It gives Trump a pulpit to rile up the base.
It also owns the libs which is often more than enough for republicans.
First, we have to determine what their agenda is.
Is “Anger” an agenda? It has a lot of common letters.
It doesn’t, but it might advance individual congressmen’s objective of not getting beaten in the primary for failing to sufficiently attach lips to a bright orange ass.
Long term Trump is bad for the Republican party, but in the short term individual Republicans need him, which is why they keep paying fealty too him. I think that most Republican office holders secretly wish that he would suffer a massive stroke and die, but can’t say these sentiments out loud.
Back to the OP I think this election has severely tarnished Trumps reputation. I think he’s still going to be a big factor in the Republican party, (the battle between Trump and DeSantis for the 2024 nomination will be a scorched earth Armageddon that will lead to a four-fold rise in blue state pop corn sales ), but he no longer commands the blind obedience that would be necessary to force the GOP house to commit suicide by putting him in the speakers chair.
Many of us were under the impression that was the case with the presidency.
Didn’t stop him from wanting it.
I would put nothing past Trump’s ambition and malignity (and I think it would appeal to him to be the first person to pull this particular maneuver), just as I would put nothing past House Republicans’ eager, toadying willingness to do whatever the hell he asks them to do.
Except this wouldn’t just be owning the libs; it would mean that individual Republican reps who want the speaker’s chair for themselves would have to act for the good of the party instead of their own personal self-interest. Not sure it’s a slam-dunk either way.
Process question: is the vote for Speaker a voice-vote, or by secret ballot?
He only wanted it because it was the top job, IMO. I can’t imagine that being the 3rd most powerful person in government has the same appeal.
It makes Biden and Harris more likely assassination targets. I wish I were kidding.
It’s secret. The opposition party is not invited.
I thought all members of the House voted for Speaker?
It’s just a formality at that point.
Assuming the majority party votes entirely as a block, no dissent.
Each party’s members meet in caucuses before the floor vote to decide who as a party they will support for Speaker. The vote in caucus is allegedly secret (it always leaks).
But Members can and have voted for someone besides their party’s choice when the vote is taken on the House floor. This vote is public — each Member is called on and he or she announces the name of who they support for Speaker.
I think he likes the image of “whipping” congressmen into line. Vote this way and i’ll endorse you, vote that way and I’ll endorse your opponent, do this, do that…
It seems like a lot of Trumps picks did poorly yesterday, that might pump the brakes on a bid for speaker.
It’s only as much of a job as he would make it. The actual formal duties of the Speaker are pretty light, as far as I know. I don’t think there’s any reason, other than probably not having the votes at this point, why he couldn’t become Speaker and act as a sort of ceremonial mascot for the House Republicans, while leaving the nuts-and-bolts leadership stuff up to the Majority Leader.
I’m willing to bet that Moscow Mitch and a significant portion of the Republican leadership are secretly pulling for the DoJ to indict Lord Dampnut. Get rid of him and be able to demonize the other side for doing it for you.
Exactly.
Politics is about aligning your interests with the interests of other people. Successful politicians are people who can make deals with other people saying “You do this to help me and I will do this to help you.”
Donald Trump has no political skills. He is essentially a toddler. He knows he wants people to give him things. But he lacks any understanding of how he should be giving things to other people. (It’s funny how Trump described himself as the Master of the Deal when he’s so bad at making deals. I honestly think he doesn’t understand what a deal really is.)
So Trump thinks this is a great plan because it puts him back in the Presidency. And because this plan benefits him, he thinks everyone else should be doing it.
Trump (and his MAGA supporters) never ask the important question; what’s in it for anybody else? How would the average Republican congressman benefit by putting Trump into the Speakership and then back into the Oval Office?
The short answer is this average Republican congressman would not benefit from this. The Republicans did not significantly benefit from Trump being President before; he tarnished the brand and caused people to vote for Democrats. He was unable to get re-elected for a second term when he had every legal right to run. And that was before he tried to overthrow the government. If the Republicans put Trump back into the Presidency by means of a quasi-legal coup, there would be a huge backlash against Trump - and all the other Republicans who helped Trump.
So that average Republican congressman is going to be asking himself “How does it benefit me to put Trump back in the White House for a year and a half at the cost of getting voted out of my own job, along with Trump, in 2024?” And the answer is “Not much.”
Meanwhile that same average Republican congressman is thinking “But while this plan is a bad idea for Trump, it’s still an interesting plan. If an actual congressman - like myself - was elected to the speakership, that congressman would not face the same backlash that Trump would. A congressman being elected to the speakership is a normal thing and an average congressman - like myself - doesn’t have the history of having done a terrible job as President. And an actual congressman - like myself - has the knowledge of working the legislative system that Trump doesn’t have. That Speaker could start working on the impeachments in order to advance to the presidency. So Trump’s plan is good as long as it doesn’t include Trump. I need to make some phone calls.”