On A Deadline. . .

(On A Deadline. . .)

Everything seems to be on a tight schedule. The House Republican Conference needs to find a Speaker today. Better said than done. The same dis-union that allowed for the ouster of former Speaker McCarthy is still manifest with the House GOP and in an exercise that is most urgent, the House cannot operate with one at the Gavel, to still be split in such a fashion that no election is readily possible, gives lie to the idea of any Republican House Majority. If the Conference is not united, if eight or so members can disrupt the process, and dis-miss a Speaker on a whim, then there is no governing in the House of Representatives.


There are two main candidates to fill the role of Speaker; House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH). Each has his own acolytes but nowhere near a majority of the Conference. Beginning in a few minutes and behind closed doors, the pruning process will begin, While the war in Israel is adding urgency, there is still distance among those concerned and one can be assured that no vote for Speaker will be held until a candidate has been decided upon.


Sticking points revolve around Rule changes. All House business, including legislation, begins with the adoption of a Rule. Rule changes in question is the one that allowed Congressman Gaetz, on his own, to force McCarthy's ouster. Going forward the preference would be to have several Members to make such a motion. The other and probably more difficult, would be the requirement that at any prospective Speaker would need the support of 217 Members, an outright majority of the Conference.


The fact is, however, House Republicans do not have the time. One Member pessimistically predicted that it could be the of the week and that will not work. To expedite matters, one of the front-runners should concede to the other and give his endorsement. That could have the effect of uniting the factions and getting to a 217 Majority. That being said, the new Speaker will need to fashion some action against Congressman Gaetz and his allies.


The House Republican Conference is a "majority" in name only and Kevin McCarthy proved to not be one to unite his Party and perhaps the one who succeeds him will have a better grip on the Members. The House needs to speak with one voice but, until there is a new Speaker, the Body will remain silent.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Siege Of The Alamo

(Siege Of The Alamo) Any visitor to Downtown San Antonio will recognize the City's most famous landmark, the Alamo. An old Spanish mission that means "Cottonwood" in English was the site where the likes of Jim Bowie, William Barrett Travis and Davy Crockett and about another 185 Texians defended the Mission and its compound for thirteen days against the Army of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana and his 5,000 troops. The garrison was finally reduced on March 6, 1836. However, the Texian defeat at the Alamo and another one at Goliad, bought time for General Sam Houston time to fall back and then face Santa Ana at San Jacinto. There, Houston's army surprised the Mexicans and yelling "Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad !" all but wiped out the Mexican force. Santa Ana was captured and was forced to recognize the Republic of Texas. Which is now the State of Texas and, like 1836 Texas War of Independence, there is a new invasion from Mexico. Not the armed body o
Read more

TEQUILA !

(TEQUILA !) Happy Cinco de Mayo or May 5th. One can hope that a lot of you out there are awash in inebriation, seeking to mainline tequila shots or enjoying a nice margarita on the patio. Or, in other words, relax. Take a breath. De-compress. May 5th as it happens is the anniversary of Mexico's victory over French "occupation" of Mexico by Emperor Maximillian, brother to Austrian monarch Maria Theresa in what has been called the Battle of Puebla. The reason France was in Mexico in the first place was that Mexico, after the Mexican-American War and a more civil conflict called the Reform War, had bankrupted Mexico City. Mexican President at the time was Benito Juarez, who repudiated all foreign debt, of which France, Spain, and the United Kingdom were all major holders. A naval expedition was dispatched to Veracruz and France's Napoleon III thought it would be a good idea to establish a French "empire" in Mexico. But, on May 5th, 1862, in the aforementioned B
Read more

Intended Consequences

(Intended Consequences) For those Readers who live in the Tri-State area, who had the earthquake this morning, just be still.  There is a postulate called the Law of Un-Intended Consequences. Basically, it says that even with the best intentions, negative results sometimes happen. However, there are also instances when a negative result is precisely the desired outcome. Like with the Israel- Hamas war where the Biden Administration continues to press for an all but unilateral ceasefire on the part of Israel. In California, the new $20/HR minimum wage is wreaking havoc on the fast food industry. And finally, after depleting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, oil has now become too expensive. How many times must the Biden Administration think it can influence Israeli affairs ? How many times must Israel ignore it. Threats from the President have become redundant at this point but is Biden really prepared to cut Israel loose ? In the middle of the greatest crisis Israel is facing since the
Read more