Perhaps they have picked their guy by the time you read this, but I’m doubting it. 

The Republican party has failed miserably when it comes to naming a Speaker of the House. As of Tuesday, the country has been 20 days without a Speaker. This has become embarrassing and shows just how fractioned the GOP is and a time when the world seems on fire. 

Nancy Pelosi had two stints as Speaker of the House, ruling with an iron fist that she liked to shake at people she looked down upon. Then the Republicans somehow managed to barely win the House of Representatives and had the great honor to elect from their ranks a person who would be third in line to for the Resolute Desk, behind the president and vice president. They’ve bungled this opportunity at every step. 

It took Republicans 15 votes, the longest in 164 years, to elect Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. I was not a McCarthy supporter and wrote about it, but in his short time as Speaker, 269 days to be exact, he didn’t really do that badly. He was no Newt Gingrich, but I was settling into him being Speaker. And being third in line to the presidency was better than the two buffoons ahead of him. 

But then, the Republicans splintered, yet again, taking the gavel away from McCarthy. He had the shortest tenure in the big seat in 140 years. I’m sure McCarthy was embarrassed and disappointed, but not as much as the Republicans should have been. 

They just can’t get the hang of this Speaker-ship thing. After McCarthy was sent packing, they trotted out Steve Scalise, seemingly a decent man, to no avail. Next to become cannon fodder was Jim Jordan, who would probably have made a good Speaker. But that didn’t happen again as the GOP can’t seem to find anyone they like. If they can’t trust one another, how are we supposed to trust them.  

So, then we had nine guys wanting to be Speaker. Perhaps they have picked their guy by the time you read this, but I’m doubting it. They’ve reached the bottom of the barrel in their political gamesmanship. The budget mess, which they kicked that can down the road a few weeks ago, is looming. It will soon be time for more threats to shut down the government. 

By Tuesday morning, all but two of the nine had dropped out of the race after secret ballots behind closed doors. The reason they dropped – they knew they couldn’t get the votes either. Two candidates emerged:

Tom Emmer , an anti-Trumper, currently the House majority whip and former governor of Minnesota seemed to have the inside track. Emmer had a goal of delivering “historic change.” Didn’t Obama promise that and look how that worked out for us. I was not impressed. 

Mike Johnson from Louisiana, currently the deputy whip for the House, and was previously chairman of the Republican Study Committee, whatever the hell that is. He’s a lawyer and former radio talk host. Seems to be well-liked in Congress. Surprisingly finished second in the secret vote on Tuesday.  

How in the world did seven other candidates all decide to drop out in the space of a couple hours, and how did they arrive at possibly the worst candidate of the bunch. I feared they might elect Emmer, and then if Trump gets elected president, there would be more fighting and gamesmanship, on our dime. By the time you read this, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not off on another tangent with somebody else. 

Then, about 12:30 PM Eastern time Tuesday, Tom Emmer was named the designated candidate for Speaker. He beat Johnson by 20 votes. Two hours later Emmer dropped out! The GOP went from 9 candidates to zero in a few hours. Since then, five guys have jumped back into the race, and a new one emerged. I’ve changed this commentary four times since starting it. It’s pathetic. 

The best guy for the job, in my opinion, is Lee Zeldin from New York. He’s young (43), a lieutenant colonel in the Reserves, and a  Trump backer. Best of all, he’s no longer a member of the House so possibly wouldn’t be beholden to silly partisanship’s. (You don’t have to be a Congressperson to be Speaker) Mike Huckabee or Ron DeSantis might be great options as well. It’s time they put their petty politics aside and think of what’s best for the country.  

Maybe this void is best for the country – they can’t spend our money.