Who wins?

A Look Behind The Theatrics Of The House Speaker Vote. Democracy Wins.

No doubt you followed the drama and the theatrics around the election of a Speaker of the House of Representatives this past weekend. After 14 failed attempts, Republican Kevin McCarthy was finally elected Speaker on the 15^th ballot, the most since 1859. The numbers behind the drama were straightforward. The Republicans have a 222 to 212 majority in the House (with one vacancy). If all members are present and voting for a candidate by name, it takes 218 votes to become Speaker. (If a member on the floor votes "present", that vote doesn't count but it does reduce the number needed to obtain a majority). This means that if as few as five Republicans vote for a candidate other than McCarthy, then McCarthy cannot get the majority needed to win. (The Democrats voted monolithically with 212 votes for Hakeem Jefferies on all 15 ballots with one exception due to a member's absence for personal reasons). In fact, 20 Republicans formed a bloc and refused to vote for McCarthy until important concessions on House procedures and policy goals were agreed. Over the course of the 15 ballots, that 20-person "Never Kevin" bloc was gradually whittled down so that McCarthy won with 216 votes (and 6 Republicans voting "present"). This prolonged process was fodder for liberal media and Democrat politicians who said Republicans looked weak, disorganized, and silly for taking so long to elect a leader. The opposite was true. The holdout Republicans obtained changes that will make the House stronger and send a much clearer message about what Republicans actually stand for and are determined to achieve. These improvements are described in this article. Nancy Pelosi was praised for her strong leadership as the prior Speaker, but her style more closely resembled what goes on in Communist China or an African dictatorship than the freewheeling debate that the House is supposed to facilitate. Republicans restored a rule (abolished by Pelosi) that a single House member could make a motion to remove the Speaker, subject to a majority vote in support of the motion. That adds accountability by the Speaker to the members and ultimately to the people. McCarthy also agreed to allow 72 hours for members to read a final bill before voting on it, an "open rules" process that allows members to offer amendments, and a process of voting on spending bills broken into separate agencies and departments instead of mashed together into a single multi-trillion dollar "omnibus" bill. This allows members to, for example, vote for higher defense spending and lower spending for the IRS and the neo-fascist FBI without having to take an all-or-none approach. The reforms will also end "earmarks" such as those in the recent $1.7 trillion omnibus bill from Nancy Pelosi that authorized $500,000,000 for the favorite colleges of just five senators. There are many more positive reforms that came out of the 15-ballot marathon. The media won't cover it, but you should be aware. There may be hope for democracy yet.

Jim Richards