# Will Kevin McCarthy be the next speaker? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 1, 2015, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121 "2015-10-01T10:36:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/81 "2015-10-08T17:13:23Z")
Man, when I saw the news, I just burst out laughing. This crew of incompetents shouldn’t be trusted to run a lemonade stand, let alone the U.S. of A. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/82 "2015-10-08T17:16:32Z")
Now, Universe, I know I haven’t been a very good pantheist. But if You could just stack the deck a little, so that Nancy Pelosi is elected Speaker… ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/83 "2015-10-08T17:24:10Z")
[Beneath the cool exterior of the House GOP caucus lurk the subtle dynamics of a nursery school recess.](http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/1970/11/28) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/84 "2015-10-08T17:26:32Z")
Don’t get too gleeful about your anticipation - the last time they went without a functioning Speaker, they impeached the President for a blowjob. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/85 "2015-10-08T17:26:33Z")
I recall reading something very disturbing about Daniel Webster that I am attempting to find again. The other possible candidate I have heard for the speakership is Jason ‘how dare a woman make a decent salary’ Chaffetz. How likely is it that one of these guys will be the next speaker? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/86 "2015-10-08T17:29:43Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I recall reading something very disturbing about Daniel Webster that I am attempting to find again. The other possible candidate I have heard for the speakership is Jason ‘how dare a woman make a decent salary’ Chaffetz. > > How likely is it that one of these guys will be the next speaker? Not very. If McCarthy can’t enough votes, they don’t have a chance. That would require a complete capitulation by the majority establishment Republicans, and I don’t see that happening. I’m betting they drag Paul Ryan kicking and screaming to the Speakership. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/87 "2015-10-08T17:29:52Z")
Webster is a hardcore fundie with some unusual habits that arise from it. He’s also probably getting redistricted into the private sector after this term, which could either help or hurt him. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/88 "2015-10-08T17:30:17Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I recall reading something very disturbing about Daniel Webster that I am attempting to find again. Just spell it out for us, will you! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/89 "2015-10-08T17:31:13Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I recall reading something very disturbing about Daniel Webster that I am attempting to find again. He’s about as hardcore as you can be on abortion without actually blowing up clinics, but otherwise I can’t recall anything particularly objectionable about him. He’s my mother’s congressman. ETA: You might have been recalling a [hugely misrepresentative](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/taliban-dan-ad-spurs-debate-over-dan-webster/) Alan Grayson campaign ad (though one of his kids is BFF with the Duggars). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/90 "2015-10-08T17:35:49Z")
He’s so tied in with the Duggars that he’s picked up the nickname["Taliban Dan"](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/far-rights-choice-for-house-speaker-is-duggar-allied-religious-fanatic-called-taliban-dan/). And: > [@](#): > > … he is a follower of Bill Gothard and his Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP), which prescribes strict rules for the sexes and urges women to be submissive to their male family members in all things. > [@](#): > > Webster has a highly unusual belief system in which he prays to the Christian God to erect a “hedge of thorns” around him for protection. To this end, he observes a number of rituals, including never sleeping late, never watching television in hotel rooms and engaging in multiple prayer sessions per day. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/91 "2015-10-08T17:40:30Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > ETA: You might have been recalling a [hugely misrepresentative](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/taliban-dan-ad-spurs-debate-over-dan-webster/) Alan Grayson campaign ad. No, I don’t think that was it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/92 "2015-10-08T17:43:34Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I win! In American politics, nobody wins. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/93 "2015-10-08T17:46:07Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > He’s so tied in with the Duggars that he’s picked up the nickname["Taliban Dan"](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/far-rights-choice-for-house-speaker-is-duggar-allied-religious-fanatic-called-taliban-dan/). No, Alan Grayson’s campaign gave him that name in the campaign ad I linked to before. I was hugely disappointed with Grayson at the time and in the end the backlash probably cost him the election. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/94 "2015-10-08T17:54:17Z")
[This was about to come out, too](http://gotnews.com/breaking-exclusive-dc-sources-rep-kevin-mccarthy-rep-renee-ellmers-affair/) - maybe it’s got more to do with the decision than the Benghazi admission? > [@](#): > > Multiple sources within Bakersfield, North Carolina, & on Capitol Hill tell [Gotnews.com](http://Gotnews.com) that Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Renee Ellmers (R-NC) have been carrying on a long-running affair since 2011. > … > House leadership also knows about the affair. Speaker John Boehner reportedly told McCarthy to stop the affair once McCarthy was elected Majority Leader says a well placed congressional staffer. At least one leadership staffer doesn’t think the affair ended. “They are unusually close,” says the staffer who insists that the affair is going on. “It’s weird if he’s not fucking her.” ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/95 "2015-10-08T17:54:49Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Which, by some accounts, was a cover for a CIA post, and which the locals knew or thought to be the case. Something Darrel Issa, human fleshlight runoff, accidentally exposed during a hearing, as I recall ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/96 "2015-10-08T17:55:41Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I would just like to note that I am rooting hard for Chaffetz. I’m rooting for injuries. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/97 "2015-10-08T17:58:18Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [This was about to come out, too](http://gotnews.com/breaking-exclusive-dc-sources-rep-kevin-mccarthy-rep-renee-ellmers-affair/) - maybe it’s got more to do with the decision than the Benghazi admission? That already came out (though the story didn’t seem to break big), and I agree that probably has more to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/98 "2015-10-08T17:59:35Z")
Here’s a batshit, not-going-to-happen plan… the Democrats talk to a few dozen of the most moderate Republicans, and put up some conservative Democrat with at least 5 terms or so for Speaker. Maybe there are 30 or so Republicans that actually want some things to move forward. It would be an incredibly weak, precarious speaker, but he/she might be around long enough for a few months to pass some good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/99 "2015-10-08T18:02:51Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [This was about to come out, too](http://gotnews.com/breaking-exclusive-dc-sources-rep-kevin-mccarthy-rep-renee-ellmers-affair/) - maybe it’s got more to do with the decision than the Benghazi admission? Well, she did have an interesting quote today: “McCarthy has not spoken to me personally for my vote, and Jason Chaffetz has, so that’s where I am right now,” she said, adding: “I’m apparently not high on his priority list.” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121/100 "2015-10-08T18:10:44Z")
It’s be kind of a kick in the balls for the Secret Service to have to start protecting Chaffetz, given their tense relationship after they got back at him for something by posting details of how they denied his application for a job with them. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Here’s a batshit, not-going-to-happen plan… the Democrats talk to a few dozen of the most moderate Republicans, and put up some conservative Democrat with at least 5 terms or so for Speaker. Maybe there are 30 or so Republicans that actually want some things to move forward. I’ve offered before that it might be possible, but if the chosen Speaker was one of the RINO’s and could spin it as him being attractive across the aisle to the Sane Majority. He’d have to be careful about shunning the nihilists too publicly, of course. But it’s asking too much of the RINO’s to vote for Pelosi. > [@](#): > > It would be an incredibly weak, precarious speaker, but he/she might be around long enough for a few months to pass some good stuff. That might help Webster’s case, if this is his last term. He could be a safe compromise until after the next election. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-kevin-mccarthy-be-the-next-speaker/733121.md?page=6)