of so-called “must-pass” legislation.
The rub is that because the far-right wing opposes this move, it would require Democratic support — which gives Democrats leverage. Rep. Ann Kuster (N.H.), chair of the New Democrat Coalition, said her group would back a bipartisan option, including a temporary speaker such as McHenry, with assurances that legislation backed by a majority of House members would get a vote.
Such legislation could include aid to Ukraine and government funding once current spending runs out in mid-November. Finding a bipartisan coalition here is not at all far-fetched: More than 100 Republicans recently voted for Ukraine aid and for temporary government funding at mutually acceptable levels (though that temporary funding ultimately didn’t include the Ukraine money).
Rather than once again expecting Democrats to rush in and help Republicans clean up their own mess, it would require the GOP to take responsibility for what’s happening in its ranks, and compel the party to seriously entertain working with Democrats to make the House a functional governing body again.
Some Democrats, such as Kuster, think Republicans will gravitate toward this endgame if they can’t elect anyone. “What they’ve been telling us is they have to hit rock bottom,” Kuster said. “I think we’re getting there.”
I wonder. But at the moment, the Democratic refusal to make their own members walk a plank and vote for some anti-abortion, culture war, Trump sniffing wingnut (which describes all Republicans to at least some extent) they held strong. The Republicans own this and that’s exactly how it should be.
Rep. Tom Emmer won the nomination for Speaker this morning with only 117 votes. They then did a roll call by name and he won a few more but came far short of the 217 it will take to win. So really, they are no closer than they were last week. The MAGA freaks believe that if they hold their breath until they turn blue they will eventually force the RINOs to capitulate and give them what they want.