I read "Endgame, part 2: Have House Republicans already started to break?" available here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
I also laughed my way through a piece on another site where House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) proposed cutting entitlements as a way to provide more funding to the failed THUD bill cited in the above linked piece. I have a question. Why does the Speaker of the House need a majority of the votes of his caucus and not a majority of the entire House of Representatives (Troll alert "her caucus" in the case of Nancy Pelosi)?
The job title is "Speaker of the House" not "Speaker of my Party." He or she is supposed to be the leader of the entire body. The Constitution specifically states that the Vice President is the President of the Senate. It authorizes the House to choose its Speaker and other officers. Where does it grant those choices to a majority party? Where is there any mention of political party?
The Speaker of the House is a National figure, second in line to the Presidency. Why doesn't my Representative (Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)) have a say in who gets that job? I know that The Constitution grants each body of Congress to set its rules, but if this is a rule, it has got to be un-Constitutional.
As a practical matter, I realize that the majority would rally around an agreed upon leader rather than taking a chance of splitting the caucus and allowing the minority leader to gain the gavel. We need to force the issue. This is why the Hastert Rule is so dangerous, only considering bills that have a majority of the majority.
In our legislature, the Senate is referred to as "The World's Most Deliberative Body." I'd call it inert. The House of Representatives is supposed to be "The People's House." The House, elected every 2 years, is supposed to be more reflective of the will of the People. Despite what Republicans say, the People did not vote for divided government.
Over 1 million more people cast votes for a Democratic candidate for Congress than a Republican. Several states carried by President Obama by large majorities ended up with majority Republican caucuses in the House. This gerrymandering is unfortunately Constitutional. However, if Speaker Boehner thought his gavel required a majority of the entire House, and not just the Republicans ("Nancy, with your caucus and sane Republicans, I have a winning coalition, so support me for Speaker.") we'd have a much more functional, more representative government.
Don't worry about me, I'm not holding my breath.