I have a sneaky plan but I need to know how many votes it takes to force a new election for Speaker and whether or not the minority party can count in that vote.
As of September 26, 2013 there were 232 republicans, 200 democrats and 3 vacancies.
A majority vote of 432 reps is 221.
All of the dems can be counted to vote for Boehner. But they will need 21 republicans to join them in keeping him as Speaker.
So it is feasible to hold an electronic poll right now just among republicans to see if 221 will send a signal to Boehner. They need not have the entire House vote on this. They just need a count to let the Speaker know he best cancel tonight’s debt ceiling vote.
Could Boehner, on his own, request a vote of confidence to remain as speaker, prior to conducting any future business?