# The Great Ongoing Revolving Speakership of the 118th Congress {Mike Johnson is new speaker as of 2023-10-25} **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 12, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432 "2023-10-12T02:05:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 50
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/981 "2023-10-23T01:09:43Z")
They are–but in so doing, they’ve made it clear that they’ve got no interest in democratic or republican principles. They are unqualified for congress, unqualified for the speakership, and 100% unqualified for votes from Democratic members. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/982 "2023-10-23T01:13:20Z")
> ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/983 "2023-10-23T01:20:31Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > They are–but in so doing, they’ve made it clear that they’ve got no interest in democratic or republican principles. They are unqualified for congress, unqualified for the speakership, and 100% unqualified for votes from Democratic members. No argument here! Of the nine clowns, Tom Emmer is probably the most “traditional” candidate for Speaker. As NRCC chairman and Whip, he has presumably built relationships with members across the Republican Conference and has some insight into their goals and motivations and the electoral dynamics of their districts. But he voted to certify Biden electors, and allegedly MAGA world is mobilizing to oppose him on that basis alone. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/984 "2023-10-23T01:30:49Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Scott and Emmer are the only two who pass that very first hurdle. I don’t know much about them otherwise. I didn’t either. These are their political positions as summarized on Wikipedia. - [Scott](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Scott_(politician)#Political_positions) - [Emmer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Emmer#Political_positions) They are Republicans in strong Republican districts. FWIW, Scott did sign on to an amicus brief supporting [Texas v. Pennslyvania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Scott_(politician)#Texas_v._Pennsylvania). So while he didn’t agree with the validity of the presidential results, he didn’t think they could fight it in court. Emmer was the one that posted the video shooting a [machine gun with #FIREPELOSI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Emmer#%22Fire_Pelosi%22_machine_gun_video) just after her home invasion. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/985 "2023-10-23T01:39:49Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > They are–but in so doing, they’ve made it clear that they’ve got no interest in democratic or republican principles. They are unqualified for congress, unqualified for the speakership, and 100% unqualified for votes from Democratic members. Slap me down for off topic but I fervently hope Jack Smith goes after these **traitors** post DJT convictions. I can see no way for Emmer to gain the votes. The Dems can smell the stench from the other lying snakes and will (should) not support any of them. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/986 "2023-10-23T01:51:50Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > _Of the nine, seven of them don’t pass the basic test of not trying to overturn the presidential election. Scott and Emmer are the only two who pass that very first hurdle. I don’t know much about them otherwise._ In a recent CNN interview, Scott kept insisting that this crisis was all the Democrats fault because they refused to vote for Jordan. The CNN interviewer reminded him over and over again that the Republicans have the majority, and they shouldn’t need the help of Democrats to elect a speaker. No matter how much she hammered him on this obvious point, he just wouldn’t let it go and neither would she. Finally, he just stood there with his mouth open, unable to speak, like a deer in the headlights. It was both hilarious and painful to watch. And he’s one of the sane ones? ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/987 "2023-10-23T02:24:39Z")
Emmer ran for MN Governor in 2010, and made some stupid remarks, so when he replaced Michele Bachmann (remember her?) in Congress, many of us were waiting for him to be an embarrassment. He surprised me. Other members of the MN delegation, both Republican and Democratic, worked with him on issues and spoke favorably of him. Keith Ellison worked with him on issues with [Somalia and Somali immigrants](https://www.minnpost.com/dc-dispatches/2015/06/emmer-and-ellison-team-form-house-somalia-caucus/), for instance. He is very conservative, but not nuts. He did sign the amicus brief supporting Texas v. Pennsylvania, though. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/988 "2023-10-23T02:27:34Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Emmer was the one that posted the video shooting a [machine gun with #FIREPELOSI] I won’t link to this, but I looked at it and put it in a whole other category of badness beyond trying to overturn election results. I posted before that you shouldn’t expel elected members of congress unless first convicted in an ordinary court of law, but make an exception for this guy. I do believe in forgiveness, but you have to, at a minimum, ask for it. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/989 "2023-10-23T02:46:32Z")
> [@gnarator](#): > > He is very conservative, but not nuts. It isn’t hard for me to find statements that are nuts. The first sentence below may be true in a twisted way, but the second sentence is really nuts, besides being totally irresponsible when seen as advice to constituents: [Bitcoin is a lot like gold. It holds its value.](https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/10/18/rep-tom-emmer-wants-stablecoins-over-cbdcs-interview/) I guess the question with any of the nine speaker condidates is how long they would shutdown the government. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/990 "2023-10-23T03:19:41Z")
Thanks, @Left_Hand_of_Dorkness. I wikipedia’d the other two. ‘Slightly saner than the rest of the batch’ may be the best we’ll get; but neither of them looks great. Of course, I suppose that if I thought they looked great they wouldn’t be Republicans at this point, if they ever had been. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/991 "2023-10-23T03:28:10Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Anything else makes this Speaker debacle leave a stink on the Dems too. You do know that Republicans have it completely in their own hands to elect their own Speaker, right? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/992 "2023-10-23T05:49:31Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > You do know that Republicans have it completely in their own hands to elect their own Speaker, right? Right, that’s my point too. I object to the suggestions that the Dems should do something to resolve this debacle. That’s what I meant by this: > [@CaveMike](#): > > If the GOP wants a GOP governor as Speaker, they can vote him in – they have the numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/993 "2023-10-23T08:28:32Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Maybe! There are 15-20 Republican Representatives whose districts went for Biden. Weird fact – George Santos is in one such district! The Democrats are busily advertising this very fact: “X supported Jim Jordan for Speaker. X’s district went for Biden by X%”. I don’t know how effective this tack may be, but it’s got to worry those folks a little (apart from Santos, who has other worries at the moment). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/994 "2023-10-23T08:37:42Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I don’t know how effective this tack may be, but it’s got to worry those folks a little (apart from Santos, who has other worries at the moment). Speaking of which, did we ever find out what he was doing with that baby? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/995 "2023-10-23T12:00:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Speaking of which, did we ever find out what he was doing with that baby? not yet. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/996 "2023-10-23T15:50:03Z")
In true Santos fashion, he claimed to be the mother. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/997 "2023-10-23T16:06:33Z")
I assume it’s his anchor baby for when ICE gets the goods on him. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/998 "2023-10-23T16:08:32Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > condidates I assume this is not a typo. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/999 "2023-10-23T17:11:30Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > I assume it’s his anchor baby for when ICE gets the goods on him. Human shield. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1000 "2023-10-23T17:29:48Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Human shield Are we sure that it’s human? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432.md?page=49) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432.md?page=51)