Good point........ she gets elected Speaker even as Democrats b*tch and moan about her. They elect her, despite their misgivings.
We need to have transparency here. Clearly, she wields and deals our tax dollars to get elected Speaker:
<><> promising free Congressional tax-paid foreign trips on her tax-paid govt plane;
<><> financial pkgs to their districts--using targeted legislative initiatives;
<><> promises of asst perks and privileges only she can dole out.
<><> putting relatives and friends on the Congressional payroll;
<><> doling out US govt pension applications, and so on.
Being a Congressional relic, she knows all the tricks to get tax dollars.
Plus she controls DNC campaign money----a big factor in her power mongering.
NEED TO KNOW ASAP:
<><> what is her Speaker budget?
<><> lists of her tax-paid reimbursement vouchers
<><> how many tax-paid trips does she have planned (need advance planning so the info is out there)
<><> lists of govt sinecures and bailiwicks she's doled out to Congressional relatives and friends.
<><> lists of phantom people she's put on the govt payroll, and so on.
brittanica.com
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: As the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House holds one of the highest positions in Congress. The position is filled at the start of each two-year term in a vote by the full House membership. The selection of the Speaker is generally determined by the majority party, and thus the Speaker is always a leading member of that party. The Speaker’s broad powers and privileges allow the majority to control the House’s legislative agenda.
The significance of the office cannot be underestimated. The Speaker is in a position to set the rules of the House and to adjudicate when procedural conflicts arise. The Speaker’s rulings can be challenged, but rarely are; traditionally, they are final. Behind the scenes, the office’s power is even broader. This is because voting is a relatively small part of the House’s business: its essential legislative work is done in committees. The Speaker plays a vital role in appointing committee chairs, influences the referral of bills to the committees, and effectively decides the timetables of the bills. Bills favored by the Speaker will leave committee more quickly and come to an early vote. The minority party’s concerns will wait.
Outside Congress, the Speaker customarily enjoys high visibility in U.S. politics. The media frequently report the Speaker’s opinions, transforming the office into a political bully pulpit much like that of the Senate majority leader, and the Speaker often campaigns for party loyalists in election years. Depending on which party occupies the White House, the Speaker can be either a strategically placed ally or powerful foe of the president. The relationship between the two branches of government does not end there: under the rules of succession, the Speaker is second in line after the vice president to assume the presidency.
Further readings
Loomis, Burdett A. 2000. The Contemporary Congress. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Mayhew, David R. 2000. America’s Congress: Actions in the Public Sphere, James Madison through Newt Gingrich. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press.
I think it is time to put some pressure on republicans in the house to start looking at checking her power. Something needs to be done or we need to have something waiting in a desk drawer.
We scream about term limits, maybe the Speakership needs to have term limits. Re-elected no more than once.