John Boehner has secured the majority he needed to be reelected as Speaker of the House of Representatives and spend the next two years getting his butt kicked by the craziest bunch of Republicans to serve in Congress since ... well, about an hour ago, when the 112th Congress was still in session.
Congratulations, dude. May the next two years be your last two years in the majority.10:24 AM PT:
10:28 AM PT: The final total is still being tallied but it looks like Boehner will end up with 220 votes, barely more than the 217 majority that he needed. (It would have been 218 needed for a majority, but with vacancies, the threshold was temporarily reduced.) There are currently 232 House Republicans, so he'll have lost 12 votes on his way to a razor-thin victory.
10:37 AM PT:
Boehner wins most unwanted GOP job 2013. Last year's winner? Mitt Romney
— @DrJasonJohnson via web
10:41 AM PT: Final tally: 220 Boehner, 192 Pelosi, 13 for other names, 1 present.
10:52 AM PT: Hold it together dude, I see those lips puckering!
11:02 AM PT:
Here's
the text of Boehner's speech, if you're interested.
11:06 AM PT: Boehner: "Debt [sniffle] deficit [sniffle] burden [sniffle]"
11:12 AM PT: More from Boehner's weeping in ceremony: