Politico: Conservatives sharpen their knives as McCarthy works to peel off skeptics

[brooklynite]

“Knives Out” isn’t just playing on screen this week: Conservatives are digging in against Kevin McCarthy before the conclusion of a closed-door fight over consolidating the House GOP leader’s power.

As House Republicans keep debating their rules for next year’s majority, the Freedom Caucus — home to several members seeking to derail McCarthy’s speakership bid — is pushing for institutional changes that they argue will restore power to rank-and-file members. Before that debate Wednesday, McCarthy allies likely will move to scrap or neuter some of the Freedom Caucus’ dozen or so proposals.

Members of the pro-Trump group had clamored earlier this month to restore House members’ ability to oust the speaker, though that effort got silenced by a counter-proposal from Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) that requires a majority of the conference to back any anti-speaker vote. Freedom Caucus members accused leadership of lining up opposition to their initial round of changes while postponing more controversial ideas until this week.

Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), who has a proposed rules change on the Wednesday agenda, said that “I don’t think the first [debate] was very productive” and that he hasn’t decided if he’ll back McCarthy for speaker on Jan. 3. Bishop added that he’s looking to see if Wednesday’s session will be “different in tenor than” the pre-Thanksgiving session, saying “I don’t think it has much utility if it’s not.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/29/mccarthy-gop-freedom-caucus-republicans-00071196

[underpants]

1. Sounds like they had themselves a school board meeting

or the mess that happened the other day in Arizona.
Hey! That’s their world that they’ve created.

[hay rick]

2. Trying to play nice in the sandbox.

Expecting biting, kicking, scratching and tears.

[JHB]

3. Isn't that charming? The outright guanopaths are now the "conservatives"...

...while RW foamers who can at least follow procedures and who have denounced arch-conservatives of the past as RINOs are merely the "rank and file".

[robbob]

4. Question from a Canadian:

Does the house leader HAVE to come from the majority party? If a moderate Democratic member threw their hat in the ring and enticed a few Repugs to vote for them could Dems still control the house?

Just curious; there might be a few sane ReThugs left who who choose a moderate Dem over MTG, for example…

[peppertree]

5. As I understand it, they keep voting until someone gets a majority of votes

Excluding those voting "present" or not voting at all, luckily.

In turn, nothing in the pertinent House rule seems to specify that it has to be someone from the majority party.

https://history.house.gov/People/Office/Speakers-Intro/#:~:text=The%20Speaker%20is%20simultaneously%20the,%2D%20and%20minority%2Dparty%20caucuses.

In theory, then, it is possible from someone other than a congressperson from the majority party to be elected.

But that would require several Republicans to vote for Jeffries - and they'd rather sell their mothers to a Nigerian prince than do that.

[robbob]

6. Oh, but would it HAVE to be Jeffries?

Because he’s the newly elected Dem leader? Or can house leader be some random back bencher who just happens to garner enough votes?

I guess that wouldn’t make any sense…

[peppertree]

7. I guess it could be almost anyone - but all Dems and several R's would have to agree

Al Franken, maybe.

It would definitely keep things interesting.