Boehner won, but he’s going to be on a short leash. If he takes one half step to his left, he’ll be deposed.
Which means right after the failed government shutdown of February 2013, right?
Bohner received a total of 220 votes, so he just barely avoided a second round of voting. Pelosi got 192 votes. Three people voted for Cantor, and two each voted for Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee) and Rep. Allen West (R-Ucrazy). Seven other people got one vote and one Republican voted present.
Allen West? I thought he was defeated in November?
He was. The speaker doesn’t have to be a sitting representative- even though that scenario has never actually happened. Colin Powell got one vote, too.
He was. But you don’t need to be a member of the House of Representatives to be elected Speaker. You or I could be Speaker of the House if we got 218 votes today.
Edit: D’oh! Ninjaed.
A few Republicans also refused to vote. This was just about the ugliest possible win for Boehner.
Pelosi got some nominations? I always thought the Speaker of the House had to be from the party that controlled the House.
Perhaps the multiple explanations from Martin Hyde about how the process works would be helpful to review?
Is there a mechanism for deposing him other then waiting for the beginning of the next Congress?
Is having a few defections unusual in Speaker elections?
That’s too bad. I really liked the way it went down in California that one time.
His party has a 33-seat majority and he avoided a runoff by (I think) three votes. It’s been 90 years since there was a second round of voting. So yes, the magnitude of this disorganized and futile protest vote was unusual. A handful of Democrats who didn’t vote for Pelosi, but it looks like about half of them were ‘protest’ votes by moderates and half were just nice gestures toward older members of the caucus.
That’s a bit misleading. A 33 seat majority doesn’t mean you have 33 votes to spare - you actually have only half of that.
Plus, it’s likely that some of the Republican votes would have switched had they actually made a difference.
For decades, defections were unknown. Between 1945 and 1995, only two individuals received votes in each and every Speakership election.
Then in 1997, several Republicans revolted against Newt Gingrich, who was under fire for ethics violations. Four cast throwaway votes and several others abstained.
The defectors outlasted Gingrich in the House, which may have encouraged future defections. In subsequent years there were sporadic individual defections, mostly among Democrats, and then in 2011 18 Democrats defected against Pelosi. Then we have this year’s mini-rebellion.
For the record Boehner received 220 votes and Pelosi 192, with 14 throwaway votes scattered among ten other candidates, one member answering “present”, six either absent or not responding, and two vacancies. With 426 members present and voting, a majority of 214 was required, so Boehner had six votes to spare. However it was really 7 because Boehner abstained, and could have voted for himself in an emergency. (Pelosi voted for herself.)
Of the 14 throwaway votes, 9 were cast by Republicans (Eric Cantor [VA] received 3, former Representative Allen West [FL] 2, Jim Jordan [OH] 1, Justin Amash [ID] 1, Raul Labrador [ID] 1, and oddest of all, Comptroller General David Walker 1.) The other 5 were cast by Democrats (Jim Cooper [TN] received 2, John Lewis [GA] 1, John Dingell [MI] 1, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell 1.)
The member answering present was a Republican. Of the non-responders, one was Boehner himself, and another was John Lewis, absent due to the death of his wife. The other four, two Democrats and two Republicans, appear to be defectors.
Goddammit that’s my joke! 
Interesting, thanks Freddy
Here’s an interesting account of the clueless failed coup, arguing that negotiation is impossible if the people you are supposed to negotiate with are too damned stupid to recognize their own self-interest. They tried to organize a coup without knowing who they wanted to take over, or how many supporters they had, or how to avoid revealing their sooper-secrit plot to the press. When your opposition is this seriously dumb, how can you figure out what they’re thinking, or planning?
The article is obviously partisan and the quip about how they were so stupid that they didn’t know who to vote for is misguided. It wouldn’t have mattered had 17 Republican members all voted for different SDMB posters. The effect would still have been to deny Boehner an outright majority and force him to the table.
As Boehner’s failed “Plan B” screwed up, the attempted coup screwed up by failed head-counting. If you don’t have the votes to dethrone someone, you don’t bother–if you think you do, you go ahead. These assholes couldn’t or didn’t do a preliminary headcount, and they ended up looking like dickheads who couldn’t piss in the ocean if you spotted them the beach as a result.
Or you go ahead anyway, and vote for a losing cause as a matter of principle. Which I’m sure you would be hailing as an act of moral courage if it occurred on your side.