Earlier we reported the below. Since then, he's lost round two, and appears to be set to lose round three.
Well, he still hasn't matched 1923, which went to 9.
And he's far short of 1855, which went to 155.
Lex Anteinternet: For the first time in 100 years. . .:For the first time in 100 years. . .
the election of Speaker of the House will go into a second round.
Kevin McCarthy, who obviously wants the position very badly, and who hitched his wagon to the Trump ass cart in an effort to get it, after first criticizing the January 6 Insurrection, failed to secure it as nineteen Republicans voted against him and for somebody else.
His opposition, ironically, has been from the arch right, some of whom voted for Andy Biggs.
Democrat Hakim Jeffries of New York had the most votes, at 212, with McCarthy at 203. Under the rules, apparently, you need a majority of voting members, so Jeffries isn't it, in spite of beating out McCarthy.
Interestingly enough, for the readers of this blog, the last time this happened was in 1923, when Frederick Gillett became speaker after nine ballots. In terms of overall Congressional history, however, this isn't that unique, and perhaps it should not be. According to this chart by the Speaker of the House historian, it's happened quite a bit.
Congress (Years) Name State Final Ballot
3rd Congress (1793–1795) MUHLENBERG, Frederick Augustus Conrad PA 3rd
6th Congress (1799–1801) SEDGWICK, Theodore MA 2nd
9th Congress (1805–1807) MACON, Nathaniel NC 3rd
11th Congress (1809–1811) VARNUM, Joseph Bradley MA 2nd
16th Congress (1819–1821) TAYLOR, John W.1 NY 22nd
17th Congress (1821–1823) BARBOUR, Philip Pendleton VA 12th
19th Congress (1825–1827) TAYLOR, John W. NY 2nd
23rd Congress (1833–1835) BELL, John TN 10th
26th Congress (1839–1841) HUNTER, Robert Mercer Taliaferro VA 11th
30th Congress (1847–1849) WINTHROP, Robert Charles MA 3rd
31st Congress (1849–1851) COBB, Howell GA 63rd
34th Congress (1855–1857) BANKS, Nathaniel Prentice MA 133rd
36th Congress (1859–1861) PENNINGTON, William NJ 44th
68th Congress (1923–1925) GILLETT, Frederick Huntington MA 9th
McCarthy shouldn't get it, in my view, which differs from the view of those currently voting against him in the GOP (but probably coincides with Democrats who aren't voting for him). His siding with Trump after the insurrection disqualifies him, in my view.
