How can 20 members do that?
I’m not so sure Boehner has done anything so wrong under the circumstances, it appears McConnell put through something worse than Boehner’s “Plan B”.
But Boehner is an awful public persona for the party, no personality, no ability to win a PR war with Obama.
“At least 20 House Republican members have gotten together, discussed this and want to unseat Speaker Boehner -— and are willing to do what it takes to do it,” Meyer said. “That’s more than enough to get the job done, but the one problem these guys face is they need a leader to coalesce behind.”
So these 20 conservatives are so spineless that none of them will step forward as a leader? This goes no where.
I think ther are enough Democrats willing to go for loser Boehner
How sad. Bone-wad is the Speaker of the House. And he’s about as good as there is.
If true, then why did Pelosi relish it so much?
No, Boehner's troubles stem squarely from his propensity to fight Conservatives harder than he fights Obama and the Rats.
Now the RINOs are unnecessary to DemoRats, and will no longer be allowed to retain their positions. There are Rats that want those seats and they shall have them.
How is it that Democrats get to vote on who is to be Speaker of a GOP controlled House?
It looks like the only internecine battles we can expect this year among Republicans will be between John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to see who can cave in first to Obama’s policies.
Many dictatorships have legislatures that exist simply for show, and now America will have one, too, if the Republicans in Congress are unable to choose House and Senate leaders who will oppose Obama rather than rubber stamp his policies in the manner of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell.
Let’s hope there are at least SOME Republican Congressman who will speak out publicly against the Obama/Boehner policies rather than submit to serving as mere extras in the new government of Obama, by Obama, and for Obama.
Not quite. Imagine Boehner having to lead a Republican caucus knowing HE was elected by the other side.
That suggest something like forty testicles and I don’t think the republicans in congress could come up with that many.
How is changing the face of the party screwing us going to change anything?
COL Allen West. He was robbed of his seat, and he understands insider wheeling and dealing, as well as how the left thinks. We need someone with experience and a backbone.
AllahPundit is usually right on target, but he is incorrect in stating that no one can get elected Speaker without 218 votes and thus that 16 Republicans voting “present” can keep Boehner from the Speakership. The rules of the House have stated since at least 1913 (the earliest Speaker election analyzed by the Congressional Research Service in its 2011 study) that the election of Speaker requires a majority not of members, but of votes cast *for a person*. Thus, vacancies, abstentions, *and people voting “Present”* will not be included in the denominator. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30857.pdf
And this isn’t some arcane theory by the CRS; it was exactly what occurred as recently as 1997. That was the year of the attempted “coup” against Newt Gingrich, which fell apart, but around 8-10 Republicans voted “Present” in the Speaker election (plus 2 Republicans voted for RINO Jim Leach, 2 others voted for Republicans who had retired from Congress, and I assume that Newt abstained, as is customary for Speaker candidates). Due to all of those “Present” votes and abstentions, only 213 votes were required to elect a Speaker, and Newt was elected with 216 votes.
The House of Representatives for the 113th Congress will convene with at most 434 members (Jesse Jackson, Jr.’s seat will be vacant). If 16 Republicans vote “Present,” at most 418 votes will be cast for a person for Speaker, meaning that Boehner would need only 210 votes to be elected Speaker. But if 34 Republicans vote “Present,” then Pelosi or some other Democrat could be elected Speaker with the 201 Democrat votes. So voting “Present” for Speaker won’t keep Boehner from being elected Speaker, unless so many Republicans do it that a Democrat gets elected Speaker.
The only way that 16 Republicans can prevent Boehner or a Democrat from becoming Speaker would be if they voted for actual persons, not vote “Present.” And that is not going to happen. All incoming Republican members had the chance to select the party’s Speaker candidate, and they all voted for Boehner; maybe a handful will cast protest votes for Ron Paul or something (I betcha that Paultard Justin Amash of MI-03 does just that), but I don’t think it will come close to 16.
bachman, newt, issa, mcClintock, etc
It will have to be two votes. The first vote will have Republicans abstaining, to deny Boehner the votes he needs for the job. But this could get interesting if enough Democrats cross the aisle to vote for him.
No Republican will dare to identify himself as challenging Boehner until after that first vote. The second vote will be where the bullet hits the bone. A heck of a lot of horse trading going on.
Importantly, and this is vital, the house does not have to choose a speaker who is a current member of congress!
That is, the Republican caucus could select Sarah Palin or Allen West (who is still in congress, but was not reelected) to be the next Speaker. This would be grand, because even if they were not elected, they would not be vulnerable to revenge by Boehner or whoever else was eventually elected.
Or, come to think of it, they could even elect Ron Paul to be Speaker. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?
Newt is the one we really need. Sadly, the GOP would have to work for their pay & nobody wants that (grrrrr)
Allen West would be good. So would Bachman.
LtC Allen West for Speaker....Immediately.
Gov. Walker and LtC West, 2016.