Legislative mastermind Kevin McCarthy, facing an uphill challenge to being elected Speaker of the House on Tuesday, has a brilliant plan seemingly ripped from the pages of one of Robert A Caro’s books on Lyndon Johnson: Just keep the chamber voting again and again and again until the far right Republican holdouts get tired and give in to him, Politico Playbook reports.
“We’re told that McCarthy’s plan, however, is to continue voting – over and over again – in a bid to wear down his detractors until he gets the gavel,” Playbook literally writes in their daily newsletter, which also contains insipid Politico-ish tropes like “huddle,” “fat chance,” and “split-screen.”
It also contains an informative hint about on House Democrats’ “playbook” for the day: Hold out against voting to adjourn the session as long as possible to keep the threshold to 218. Any absences on their end lower the number McCarthy needs to reach. Ten Republican walkouts (or defections) would give them a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries. “We hope you got a good night’s rest and packed a thermos full of coffee. It’s going to be a long day,” Playbook writes with their characteristic levity.