“On two occasions, the House voted to change the rules and elect the speaker by a plurality instead of a majority — in 1849 and 1856 — both times because members feared they would never be able to elect a speaker by a majority vote.”
thanks for the cite
Is that where they teach speed-solving?
Yes. The class is taught by Professor W. White.
Gaetz has sent a letter asking about the squatter in the speaker suite.
I may run out of snacks.
In other news santos was the cheese who sat alone in the chamber today.
Thanks for that. It didn’t toggle any neurons so I went to look those cases up.
Both came about because of the lack of dominant parties in the pre-war days. The Democrats had northern and southern wings that didn’t get along, but opposed big finance, the Whigs opposed them, the Republicans were created to replace Whigs and oppose slavery, and the Native American Party, better known as the Know-Nothings, opposed the increasingly numerous immigrant Catholics. What you hated was far more important than what you supported for that decade.
So in the Speaker elections of 1849 and 1856, sufficient third parties existed that no party had a majority.
1849 was weird because the Whigs had 116 seats and only needed 117 voted, but the Democrats, who started with 110 seats, won after 63 ballots. Because terms then ended in March, and Congress didn’t meet in summer, Howell Cobb didn’t take office until December 1849, more than a year after the election. That was the norm, though.
1856 was just plain bizarre. There were 69 Democrats, 68 Whigs, 51 Native Americans, 22 Anti-Nebraskas, 13 Republicans, and 9 People’s. Nathaniel P. Banks, who used to be a Democrat, flirted with the Republicans, and ran as a Know-Nothing, won. He was the one with 133 ballots, and wasn’t elected until February 1856.
Now you have a good case when anybody suggests having a parliamentary form of government in America.
I don’t get it. Why doesn’t McCarthy just declare himself to be the winner and be done with it. That is SOP for Republicans, isn’t it?
Jim Jordan saying something doesn’t exactly make it true.
Well, he’s set up his desk in the Speakers’ office without actually holding the title of Speaker of the House, so it appears in a way, he has.
All in favor of bringing back the Anti-Nebraska Party say aye.
Ditto the suggestion of the desirability of having multiple parties. Inevitably a time will come when none have a working majority. Certainly fosters compromise and anarchy in equal measure.
Further, in a parliamentary system, if no stable or even workable majority can be formed then you always have the option of going to another election. You guys have four, sorry two more years of this malarkey.
In fact, we can do ok even with a minority government. Eg Canada since 2019.
Regarding Puerto Rico–
For some reason the national Republican party have collectively convinced themselves that Puerto Rico would vote Democratic in perpetuity – even though the Puerto Rican Republicans don’t share that view. It’s genuinely bizarre how the thoughts and opinions of the people “on the ground” regarding voting patterns are so thoroughly ignored.
I’m really hoping Saturday Night Live is a new episode this week.
This is all fun to watch, but it bodes ill for the coming year and getting anything done with the political bomb-flinging whackos running the circus. I hope the Dems are planning now for the stormy seas ahead.
I think it has been anticipated…
The point made by several in this thread has been that stuck here ad nauseum or with any GOP Speaker with the current group is not much different. Nothing getting done except theatrical posturing is the House for the next two years … barring some highly improbable outcomes.
Robin Kelly (D-Illinois), Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois) and Ted Lieu (D-California), were well prepared 
.
That was already posted and discussed in post #503.
I think the biggest issue for Republicans re: DC or PR statehood is that each one pretty much guarantees two more Democratic senators.
So McCarthy makes all of these concessions to the crazy wing and still couldn’t get their votes. As I heard a talking head on tv say yesterday- if you’re going to sell your soul, the first thing to do is make sure you have a buyer. Will the crazy wing come to their senses? That assumes that they have senses to come to. Maybe McCarthy says the vote was rigged and declares himself the rightful winner.