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[smjjames]

Bohener is resigning from congress at the end of October all of a sudden. I wonder why though? Seems like a 'bleep this, I'm done' kind of thing.

[nenjin]

There's a group of Republicans, I think they might be the Tea Party lobby, that have wanted him gone for a long time. Apparently he was too moderate.

[FearfulJesuit]

Holy shit.

Well, I can't exactly say I blame him...after five years of herding 434 other (wo)manchildren, I'd have had enough too.

[Playergamer]

i really love americans.

all the democrats are literally hating on boehner, as in, they hate him.

so are all the conservatives.

i mean goddamn, why cant any of you agree to disagree.

[RedKing]

Boehner is also a Catholic, and was instrumental in getting the Pope to speak to Congress. They apparently had a private meeting, and some Boehner aides are indicating that the decision was made after that meeting.

On the one hand, you could allege Papal influence in domestic politics. On the other, you could imagine Il Papa saying, "Look at the people you're leading, and think how their actions and values correspond with the message of Christ."

I'm looking forward to hearing about this episode when Boehner publishes his memoirs in the future. I hope it titles it Fuck All Y'all, I'm Out: Being In Charge Of The Insane Asylum.

Now...will the GOP establishment be able to get one of theirs into the speakership, or will the unhinged wing get a real firebreather installed? The establishment candidate looks to be Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), no clear idea yet who the Tea Party candidates might be.

One possibility is Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), a member of the Tea Party caucus, but his tenure as whip has been pretty poor. The Whip's job is to enforce party discipline and "whip" dissenting or reluctant members into voting with the party, and the GOP has had a big problem with insurgent Republicans sinking legislation that the House leadership wants passed. On the other hand, that could be a point in his favor to those insurgents if they think he's deliberately been helping them.

Some other possibilities, off the top of my head:
Tom McClintock (CA)
Steve King (IA)
Jim Jordan (OH)
Louie Gohmert (TX)
Pete Sessions (TX)

If I had to pick three, I'd say Jordan, Gohmert, and Scalise as they've all actually tried to oust Boehner at points in the past.

EDIT: the more I think about it, Gohmert is a poster boy for the unhinged wing. He's probably too incendiary to win the post, but they'll probably try. If he wins the Speakership, its a sign of just how far gone the House is.

[FearfulJesuit]

In July 2015, Gohmert delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress in which called upon the Democratic Party to disband due to its historical support of slavery and racism.[21][22]

Well. I don't really have much to say...

[smjjames]

Gohmert also has that thing where he supported the trans-Alaskan pipeline as a way for caribou to have sex, lolwut. He's also an NRA wonk :p

There's also Scalise who apparently met with a white supremacist group, take that as you will I guess.

If Gohmert got the position, it would also show how far gone the Republican Party is.

[RedKing]

He's also floated this idea of "terrorist babies", basically taking the anchor baby rhetoric and wedding it to the idea of Islamist sleeper agents, and claiming that groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS are sending young pregnant Arab women to the US to give birth, then taking the baby back to their home country to train them as terrorists. The thinking goes that with their US citizenship, these children would be able to bypass security measures in say, 15-20 years' time. Because no US citizens go through security checks in the US, especially those of Arab ethnicity. 

Dude is bonafide crazypants. Which makes him an ideal candidate.

[smjjames]

There's another potential worry though, the fact that we are going to hit the borrowing limit and be in danger of a default in December. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/john-boehner-resigns-wall-street-react-214070

While nobody has challenged McCarthy for the speaker position yet, there's plenty of conservatives vying for majority whip. Since McCarthy is allied with the Tea Party, I bet the far right people will start clamoring louder to just go for default.

I wonder if there will be a question in the debate asking about willing to go default.

Edit: silly spellcheck.

[RedKing]

Wait, McCarthy's a Teabagger? Oy...and he's the "establishment" choice too.

[smjjames]

Well, he worked with the Tea Party campaigns in 2010.....

[Zangi]

So did the establishment get taken over by aliums? finally decided to collectively chug the kool aid?

[Loud Whispers]

He's also floated this idea of "terrorist babies", basically taking the anchor baby rhetoric and wedding it to the idea of Islamist sleeper agents, and claiming that groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS are sending young pregnant Arab women to the US to give birth, then taking the baby back to their home country to train them as terrorists. The thinking goes that with their US citizenship, these children would be able to bypass security measures in say, 15-20 years' time. Because no US citizens go through security checks in the US, especially those of Arab ethnicity. 
Dude is bonafide crazypants. Which makes him an ideal candidate.

Don't you need to have medical approval if you are in late stage pregnancy before even getting on a flight? Unless I'm wrong, only premature births would slip pass already existing security controls

[Reelya]

In July 2015, Gohmert delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress in which called upon the Democratic Party to disband due to its historical support of slavery and racism.[21][22]

Well. I don't really have much to say...

It was especially ironic, as he launched that argument as a way of deflecting attacks on the confederate flag...

So the Democrats should disband because of their historic links to the Confederacy, but hands off my Confederate flag!

[Powder Miner]

I... don't know who any of those speaker possibilities are. Not a single one.