General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRiddle me this: let's say the GOP loses House seats but still hangs on to a slim majority BUT
the tea baggers are the majority within the now smaller GOP overall majority. Would Boehner start trying to cut deals with some Dems to join the remaining non crazy GOPers and keep him as speaker? And what would be a big enough concession to the Dems for them to consider it? Control of certain committee?
Laelth
(32,017 posts)I have nothing to add to this discussion, but I am interested in hearing what people "in the know" have to say.
-Laelth
villager
(26,001 posts)...party, and a far-right fascist kook party.
unblock
(52,113 posts)does he do what the majority of the republican caucus wants, i.e., do whatever the tea baggers want him to do? if he's fine with that, why not just cut a deal with the tea baggers do to just that?
does he constantly try to forge agreements between all non-tea-baggers in congress (democrats and less-insane republicans), i.e., be a coalition leader with a split republican party? if so, he'd be acting like a pelosi would and he'd be run out of town on a rail.
i can't see it. if the tea-baggers get the majority of a majority gop caucus, then the tea baggers find their own speaker.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)Brings to the floor anything that has a chance of passing whether a majority of Republicans support it or not just like speakers did from the beginning of the republic until Denny Hastert in 1999.
unblock
(52,113 posts)easy to imagine, but that sort of thing ain't gonna happen time soon.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)Or Boehner and the Democrats could just say fuck it let Gohmert be speaker.
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)... and he is gone.
Skink
(10,122 posts)MissMillie
(38,526 posts)Boehner will not be voted in as Speaker.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)MissMillie
(38,526 posts)If the GOP maintains control of the House, the GOP will vote in a Speaker. And if the tea party is the majority of the majority, I doubt that they would vote for Boehner to remain as Speaker.
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)arely staircase
(12,482 posts)That's my point. Boehner could get Dems and non (less) crazy Repubs to keep him in.
MissMillie
(38,526 posts)one from each party.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30857.pdf
Each new House elects a Speaker by roll call vote when it first convenes. Customarily, the
conference of each major party nominates a candidate whose name is placed in nomination.
Members normally vote for the candidate of their own party conference, but may vote for any
individual, whether nominated or not. To be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute
majority of all the votes cast for individuals. This number may be less than a majority (now 218)
of the full membership of the House, because of vacancies, absentees, or Members voting
present.
I suppose that if enough people hated a tea party extremist nominee for Speaker, they all could vote "present" and send the GOP back to the drawing board for a more moderate nominee.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)I agree it isn't likely. But there is a way it could happen.
Brother Buzz
(36,364 posts)arely staircase
(12,482 posts)Brother Buzz
(36,364 posts)As odious as Eric Canter is, he's a bit more electable. Remember, both sides of the aisle vote for Speaker of the House.
onenote
(42,531 posts)It seems like there are, but in reality the hard core crazies in the repub caucus are a minority and will remain one in any conceivable 2014 election scenario.
Let's take the most extreme situation -- the repubs hold the House by one vote (218-217), meaning that they lost 15 seats. The exact number of crazies in the repub caucus -- the ones that have consistently been willing to vote against Boehner when he and the rest of the repub caucus have been willing to make even a small accomodation -- is probably somewhere between 40 and 50. But even if you use 64, which is the number of Repubs voting against the trillion dollar budget deal earlier this month, it's not possible to construct a scenario in which the crazies are a majority of the repub House caucus.
randome
(34,845 posts)I think it's possible that 'reasonable' Republicans will cross over. But the Tea Party now seems to be in decline so it may not happen.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]
Motown_Johnny
(22,308 posts)It would be better to let the real face of the new Republican party show. If they want to vote in a nut job then we need to let them vote in a nut job.
Better now than later.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)If gohmert became speaker the US would default on its debt obligations.
MineralMan
(146,248 posts)That's what I say.
GOTV 2014!
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)I'm a precinct chair in a precinct that hasn't had one in almost 20 years. My goal is to get 40 -45 percent for Wendy Davis in a box that usually sees dems get 30 - 35 percent. I can't help with congress because I don't think there is a Dem even running against Gohmert.
MineralMan
(146,248 posts)good luck with Wendy!