Today in Schadenfreude

For the first time in a century, the House of Representatives failed to elect a Speaker on the 1st ballot, or the 2nd ballot, or the 3rd ballot.

It really sucks to be Kevin McCarthy right now, but it generally sucks to be Kevin McCarthy any day of the week ending in "Y".

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) faced open revolt in the House chamber Tuesday, failing in three rounds of balloting to earn enough votes to capture the speakership in a once-in-a-century showdown that will now spill into a second day.

The stunning failure of the House to elect a speaker on its first round of voting came after McCarthy and his allies spent weeks working to secure the 218 votes needed for him to take the gavel. Republicans won back the House in November’s midterms, but with a slim, four-vote majority, requiring near-consensus among the conference to move votes forward.

While are plenty of people in Congress who will vote against the Speaker in the party caucus, for the main election, when the vote matters, that has not happened in the past 100 years. 

Kevin McCarthy tried to appease the MAGAts in Congress, and rather unsurprisingly, they betrayed him.  Appeasing Fascists has a long history of failure.

I would also note that the single stupidest thing from the Washington Post OP/ED this week, (A pretty f%$#ing high bar) suggesting that, "Kevin McCarthy’s disastrous travails show Democrats must defang MAGA."

He is suggesting that Democrats should find common cause with the mythical beast known as, "Reasonable  Republicans," in the House to fight the MAGAts.

This will never work, just see Susan Collins.

No.  Just no.

This does not mean that a deal cannot be made, but the deal must be transactional in nature, and it must be crafted in a manner to minimize the possibility of a double-cross, because even the "Good" Republicans will not keep their word when it no longer serves them.

Until you get an iron clad deal, MAGAts are a Republican Party problem.