# 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:** 67
**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 5, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1321 "2023-01-05T22:33:26Z")
Any guesses as to what would happen if Jeffries ends up with the speakership? Maybe they go to a plurality and the Never Kevin’s don’t break McCarthy’s way. Or maybe enough McCarthy supporters miss the vote due to being out of town. What happens then? Could the regular Republicans call for a new vote once they have the numbers again? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1322 "2023-01-05T22:38:24Z")
Rep Session on CNN: says progress is being made, real chance of peeling off some of the votes (6 or 7), but there are 7 or 8 “never Kevins”. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1323 "2023-01-05T22:39:20Z")
McCarthy could get a job with the Washington Generals with this record. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1324 "2023-01-05T22:41:14Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > the jingle for “what would you do for a klondike bar” is going through my head. > > what would you doooo for the speakership? That’s the beauty of it! If you’re a nihilist, you don’t have to DOOOooooOO anything! ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1325 "2023-01-05T22:41:59Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Any guesses as to what would happen if Jeffries ends up with the speakership? WAG, but if imagine they’d go ahead and swear everyone in, call the 118th Congress formed, and immediately put forward a vote to vacate the chair. Then start this mess again. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1326 "2023-01-05T22:45:51Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > at some point the House is going to have to actually do something, or the entire US government will grind to a halt. You think a few days government shutdown because of budgetary wrangling is bad? Imagine a months-long shut down because the House can’t get its act together long enough to even get sworn in, let alone pass a budget resolution. Your presumption that failure to get a speaker elected from within the majority party does not forebode failure at other more complicated work is … optimistic. If they can’t figure this out, no way anything like a budget resolution is going to get passed. ---
**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 5, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1327 "2023-01-05T23:03:25Z")
No dinner break as yet? ---
**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 5, 2023, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1328 "2023-01-05T23:05:19Z")
They’re probably ordering Chinese food takeout. Isn’t that what they always do on TV in these types of situations? 😜 ---
**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 5, 2023, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1329 "2023-01-05T23:08:15Z")
I do not believe there is any deal. ---
**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 5, 2023, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1330 "2023-01-05T23:10:56Z")
Regarding the concessions that McCarthy apparently made (to no avail), can anyone tell me why reducing the threshold to vacate the chair from 5 votes to 1 vote was so contentious? Presumably if you are going to have any chance of getting a majority vote to kick the speaker out you could round up 5 people to put through the motion. Allowing a single member to put it in motion would just mean that everyone wastes an hour voting on a doomed measure. I guess I can see why the members of the freedom caucus might want it since it gives them an individual unilateral opportunity to get TV time by making an ass of themselves, and I can see why McCarthy (and anyone else sane) would oppose it as a waste of time, but in the grand scheme of things it just seems like a very small hill to die on. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1331 "2023-01-05T23:11:51Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > I do not believe there is any deal. I agree with you. We’ve heard that refrain every single day, and every single vote ends the same. ---
**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 5, 2023, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1332 "2023-01-05T23:16:45Z")
They are going again. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1333 "2023-01-05T23:18:01Z")
O hai MORE SPEECHEZ. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1334 "2023-01-05T23:20:33Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > They’re probably ordering Chinese food takeout. Isn’t that what they always do on TV in these types of situations? 😜 Somebody just had a bunch of pizzas delivered. Don’t know where they came from. ---
**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 5, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1335 "2023-01-05T23:20:53Z")
They need to stop with these speeches. At this point I doubt even the supporters want to hear someone blather on. Get on with the business of a failed 11th round so we can get to a 12th round, unless they can agree to adjourn. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1336 "2023-01-05T23:21:33Z")
I know Buck is out on a medical issue, but the last vote only came to 432, not 433. Who else didn’t vote? ---
**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 5, 2023, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1337 "2023-01-05T23:22:32Z")
Representative Spartz from Indiana has been voting “present” so her vote doesn’t count towards the total. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1338 "2023-01-05T23:27:02Z")
She voted present the last several times, but the total vote was 432 this round, not 433. ---
**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 5, 2023, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1339 "2023-01-05T23:28:38Z")
Buck, Spartz, and the deceased Democrat from Virginia, McEachin. 435 - 3 gets us to 432. ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770/1340 "2023-01-05T23:28:46Z")
Apparently votes can be changed until they are ‘gaveled in’, so you can vote one way and then change your mind at the last second. So here’s my dream scenario: nine Rs vote ‘present’ and reduce the total Republican vote count to 212, putting McCarthy into a tie with Jeffries _only if all the other Republicans vote for him._ Otherwise Jeffries takes it. Take the power away from the Boebert/Gaetz axis. A guy can dream. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770.md?page=66) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-speaker-contest/974770.md?page=68)