(gets out popcorn)

[james_davis_nicoll]

Chaos in Speaker selection leaves observers wondering if the living will envy the dead:

“It is total confusion — a banana republic,” said Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), a Boehner ally, as he recounted seeing a handful of House Republicans weeping Thursday over the downfall of McCarthy and the broader discord. “Any plan, anything you anticipate, who knows what’ll happen. People are crying. They don’t have any idea how this will unfold at all.”

Comments

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Much more likely, sometime around 2010 or 2014 we'd have gotten a new coalition in power with the teapartiers IN it. The main advantage would be that, with the Democrats or any equivalent completely shut out of power, they'd be held accountable for the ensuing catastrophe. But by now we might have been through two or three cycles of this.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

...As it is, there are political-science models indicating that economic growth in the second quarter of a presidential election year is predictive of the incumbent party's chances of success. So if they can just hold it until Q2 2016, and then pull the trigger and tank the world economy, they can maybe get Donald Trump, Ben Carson or Marco Rubio elected President.