McCarthy is Done and Now, the Real Story Begins, Part V

By Rich Kozlovich

So far I've published four pieces on this, Part I,  Part II, Part III, and Part IV.  When I finished Part IV I was confident there would be no Part V because Steve Scalise looked like he'd be their pick. He has an impressive record, and as far as can tell, he's well liked among Republicans, and is in no way as divisive as McCarthy.   

Well, now, here we have Par V, and there may even be a Part VI, and more.  As I'm watching this unfold I couldn't help but think about Obama saying you can never underestimate Joe Biden's ability to screw things up!  Well, chuckling, rolling my eyes, and shaking my head:  Never overestimate the Republicans ability to get things done.

Initially Scalise won the nomination with 113 votes, but even though Jim Jordan ended up supporting Scalise, he received 99 votes, and it appears there are too many, surprisingly, too many "never Scalise" members.  By Thursday, it was made clear he couldn't win a floor vote, so, according to Rebecca Downs it appears Steve Scalise is dropping out of the speakers race saying:

"It’s been quite a journey. And there’s still a long way to go. I just share with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for the speaker designee,"....... "This country is counting on us to come back together. This House of Representatives needs a Speaker and we need to open up the house again. But clearly, not everybody is there. And there’s still schisms that have to get resolved."

Now it's being reported Republicans will meet today at 10:00 AM to discuss what to do, and it appears Jordan is back in the race, but it also seems clear there will be no vote this week. There's a reason why the Republicans are called the "stupid party", and the "worthless party".  They earned it.