Greetings, All...and Happy Sunday! So if we win back the House, does the Speaker automatically become Boehner? Can’t they have a vote and choose Pence or someone else?
The Republicans who will be in the next House will meet in December to nominate the GOP candidate for Speaker, and elect the GOP leadership. When the new House meets in January, it will choose between the GOP and Dem candidates for Speaker. There is nothing automatic about these votes, but campaigns for the leadership positions, if any, won’t be made public until after the general election. Boehner is definitely the going away favorite right now.
Absolutely they can choose someone else. And Boehner’s job is not a lock, because there will be a whole bunch of new GOP reps who will be very conservative.
I do want to point out, though, that Boehner has done an excellent job keeping the GOP together on votes. That is no small accomplishment. As important as talking on television has become, even more important is the ability to keep people together, to manage the votes, and to prevent weak-kneed people from being co-opted by the other side.
It does no good to have an incompetent speaker who talks well. TV appearances are only a minor part of the job.
And some conservatives have people holding grudges, remember. There will be a big (probably nationally televised) vote on speaker this year. Do not be surprised if someone unexpected is the winner.
I still like Boehner, though. He’s got a sort of retro executive look, like he could have been the lawyer for the Rat Pack. LOL!