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What’s interesting is the breakdown of who voted for who. When I saw that Justin Amash got precisely 1 vote for Speaker, I figured he probably voted for himself (since his hero Ron Paul isn’t coming back and he seems vain enough to figure that he’s the only one that can be trusted with the Speaker’s gavel).

Not so, however. The RLC sent with an email this morning with the apparent breakdown:

Rep. Justin Amash, MI, voted for Rep. Raul Labrador, R-ID.
Rep. Jim Bridenstine, OK, voted for Rep. Eric Cantor, R-VA.
Rep. Paul Broun, GA, voted for former Rep. Allen West, R-FL.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, TX, voted for former Rep. Allen West, R-FL.
Rep. Tim Huelskamp, KS, voted for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH.
Rep. Walter Jones, NC, voted for former GAO Comptroller David Walker.
Rep. Thomas Massie, KY, voted for Rep. Justin Amash, R-MI.
Rep. Steve Pearce, NM, voted for Rep. Eric Cantor, R-VA.
Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fl, voted for Rep. Eric Cantor, R-VA.
Rep. Steve Stockman, TX, voted present.
Rep. Raul Labrador, ID, remained silent when called.
Rep. Mick Mulvaney, SC, no vote.

One vote remains unaccounted for.

I would have probably joined Broun and Gohmert in voting for West. It was merely a protest vote though... although technically a non-member can be Speaker (and the Dems go ballistic if West stayed in the chamber as Speaker, whether or not he had voting power makes little difference since the Speaker almost never votes), there was no way it was gonna happen. There hasn’t been a non-member elected as House Speaker in the entire history of this country.

Cantor got more protest votes than West, and while he’s a viable choice for Speaker, I don’t think it would be much of an improvement. A bunch of freepers USED to love Cantor for some inexplicable reason and constantly tout him for higher office, now the thinking seems to be what I said all along... he’s just another timid establishment Republicans.

Biggest “wtf” moment goes to Walter Jones Jr. for voting for David Walker. He’s a maverick alright, though certainly not a conservative. Proof that being anti-establishment doesn’t necessarily make you a good guy since he votes with the Dems far more than most Republicans. I wish they could successfully primary that loose cannon.

The GOP leadership can retaliate against anyone who defects against the Speaker, so it’s not surprising there were only 11 Republicans who didn’t support Boehner. The ones who didn’t vote for him were taking a gamble. The rest are spineless twerps.