Hakeeeeeeem Jjjjjjjjeeeeffffries!

Joking aside, my gut says this would be a good time for the Democrats to extract some concessions from Johnson in exchange for his job--something they didn't really want to do for McCarthy because the calculus was different. I'm not sure that the circus is as good for them this time around (in part because "independents" might well decide that what the nonfunctioning government needs is a stronger GOP majority and a Cheeto). There ought to be enough ordinary-right Republican Reps to cobble together a majority without asking vulnerable Dems to vote to keep him.

If Johnson's to stay, the Speakership in general should just be weaker with a negotiated organizing resolution that gives Jeffries and the (barely) minority party more control--something not unlike what 50-50 Senates have done. I appreciate, however, that that's a tough sell even to the most center-leaning GOP. They might rather burn the place down, and I really wish that was more metaphorical. [And honestly, the MAGAs know all this, which is why the threats to actually remove him are probably all smoke. If he calls their bluff, there's only so many times they get to play the vacation card before their leverage evaporates in a coalition government.]

In any event, the reality is that a shutdown is bad for everyone, and by current polling, Trump can afford it more than Biden can. Unless something changes, the House is going to do nothing but make noise for the next 11 months, and the best way to curtail that is to put a lid on stunt's like Mace's this morning by getting the House back to regular business and order. It needs to not be in the news. For the rabid GOP base, a fractured GOP majority fighting amongst itself over the Speakership, screaming expletives and fist-fighting on the chamber floor? still better than a GOP that negotiates with the enemy. That leads me to think that the smart move is to get them to do just that: Johnson's already given up on holding the line, so in for a penny. It's worth keeping the Christofascist in the big chair if it means the bullshit impeachment hearings disappear because, say, for example, Jordan lost his committee assignments.

Is this a pipe dream? Sure. But I'm no professional strategist. The point is, this seems like an opportunity for the Democrats to get more out of the House than just setting some more records in Speaker Replacement Shenanigans III. Don't just let them eat each other. Eat them yourselves, you cowards.