*IF* a coalition of Democrats & a handful of Republicans backing a new Speaker is possible, great [View all]

[Silent3]

But that feels like a fantasy of unicorns and rainbows to me.

I totally get not wanting to help McCarthy (especially now, when he has gone out of his way to say he wasn't offering Democrats anything), but what happens next if McCarthy is kicked out?

It's not hard to imagine 15 votes to select a new Speaker soon looking like a fond memory of a fast, efficient process.

We can very well say, "Not my monkeys, not my circus", but the House, like it or not, is everyone's circus. In less than 45 days we face another government shutdown. There has to be someone to pass a budget, or everything goes to hell.

Being able to point at Republicans and blame them for that hell doesn't help pay the unpaid federal workers and doesn't help replace the government services that get cut off.

Might not the price of saying "Fuck you!" to McCarthy turn out to be steeper than we'd hope?