10-04-2023, 12:09 PM
(10-04-2023, 12:06 PM)hollodero Wrote: Well, they're not that reasonable probably, and giving speakership to the minority party is an even steeper move. But in general, I would not know how what comes next betters things for democrats. The extremes in the GOP can take this as a win and now carry considerable power; and this strengthening their position is not ideal. Any next speaker, should one emerge, probably will not be one of the reasonable ones.
On the other hand, being ostentatiously merciful and give McCarthy just the handful of votes to narrowly stay in, imho that would make him look weaker than the Democrats. But maybe that is not true, I don't know.
You raise a good point that was on my mind as well. You've effectively handed a win to the more extreme GOP members. Whomever gets the chair next is going to have to cater to them more. Maybe the Dems think that's a winning strategy for '24? A lot of damage can be caused in the interim, and that's assuming the strategy is even successful.