It’s time for some electoral theory

We have a last-minute program correction!

The process for selecting a new Speaker seems to be going great:

Eight GOP lawmakers are now seeking the party’s internal speaker nomination after Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) announced Monday night during a closed-door candidate meeting that he would drop out of the race. Many of his colleagues predicted that Meuser would have received among the lowest votes of the declared candidates during Tuesday’s scheduled balloting.

How can we forget you if we never knew who you were in the first place?

Inside the room, Monday night’s meeting gave Republicans a fresh opportunity to press the remaining speaker candidates. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), for example, asked each contender about whether they would conduct intense oversight of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland — the latter over his handling of detainees from the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“I want to know, which one you have the balls to hold them accountable?” Greene asked the speaker candidates inside the room, according to a source familiar with her remarks.

The eight candidates also got quizzed on their approaches to new aid for Ukraine, which many House conservatives oppose.

“Will conduct frivolous investigations” seems like a pretty easy litmus test to pass, “must support Putin’s bloodthirst imperialism” might be a tougher lift, although I wish I could be more confident about that. Anyway, new ones can always be added by the Republicans who won’t give up on the Gym Jordan dream.

Anyway, when 4 votes constitutes a veto, it’s hard to see any viable path for a new Speaker right now:

Speaker forum wrapped after 2.5 hours pic.twitter.com/kz77YreJP8— Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotcnn) October 24, 2023