# House Speaker Contest **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 12, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770 "2022-11-12T00:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/301 "2023-01-03T19:05:52Z")
What’s the color of the sky in your world? There is no scenario where any of that happens (reforming health coverage, X, Y, or Z, or McCarthy agreeing to make the world a better place). ETA: He’s making deals to go further right, not centrist. He can’t go centrist or he’ll lose half the Republicans or more. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/302 "2023-01-03T19:07:02Z")
He might agree, but then renege immediately. The naïveté of some folks is astounding. If we had him on video joking about how he snookered the Dems, there’d still be folks here saying they should take the deal in the interest of the nation. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/303 "2023-01-03T19:07:24Z")
Then McCarthy will lose the job and Jeffries will run Congress. That’s up to him. Personally, I don’t see the argument _against_ just doing good things. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/304 "2023-01-03T19:07:42Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > So, to the extent that they take some flack during their campaign, they say, “We negotiated and he agreed to do X, Y, and Z, including reforming health coverage. The alternative was that the Republicans eventually elected Marjorie Taylor-Greene for the role, she sets up a guillotine, and there would have been two years of everyone hiding at home for fear of having their head chopped off, and no X, Y, Z, nor health care reform.” And that all seems reasonable. Aaron Sorkin, is that you? Because this could be the outcome of a West Wing episode. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/305 "2023-01-03T19:07:49Z")
it is standing at 212 jeffries, 203 mccarthy, 10 biggs, 9 other; right now. jordan may be trying to twist the arms of the 6 who voted for him. right now he is at the podium with stepanick(sp?) so there may have been a bit of horse trading. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/306 "2023-01-03T19:09:53Z")
I was going to call him Tom Friedman, but that might not be allowed outside the Pit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/307 "2023-01-03T19:09:58Z")
the leopard has moved on from faces and is now eating nummy, nummy, brains. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/308 "2023-01-03T19:10:26Z")
I’m listening on Sirius XM on CNN and MSNBC, so I haven’t seen the images, but they are both reporting that McCarthy is looking jovial, joking around, and taking selfies with his allies. Maybe he knows he’s done for and is getting ready to give up, if not before the second ballot then after it. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/309 "2023-01-03T19:12:09Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > He might agree, but then renege immediately. The naïveté of some folks is astounding. The rule in politics is that you can lie your ass off in public all you want but, when it comes to back-room deals, if you don’t follow through on what you said you’ll do then you’ll lose all credibility and instantly be converted to a pariah. If McCarthy agrees to do something, he can lie about why he’s doing what he’s doing and spin it all five ways to sunday, but _he has to follow through_. It’s because he’s the sort of person who everyone does trust to follow through that he was elected Speaker and that the centrists support him. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/310 "2023-01-03T19:13:33Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > . It’s because he’s the sort of person who everyone does trust to follow through that he was elected Speaker and that the centrists support him. Bwahahahahaha ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/311 "2023-01-03T19:13:35Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Does anyone have the final vote count? Did every single Dem vote for Jeffries? Yes. McC 203, Jeffries 211, Biggs 10, Jordan 6, Randos 3, 1 vacant D seat ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/312 "2023-01-03T19:16:27Z")
The best real-world scenario was given several hundred posts ago. > [@flurb](#): > > A candidate for Speaker needs to win a majority of all Members “present and voting” in order to be elected. So if a few Republicans break off and vote for someone else (and assuming no Democrats vote for McCarthy), that just means no one has a majority and it goes to another ballot. The House can vote as many times as they need to until a Speaker is elected – the record is 133 ballots in the 34th Congress. > > But, “present and voting” means that any Members who are absent or abstain from the vote aren’t counted and effectively lower the number of votes required to be elected. If it’s gone to several ballots, there’s a decent possibility that McCarthy can get some number of Freedom Caucus members to sit the next ballot out so that he can be elected and they can act like they’re still standing by their principles because they didn’t vote for him. If McCarthy can get 213 votes of 225, he beats Jeffries as things stand now. That means he only needs nine Republicans to abstain, out of the 234 voting. They don’t need to be Freedom Caucus members. In fact, the more centrist the better. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/313 "2023-01-03T19:17:08Z")
the vote has been called! mccarthy has lost round one! i have put away the popcorn and moved on to chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/314 "2023-01-03T19:17:36Z")
And now Jordan himself nominates McCarthy for round 2. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/315 "2023-01-03T19:18:03Z")
S > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The rule in politics is that you can lie your ass off in public all you want but, when it comes to back-room deals, if you don’t follow through on what you said you’ll do then you’ll lose all credibility and instantly be converted to a pariah. But, what if you didn’t… McCatthy would only be screwing over Democrats, ther’re vermin, its not like he was lying to actual people. Screwing them over would be a badge of honor for him. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/316 "2023-01-03T19:19:24Z")
and does his usual blathering. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/317 "2023-01-03T19:23:26Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If McCarthy can get 213 votes of 225, he beats Jeffries as things stand now. That means he only needs nine Republicans to abstain, out of the 234 voting. They don’t need to be Freedom Caucus members. In fact, the more centrist the better. It has to be Freedom caucus sitting out though, no? Because if 9 centrists sit out, where is he getting those 10 votes he needs to get to 213? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/318 "2023-01-03T19:24:31Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > McCatthy would only be screwing over Democrats, ther’re vermin, its not like he was lying to actual people. Screwing them over would be a badge of honor for him. Then he’ll be a lame duck for two years. You can’t pass any legislation if the Democrats won’t deal with you and the centrists won’t deal with you. It will be two years of continuing resolutions on the budget and…nothing. He’ll be a waste of everyone’s time. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/319 "2023-01-03T19:25:31Z")
That, and bullshit investigations, are exactly what they plan on doing anyway. And, continuing resolutions will come with threats of shutdown and default. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/320 "2023-01-03T19:25:37Z")
LOL! Jim Jordan nominates McCarthy and then Matt Gaetz stands up to nominate Jim Jordan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770.md?page=17)