have fun, relax, but above all ARGUE!
http://www.theplanbforum.com/forum/
http://www.theplanbforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14256
I have a feeling Boner was having a hard time reconciling his anti-climate change stance with his true feelings. I believe that's why he was crying so much yesterday. He knew he was an egregious, serial, sinner and, by quitting his position, he will find redemption by God, pope, and maybe country.Sue U wrote:I'm guessing the Pope shamed him so, he really had no choice...
If that were to happen, it would mean the end of the GOP as a functional party in Congress (to the extent it has any functionality left at all). Not necessarily a bad thing if it purges the suicide-bomber wing of the party, but it would then require a sincere effort to re-build a not-batshit-insane organization.Lord Jim wrote:One interesting and not impossible scenario is this:
Say a hard core group 30-40 Kamikazes insist that they wont vote for anyone but Gomert (or some ying yang equally as chuckleheaded)...
In that situation, it's possible that an establishment candidate could cut a deal with the Democrats to get the 218 votes needed to become Speaker. (Probably in exchange for an agreement to bring legislation to the floor for a vote that's been stymied by the so called "Hastert rule")
This has not happened in modern history, but given the deep divisions within the GOP caucus, it's not inconceivable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/opini ... p=cur&_r=0If nothing else, this intramural brawl makes it ever clearer that congressional Republicans are incapable of governing themselves, much less the government and the nation.
"... His leadership was marked by endless votes against Obamacare even as it became a national success. ..."
Way I figure it is this. In their private chat yesterday, Boehner explained to the pope the problems he was having with the flying monkey caucus, and Papa Francesco who, after all, heads a bureaucracy with a long history as a seething cauldron of ambition, scandal, murder and betrayal, as well as a unique tradition of crazy institutional proceedings (See: Cadaver Synod), listened to Boehner's plight and said, mildly, "Jesus H. Christ in a Fiat, my son, these people crazy. Get out while you can." That's the way I'm going to figure it, anyway.
U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said he would not be seeking the Speaker's position after running for that seat earlier this year. He said because of that run he would have very little support for a Speaker run.
"I knew I would make so many people mad because I took away their excuse, that being -- 'Gee I'd vote for anyone but Boehner if somebody announced, but nobody ever announces, so I gotta vote for Boehner,'" Gohmert said. "When I took away their excuse, I made 'em mad and some of 'em are still mad at me. I couldn't get elected to be anything right now by the other members"
I know you were talking tongue in cheek, but I would bet House rules require it, and Section 5 of Article I permits such rules to govern (but then see the USSC regarding the exclusion of Adam Clayton Powell, the courts will sometimes get involved and trump the rules).BTW, there's no Constitutional requirement that the Speaker be a member of the House
There's a new meaning for that term, unfortunately.Big RR wrote: trump the rules.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/repub ... le/2572880
GOP eyes quick speaker election to boost McCarthy
The consensus formed within hours of Speaker John Boehner's bombshell retirement announcement is that Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California is the clear front-runner to become the next speaker, and that a quick election favors him and would allow the House Republican Conference to remain relatively unified.
Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin said McCarthy is a good choice to succeed Boehner, and should easily win the support of the majority of Republicans.
"He is well liked by a diverse group within the Conference," Ribble told the Washington Examiner.
As of late Friday, there was only one announced challenge to McCarthy's presumed bid to succeed Boehner, Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla. But it's not clear that Freedom Caucus or Tea Party Caucus members can coalesce around a single alternative with any kind of numbers that pose a threat to McCarthy.
Key staffers are reminding people about last January, when Boehner was elected speaker amid clear dissatisfaction among Republicans. Conservatives couldn't settle on a challenger, and splintered their votes against Boehner among 11 options, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Webster got the plurality vote among the disaffected Republicans, winning 12.
Aside from Webster, many other possible House Republican candidates for speaker spent Friday declaring they wouldn't run. Almost immediately, Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, former House Republican Study Committee Chairman and Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan of Ohio, major Boehner antagonist Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, and fellow Freedom Caucus player Rep. Raúl Labrador of Idaho all said they weren't in the competition.
However, Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas is mulling a bid, according to his office. A former GOP Conference Chairman, Hensarling was once considered a rival who could possibly topple Boehner. His committee perch affords him access to deep-pocket donors, a quality speakers must possess, and he's popular with conservative members.
While conservative Republicans are getting all the press for pressuring Boehner to leave, many mainstream members are pushing back and saying the intra-party fighting and bending over backwards to give the far right what it wants must end. New York's Peter King was clear that whoever becomes speaker, he or she cannot pander to the House GOP's most conservative elements.
"I think whoever runs for speaker should make it clear that he's not going to give in to these people," he told Politico on Friday. "We're not going to appease them; the time for appeasement is over."
