I have noticed that everyone just LOVEs to sit on the sidelines and complain and vote their meaningless symbolic ‘no’s,
but ya dont see any of them in House steppin up to the plate to take the Speakers job. That wouldn’t be so easy. It would be risky.
It is easier to sit in the peanut galley and throw spit balls than to try and assemble 218 votes in the House which can in turn garner a majority in the senate, and then deal with a president that was just re-elected and the media is doing backflips to help. The GOP probably could have gotten a lot more out of this fiscal cliff deal if all the “principled” types gave Boner some room to negotiate. He had very little leverage because just about possible deal would not have been able to pass with just Republican votes in the House.