Tuesday open thread: Oh, Steve.

Well.

Today, Kevin "Steve" McCarthy was supposed to saunter in with the required votes to be Speaker of the House. I mean, after all, the GOP have the majority. It should be a mere bagatelle. Never in this country's history has someone with a House majority failed to be elected Speaker.

But, of course, we're talking about Kevin "Steve" McCarthy. Hated by a good chunk of his caucus. Such a cypher that Donald Trump couldn't get his name right. Such a man with no principles that no one knows just what he thinks.

He's mortgaged himself to the likes of Marjorie Taylor-Greene, and it's not enough. Why? Because those of her ilk don't actually think he will follow through on his promises. McCarthy simply wants the Speakership because he sees it as his due. He wants the office the same way Trump wanted the presidency: as a prize, a bauble to cap off his life. He doesn't plan to do anything of note with the office. He's already promised two years of fuckery and uselessness, leading to Democrats retaking the House in 2024. And the GOP is so pathetic that it couldn't take the Senate, making anything McCarthy does moot.

But how awful it must be to be him. Knowing that you have 10% to 20% of your caucus actively hate you, and the rest voting for you only because no one else is even close to being acceptable. Democrats voted for Nancy Pelosi. She was a once-in-a-generation leader, a transformative politician. Even in the minority she wielded influence and power. While McCarthy was in the minority he performed pathetic antics which merely got him ridiculed.

Will "a" Republican be elected Speaker? I wouldn't even hazard a guess. Because by all rights McCarthy should be getting comfortable in the Speaker's office. Oh, yes: he also moved into the office yesterday, without even knowing if he had the votes for it. It will be such schadenfreude if he has to move all his crap out again that I might die, and Trevor will have to take over the reins.

I make no prediction one way or the other. But McCarthy is the weakest GOP leader in recent memory. He is no Mitch McConnell. No one fears him. So it's quite possible that he doesn't get elected Speaker. And if he doesn't? And no other acceptable Republican emerges? The mind boggles.

Incoming Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is in the catbird's seat. He may very well wind up with the Speakership by default. What a delicious turn of events that would be.

Here are the brass tacks: We shouldn't fear these people. By every piece of historical data, the GOP should have a substantial majority right now. It doesn't. And one of the people on which they count for that slim majority, George Santos, might not even be eligible for the House. That's how disordered that party has become since Trump's ascension. Oh, and for me it's a sure bet that Trump will form his own party, and run candidates for House and Senate, fracturing the conservative vote and handing super majorities to Democrats in 2024. These are not people to fear. They are people on whose necks to place the boot.

So, we'll see what happens today. At the very least, it will be entertaining.

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