It's been said that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. That certainly seemed to be the case yesterday as 3 separate votes in the U.S. House of Representatives failed to deliver the Speakership to Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Actually, the results did change, and not in his favor. Perhaps we should reclassify that as the definition of desperation.

This has rarely happened in U.S. history (exceptions being 1855, 1923, and 1997-98). As one writer put it, The House Republican Circular Firing Squad Over Who Will Be Speaker Is a Vision of Things to Come:

The schadenfreude is delicious. Rep Boeber (R-CO) - who barely eked out a win in her reliably red district - reportedly yelled "This is bullshit!", after McCarthy claimed he had "earned this job". Boebert and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) also supposedly claimed they'd vote for Hakim Jefferies (D-NY) over McCarthy (Jefferies is the Speaker candidate the Dems nominated, and have voted for as a 100% bloc). That may have been an empty threat, but who knows?

It's safe to assume there is some backroom wheeling and dealing (you know, the sort of thing that Republicans accuse Democrats of all the time), before they resume the voting exercise today.

Lost in all of the publicity is the disgusting reality that George Santos (R-NY) - the liar and likely criminal who has committed fraud in Brazil - is going to be seated, despite strident objections from Democrats. This just further amplifies the cravenness of the Republican party, who refuse to discipline or purge from their membership anyone, regardless of their indescretions.

But maybe that's the insanity on the part of the electorate - they keep voting in Republicans expecting that they'll do the right thing and act in the general interest of governance. The events of yesterday (and likely today) show us that those hopes are not based on reality.


someone is having a very bad day