It's secret ballot day in the Republican House conference, the day they secretly vote for their choice of Speaker, who they may or may not actually vote for at the end of the month in the not secret ballot floor vote. While Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)—current majority leader—is the leading candidate, he's got competition. And it's already gotten a little strange, as the endorsements come in. The best part? House extremists are lining up not behind Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who's made lots of noise about being the conservative choice. No,
they're throwing their support to Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL).
"McCarthy absolutely is not an option," said Rep. Tom Massie (R-KY), arguing the Majority Leader is too closely linked to outgoing Speaker John Boehner.
"You can't tell our constituents we put his right-hand man in as Speaker," said Massie, who is one of the Republicans who will instead back Rep. Dan Webster (R-FL).
"He will restore respect to our institution," said Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) of Webster, who received 12 votes for Speaker earlier this year in a late challenge to Boehner.
Many of the hardliners, though, are
suggesting that if McCarthy kowtows to them enough in the next few weeks, they'll think about voting for him when it counts at the end of the month. Says Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID), "[o]ur intention is to go all the way to the floor unless changes are made" in the way the House is run. He also said that he wants the next speaker to vow to
default on the nation's debt if Republicans don't get their way.
McCarthy isn't without support, however. Rep. Paul Ryan, House Ways and Means Chairman and failed vice presidential candidate, has endorsed McCarthy, an endorsement that Politico says "could give McCarthy the credibility he needs with the conservatives." Yeah, probably not. And here's an endorsement that could make Webster's and Chaffetz's blood run cold: Dick Cheney. Why does Cheney feel the need to weigh in on this? Who the hell knows, but he says "Kevin McCarthy is the person we need as speaker in these dangerous and important times." And then a whole bunch of stuff about how we're all about to be killed in our beds, because he's Dick Cheney.
What all this means is that there really is a possibility that there won't be the necessary 218 votes for a candidate when they get to the floor at the end of the month. Because, look at this—Webster will not commit to supporting the party's nominee for the post on "personal principle." He said that the extremists "stuck their necks out" for him in throwing their support to him, so something something. If none of these guys can get to 218 (Democrats, for now, are vowing to stay completely out of it) Boehner is stuck in the job. Fun times.