McCarthy Drops Out Of Speaker Race
Kevin McCarthy has bowed to the far-right and ended his quest for Speaker of the House.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has dropped out of the race to succeed House Speaker John Boehner, in a shocking move that reflected his inability to gather the support of the Republican caucus.
Kevin McCarthy announced Monday that he will run for Speaker of the House, in a bid to succeed the retiring John Boehner.
The move comes as House Republicans were in a closed-door meeting to select their nominee for speaker and came without any warning. Boehner has postponed the vote.
And the members of the House GOP Caucus reacted… well, let’s just say they don’t exactly have their contingency plans lined up:
As shocked members left the room there was a sense of total disarray, with no clear path forward and no set date for a new vote. Representative Peter King, Republican of New York, said that in dropping out of race, Mr. McCarthy told the room, “I’m not the one to unify the party.”
Gee, ya think?
A group of about 40 hard-line House conservatives announced Wednesday night that they would support Representative Daniel Webster of Florida, making it unclear whether Mr. McCarthy could assemble the 218 votes on the floor that he would need to be elected later this month.
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
mea_mark October 8th, 2015 at 12:40
Maybe we need someone like Jon Stewart to be speaker. Someone outside of congress that the people like.
Jeffrey Samuels October 8th, 2015 at 13:45
that would be almost anybody outside of congress
jasperjava October 8th, 2015 at 14:01
I’m pretty sure that the Speaker HAS to be a member of the House of Representatives
Larry Schmitt October 8th, 2015 at 14:03
Maybe we can make an exception this time. I can’t see a single republican that I would want as third in line for the White House.
Michele Mayes-Gerra October 8th, 2015 at 14:13
Actually, The Constitution does not say that the Speaker has to be a member of Congress at all. The speaker doesn’t even have to be a GOTP .. they could elect Pelosi, Colin Powell, or yes, even Jon Stewart.
jasperjava October 8th, 2015 at 16:34
I didn’t know that. Thanks for the clarification.
arc99 October 8th, 2015 at 14:44
There is no explicit requirement that the Speaker must be a sitting member.
I am not sure if it has ever happened. But the Constitution says in Article 1 Sectoin 2
“”The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.””
No mention that the choice must be a sitting member. This is one area I agree with the strict constructionists.
Larry Schmitt October 8th, 2015 at 14:59
No, it’s never happened, and it’s not about to. They’re not going to let one of the great unwashed break into their precious club.
F_cons October 8th, 2015 at 16:00
True, but imagine selecting, Colbert, Stewart, oh. I can dream…
(and that’s about all I can do EXCEPT VOTE)
jasperjava October 8th, 2015 at 16:35
I always assumed that the Speaker had to be an elected member of the House. I appreciate the info.
mea_mark October 8th, 2015 at 15:07
Nope.
robert October 8th, 2015 at 15:53
not at all They could elect someone off the street if they wanted to
BillTheCat45 October 8th, 2015 at 15:14
Jon would jump off a building before he’d do that, lol :)
Foundryman October 8th, 2015 at 12:48
Once Cheney endorsed McCarthy…he knew he had to drop out, there’s just way to much baggage with Cheney trying to pull the strings…
Looks like it’ll be Gohmert..nobody else wants it.
Jack E Raynbeau October 8th, 2015 at 12:51
CotBoy R-UT would kill for that position.
Foundryman October 8th, 2015 at 12:55
I can’t wait for Pelosi to start ripping Chaffetz to shreds for being a imbecilic jerk.
Larry Schmitt October 8th, 2015 at 13:15
Wouldn’t that disqualify him?
Foundryman October 8th, 2015 at 13:31
For democrats maybe, for republicans it’s a coming of age requirement.
Larry Schmitt October 8th, 2015 at 13:32
Only “made” republicans need apply.
Jack E Raynbeau October 8th, 2015 at 13:33
Benghazi!
Talibandrew Breitbot October 8th, 2015 at 12:52
Now it gets FUN!
Kick Frenzy October 8th, 2015 at 13:34
McCarthy was heard saying, “I had came to a deciding point that I was not likely to be a vote, so then now.”
Of course, we’re now left with a likelihood of Daniel Webster getting the nomination.
Which leaves us wondering… will he be making Faustian deals on the side?
Larry Schmitt October 8th, 2015 at 13:38
That sounds exactly like something he would say.
allison1050 October 8th, 2015 at 13:56
If you didn’t watch Rachel Maddow this week you damned well should talk about funny/scary when she talked about McCarthy.
Larry Schmitt October 8th, 2015 at 13:58
I watched the clip. I first heard about his problem with English from a Dana Milbank column in the Post.
allison1050 October 8th, 2015 at 13:59
Look at Kick’s quote and it says it all!
Larry Schmitt October 8th, 2015 at 14:00
Here’s the column. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/for-rep-mccarthy-the-likely-new-house-speaker-words-still-fail-him/2015/09/28/67082056-661d-11e5-8325-a42b5a459b1e_story.html
Larry Schmitt October 8th, 2015 at 14:02
The amazing thing about the quotes cited in this column is that he was reading from a prepared text, not speaking off the cuff.
StoneyCurtisll October 8th, 2015 at 16:06
Colbert did a segment on McCarthy speaking abilities..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK3WWu7Xztk
Begin video at 3:50
Kick Frenzy October 9th, 2015 at 00:32
*giggle*
amersham46 October 8th, 2015 at 14:12
‘a sense of total disarray’ in the GOP , surely you are joking
Budda October 8th, 2015 at 14:24
“I’m not the one to unify the party.”….don’t think anyone can unify this bunch of wackos.
NW10,PATRIOT! ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ October 8th, 2015 at 14:27
There are three reasons why McCarthy is dropping out:
1) shooting his mouth off about the Benghazi Select Committee
2) Darth Cheney endorsement
3) rumored affair with Renee Elmers
Stick a fork in him!
Pilotshark October 8th, 2015 at 14:33
Isn`t she the one who left the AR-15 out in a garage after returning from the range? and it was stolen? there was something else about her as well,,oh that’s correct she could not go without her pay but all the other gov. workers could. When Cruz shut down the Government.
tracey marie October 8th, 2015 at 14:33
On the government dole since 1980, xtian and an advocate of homeschooling and covenent marriage. Believes in spending tax payer funds on home schooling to train parents how to teach(moochers), believes divorce should not be allowed except for infidelity, believes the school crowding is a myth and was exagerated by the left and teachers,Was involved and introduced a bill in the Schiavo case to keep her on machines. He is against abortion even in cases of incest and rape.
They are friends and now relatives through marriage with the bates klan and are close personal friends of the Duggars.
teabagger/faux xtian.
Larry Schmitt October 8th, 2015 at 15:02
Is he a Mor(m)on, by any chance?
tracey marie October 9th, 2015 at 12:10
southern evangelical baptist, but tried to say his evangelical church was non-denominational.
Larry Schmitt October 9th, 2015 at 12:15
Based on his views, I would not have been surprised to hear he was a member of the LSD church.
tracey marie October 9th, 2015 at 12:21
Worse, evangelical. He is a piece of work.
Larry Schmitt October 9th, 2015 at 12:29
I heard a joke years ago about a Baptist. Can’t remember the whole thing, but the punch line was that a Baptist found out his daughter was having sex, and he was relieved that at least she wasn’t dancing.
tracey marie October 9th, 2015 at 13:31
Thats a good one.
TheSpiffy October 8th, 2015 at 15:08
^_- I knew you wouldn’t miss out on this beautiful day of Republican Cannibalism.
robert October 8th, 2015 at 14:56
……….
F_cons October 8th, 2015 at 15:53
Thank you for much more understandable talk then the “proposed speaker” who made the amazing mistake (after a translator made engrish) of spewing the known truth
robert October 8th, 2015 at 15:55
i thought it best represents those who the gop forgot
F_cons October 8th, 2015 at 15:57
Beautifully done!
Snick1946 October 8th, 2015 at 15:13
The Dems need to approach moderate GOP members, offer to vote as a bloc for their choice as a moderate Republican and to do the same thing to organize the house. In one move they could end all the partisan bullshit.
BillTheCat45 October 8th, 2015 at 15:13
This clown show just gets better and better. And the country is screwed, but par for the course there.
Snick1946 October 8th, 2015 at 15:18
I wasn’t aware of the Renee Ellmers thing. While doing some research on her I ran across this gem from her congressional website bio:
‘To keep her “grounded,” and to ensure that the Second District remains at the forefront of her mind, Renee keeps a jar of soil from Harnett County placed neatly on her desk. Each time she sits down in her office, that jar of soil serves as a constant reminder of her end goal: to improve the lives and opportunities of the American People and to work each day to honorably represent the voice of those in North Carolina’s Second District.’
That apparently isn’t the only dirt around her. Dear God, these people…
Dwendt44 October 8th, 2015 at 19:08
They get itchy crotches in South Carolina too.
F_cons October 8th, 2015 at 15:24
And he explained that “the other one should give a pass to the we need to on another the other hand of the few who need to get the band to read the needed thought so they would get the world to get to work in the past”
arc99 October 8th, 2015 at 15:33
The GOP cannot even govern its 247 members of the House of Representatives and they have the gall to think they can govern all 300million Americans?
It probably will not happen, but I would love it if the right wing internecine warfare blows up in their faces even more.
There are 188 Democrats in the House. Everyone of them will vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. So in a scenario like this
Pelosi 188
Republican A 70
Republican B 177
We have Madame Speaker again. Now make no mistake, it would take monumental incompetence from the GOP conference for them to bring a vote to the floor without having done the job of “whipping” the required votes to guarantee success.
But monumental incompetence seems to be what they do best, so we can always hope.
Tim Coolio October 8th, 2015 at 18:25
Yup, cannot govern………no wonder they like small government!
CandideThirtythree October 9th, 2015 at 12:52
I don’t think it is winner take all, I think one person has to have 218 votes.
mea_mark October 9th, 2015 at 13:06
There are no clear rules. Tradition holds that a majority vote is needed but it is not a rule. What happens if a democrat or someone else gets more votes but not a majority, is unclear. It wouldn’t surprise me if the current speaker could ratify the vote without a clear majority winner. It would certainly send things into chaos. The republicans may shutdown the government because of a completely malfunctioning GOP in the house.
amersham46 October 8th, 2015 at 15:41
Well the GOP created this problem , and now it seems the can not solve it ,
Dwendt44 October 8th, 2015 at 19:05
And they aren’t going to get any help. Palosi said they are going to have to fix their mess themselves.
The Original Just Me October 8th, 2015 at 22:59
She is probably too busy laughing her Ass off.
StoneyCurtisll October 8th, 2015 at 16:01
See what happens when you let the truth slip out…
robert October 8th, 2015 at 17:08
what i find the most reveling is Paul ryan wants nothing to do with a promotion or gop leadership
i guess we dodged another bullet in 2012 ?
CandideThirtythree October 9th, 2015 at 12:49
Nah, he is gonna do it, he just wants them to beg him and promise him all sorts of goodies first.
mea_mark October 9th, 2015 at 13:09
IDK, getting the speakership right now looks like a good way to end a career in politics.
CandideThirtythree October 9th, 2015 at 14:52
are you kidding? nothing ends their careers except putting a halt to their election fraud.
The people who vote republican can’t remember what they had for breakfast much less what any politician in their party has done all they care about is the R behind the name.
Like another politician once said, the only way one of them would get voted out of office is if they got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy…and in the republican party not even that would necessarily be a hindrance. Remember that one who brought his mistress to nomination party?
mea_mark October 9th, 2015 at 15:41
Some info on what’s going on … http://www.salon.com/2015/10/09/the_wingnuts_are_after_paul_ryans_scalp_the_mans_a_menace/
robert October 9th, 2015 at 21:38
your on! i say paul blows it off. He already said the job belongs to an empty nester / somebody with no family.
paul is a stuffed suit looking for an easy paycheck
Suzanne McFly October 8th, 2015 at 17:09
Crap, I am already out of popcorn. With all this discord going on, I am going to have to start buying 5 gallon bins of this stuff.
arc99 October 8th, 2015 at 17:12
Costco is your friend. You can get a month’s supply for about the same price as two servings at your local first run cinema.
Even so, I am running low as well.
Suzanne McFly October 8th, 2015 at 17:27
Wish I knew this was gonna happen, I would of bought some Orville Redenbacher stock.
Tim Coolio October 8th, 2015 at 18:23
It’s popcorn time! I’LL TRY SOME JIFFY POP!
The Original Just Me October 8th, 2015 at 22:57
Better buy a couple more Micro Wave Ovens It takes them two minutes just to pop one bag.
DogsRgoodpeople October 9th, 2015 at 18:51
Just made a Costco run the other day. The one in Santa Rosa, Ca . has the most in the way of organics I have seen at any Costco. I bought a bag of organic hemp seeds. I’m expecting to add 45 minutes to my life span when finished with them.
StoneyCurtisll October 8th, 2015 at 20:21
Time to stock up on supplies…:)
Suzanne McFly October 8th, 2015 at 20:33
I need alcohol for this stuff, I will lose my mind if I have to do this sober.
The Original Just Me October 8th, 2015 at 22:55
I am going to buy stock in Millers. Coors, Budweiser, and Johnny Walker.
Foundryman October 8th, 2015 at 17:15
Sounds like to me this could be a job for the “Wassilla Warrior” to save the day…I can hear her already….
” I’d be happy to come and save the constitution from the lamestream medias if only the whitehouse would have wheatbread instead of rye and if only the sun would keep rotating around the moon. But ..no…it won’t help VW or the Cleveland Indians…so..yeah…”
The Original Just Me October 8th, 2015 at 22:54
Ten Lashings with a Black Silk Whip for you for even bringing up such an idea. Now, let’s see if I can find my Black Fish Net Stockings.
CandideThirtythree October 9th, 2015 at 12:48
Wow Foundryman, I didn’t know you spoke Teabonics…good job, it is always a good idea to know a second language… now if Palin would just learn English.
rg9rts October 8th, 2015 at 17:28
Great now some RWNJ will trash the country and it will be a shoe in for the dems
The Original Just Me October 8th, 2015 at 22:51
Let’s keep the trashing down to just the House.