The earlier blanket of self-confidence that the Republicans pulled around themselves seems to be falling away. They're now talking about scenarios in which they don't win the House but manage to pull some Democrats into their power circle. Deputy Republican whip Kevin McCarthy lays out the fallback position on CSpan. His not-so-confident confidence is there for all to see .
The Hill summarizes McCarthy's bluster.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the GOP's chief deputy whip and director of recruiting new candidates, suggested there are scenarios in which Republicans could still win the speakership -- or, at the very least, enjoy de facto control of the House -- even if they don't win the 39 seats needed to gain an outright majority.
"We need 39 seats. Take it, for instance, say we win 34," McCarthy said in an interview on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, which is scheduled to air this weekend but was posted online Friday.
He suggested that if that happens, some Democrats might not support Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as speaker, and may opt to vote with Republicans to pursue their priorities.
"Why would they want to keep her [Pelosi]? And why wouldn't they want to go with other people to be able to produce it?" McCarthy asked. "Why do you think that if we don't win 39, we still couldn't be able to get speaker?"
His musings suggest the GOP is looking at options to make now-House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) the speaker of the House by pursuing a coalition with Democrats.
Pelosi won the speakership the last two Congresses with unanimous support from the Democratic Caucus. But some members have suggested an openness to bucking the powerful speaker.
One commenter at the Hill rejoices at the prospect in part because it means reversing all progressive legislation and particularly the law which handed over gun control in the US to the United Nations. Remember that law?
