House Speaker Ongoing Melodrama

[CJD]

(10-03-2023, 08:55 PM)basballguy Wrote: Is there an objective breakdown somewhere that says why this was good or bad for each party?  I haven’t been closely following

Objectively, this is bad for the Republicans because it shows the voters that they are not working well together and, if given power, they will squander it with infighting and pettiness. It is also bad for the Republicans because, as a body, they had to vote a record 15 times (IIRC) to get McCarthy elected in which he made some rather extreme concessions to the Maga caucus, such as allowing a single representative to initiate a vote to vacate (a concession that Gaetz exercised on Monday). During that record number of votes, it doesn't seem like there was anyone else that even came close to potentially being a replacement for McCarthy, so now the Maga Republicans have McCarthy's hand picked replacement McHenry as their temporary speaker and no realistic way to replace him with one of their own in the near future, as neither the Dems or establishment Republicans will sign off on someone like Gaetz or Boebert.

Objectively, it is good for the Republicans, or at least the Maga section of the Republicans, because it is a show of strength/authority over the "RINOs" and will create a lot of social media and, hopefully, voting engagement. If the perception is that the Maga republicans are more effective at wielding power than the RINO Republicans (even if that power is wielded against other Republicans), the general public may be more inclined to choose Maga Republicans over RINO Republicans, thinking they'll be more active in Congress in pushing their agenda and achieve their goals.

Objectively, it is a good thing for the Democrats because this will create chaos within the Republican party as the Maga section continues to scratch and claw for more power at the expense of their RINO associates. Chaos is not what most Americans want in Congress. This makes Democrats look good to the general public because they are united under their leader in the house and do not have rogue voters in their ranks (at least not to the degree the Republicans do). This may result in independents offering them more power via elections. 

Objectively, it is a bad thing for the Democrats because uncertainty is still uncertainty. They knew what to expect with McCarthy, even if they didn't like it, he was a fairly "traditional" politician. If the Maga group finds a way to name a speaker who is more unpredictable like the aforementioned Gaetz or Boebert or some other Maga republican, their lives may become harder. They may even try to get Trump to be the speaker, since the speaker doesn't technically have to be a member of the Congress.