Is anyone else surprised that McCarthy ducked the speakership?

I would gladly answer your Q if you first explain the rationale behind your “tar baby” qualifier.

It would have been an impossible job, and McCarthy didn’t have the respect and seriousness of Boehner. And his screwup with the Benghazi statement didn’t help either.

And he was being smeared by a right wing operator threatening to expose an extramarital affair.

He was toast from day one.

The question is – now that they have fouled their own nest, what will they do?

The bandit’s comments pretty much explain the tar baby metaphor. But perhaps “hot potato” is more appropriate

He is a small town boy who never really had to prove himself in the big leagues. Non one has ever run against him and The Bakersfield crowd coronated him when Bill Thomas retired. He has never been tested and the minute the criticisms and the spotlight started he couldn’t handle it. The only bills he has ever passed were for renaming things. He doesn’t have the balls for the job and he knows it.

This guy wanted to be Speaker, when he is unable to give a short speech without tripping over his tongue.

@stanleybmanly Who is this “Bandit” and can you offer up a link to their comments???

@Cruiser – that’s me. Read up 5 answers.

What I mean is corralling the snakes is next to impossible for whoever winds up with the job. And the bandit is of course elbanditoroso.

Since I lived in Bakersfield for 25 years I follow the local news facebook pages. The comments are saying he was having an affair with Renee Elmers of North Carolina.

@stanleybmanly sorry that zoomed right over my skull as it has been a busy evening. That said the alleged issues haunting McCarthy are not unique to him and IMO a good slug of both the Republicans AND Democrats as to why we only have Trump and the rest of the field over 70 where sexcapades are are a badge of honor and anyone else has shit to hide or IMO they would stand tall and take on the Speaker race and or the nomination for President. Sad to see so few step up for either position on both sides of the isle.

Expect an extreme right winger to become the next Speaker. The extremists have the votes to prevent anyone else from getting the position and the rest of the Republicans will go along just so that they can fill the position.

Bill Flores from Texas is mulling running for it. The man is a jerk, his entire plan for government is based on being diametrically opposite to whatever Obama is for or against. His news letters are either whining about whatever the Democrats are doing or bragging that his is still against the ACA and is willing to put forth another vote.
Come to think of it, I hope he gets the position. He is so full of sh*t that he needs a good reaming out.

It seems pretty simple to me. Republicans are fed up with career politicians and want a change. McCarthy is firmly entrenched in the Washington establishment and he could not garner the support to win. So he bowed out. Just promoting the next guy in line won’t change anything. I can’t say I’m not surprised but this does seem consistent with the general mood in the Republican ranks.

Actually, sounds to me like 30 or 40 members are dictating their will on the other 200 + Republicans.

Of course the other way to see this is that some members are not willing to ‘go along to get along’. It’s much easier to assign a negative motive than to analyze what’s happening.

Not really complaining. Interested to see what happens.
To my way of thinking if a small group says we will not cooperate unless we are in charge, a much larger group could take the same tack.
Results will be the same: deadlock.
Is there someone who can bridge the gap? Probably not, time for a split.

I think they’ll find someone agreeable to both groups. Paul Ryan would work but it’s not clear he’ll take it. Maybe I’ll throw my name in the hat.

He would be a fool to consider it. Even though he may have the talent to mollify both groups.

McCarthy just said in an interview that they may have to hit rock bottom before they can function. That’s just scary. You would expect a democrat to say that but this is coming from a leader of his own party!

It’s a thankless and currently hopeless job. My great surprise is that apparently it isn’t just the smart folks involved (and there are very few of them) who seem to be aware of it.

@rojo He would be a fool to consider it. Even though he may have the talent to mollify both groups.

Can I ask why you think this??

He may not have had the votes

Best case scenario for Republicans is to broker a deal with Paul Ryan where he takes the speakership only until the 2016 elections are over. And only then if everyone’s certain that Ryan won’t be needed as a VP candidate again.

@Ibstubro But that’s just the problem. Touching the rancorous third rail speakership torpedos the future political aspirations of anyone silly or vain enough to walk into the trap.

@Cruiser

Sorry, I may be a little late getting back to this but several of the answers that have been given address my thoughts on the situation. The rancor between the two factions is at a point where, in my opinion, they cannot be brought back together. It is a lose – lose situation and whoever takes this job will receive the blame when they fail.

Look at it this way, If he even thinks about compromising, the Tea Baggers will call for his ouster immediately. I am not sure they will even vote him in unless he swears not to consider it. If he doesn’t compromise then we are once again at an impasse and the majority of the Republicans, those who do view compromise as a necessary evil, will blame him for not doing so. Knowing he will not be able to use the compromise/mediation approach he is known for thus limiting his ability to accomplish anything why would he want to subject himself to this abuse?

Best approach the majority Republicans could take would be to work with the Democrats to get a Speaker amenable to both and install him despite the vitriol of the Tea Party caucus. And, maybe this is the approach Ryan is considering but that will leave him fighting both the Democrats and worse still the Tea Party during his Presidential bid and the Tea Party will be much more willing to gut him and leave him hanging with his entrails splayed all over the ground than the Democrats would.

The Tea Party is the ISIS of American Politics right now. They will destroy anything that they disagree with regardless.

If he is smart, he will stay on the sidelines, let the Tea Party install one of their own (someone like Bill Flores) and watch him go down in flames.

I heard the perfect decscription this morning on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me this morning where the speakership was declared “just another one of those jobs that Americans don’t wanna do”

@rojo I feel way too many people have come to expect opposition form the Republican party and expecting the battle to replace Boehner to be contested from within is no real surprise. What I feel liberals and all those diametrically opposed to the Republican party is to underestimate the core values, purpose and direction that brings anyone to pledge allegiance to the Conservative faction of our Government. To devalue the commitment of a conservative politician and their constituents to merely a petulant group of fanatics is like ignoring your own shadow.

Republicans do not exist to solely push back and oppose any liberal agenda they like all card carrying conservatives are merely interested in having a Government that reflects the values and purpose set forth by our Countries Constitution to provide a sound stable Governess of all citizens of this country and the immigrants that wish to legally join our ranks.

Is there a list of the 30–40 far right conservatives that are blocking everything that we can link to?

@ibstubro – see this page link

But to me. what is far more scary is that the other 180 republicans who are NOT in the freedom caucus are a bunch of cowards. 180 is a bigger number than 40, right?

Thanks, @elbanditoroso.
There’s only 2–3 of them I’ve even heard of.
So it’s just the bully block. Lacking true leaders or leadership, they just block anyone else from taking any action.

Looks like about ⅓ are from the states of Florida, Arizona and Texas. So how are they allowing the retirees to hold the rest of the nation slave?

@Cruiser perhaps it is a result of my views but Republicans do not exist to solely push back and oppose any liberal agenda they like all card carrying conservatives is exactly what the Ultra Conservative minority do. I am not saying that if a Dem says something is black that they automatically negate it and claim it is white just for spite. I am saying that in their little world it seems it really is white. And I don’t think you can say that in any way, shape, form or fashion that they are willing to compromise on a single thing. It is either their way or they will bring it down. There are no grey areas.

@rojo “Ultra Conservative minority ” You are talking about a very small and thin and LOUD minority that is not representative of main stream conservative. I could equally throw down umpteen examples of shrill lefty wingnuts who you and I know do not represent the will of the Democratic party. Time to be real if you desire productive dialogue here.

@Cruiser , believe it or not, I agree with you. The left definitely has its share of nuts. No question.

The difference that i see is that the left wing doesn’t roll over and play dead when they have their left wing whackos. It’s sort of self-correcting—the left wing tends to marginalize the nuts and never pay them any head. Think about Dennis Kucinich as a prime example of someone who was so outside the mainstream democratic group that he was ignored.

The republicans, by contrast, are afraid to confront their whackos. They’re letting themselves get blackmailed by the far right. Cowards. Spineless fools.

No, @Cruiser I agree with you, they do not represent the mainstream BUT they are subverting the will of said mainstream and, as @elbanditoroso points out, the others appear to be afraid to confront them.

My thoughts, because a LOT of money is going from folks who have a lot of money (and make a LOT of political donations) to get these few hard liners elected and keep them bankrolled so it is not so much a fear of those few members holding the party hostage but a fear of losing the money/backing of the Koch brothers and the others like them.