(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: The once and not future speaker [1] [] Date: 2023-10-04 "The House GOP is a mess right now—a complete and utter mess. Don’t count on them to rally around anyone anytime soon." ~ Punchbowl x The Speaker of the House is chosen by the Majority Party. In this Congress, it is the responsibility of House Republicans to choose a nominee & elect the Speaker on the Floor. At this time there is no justification for a departure from this tradition. The House will be in order. — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) October 3, 2023 Nancy Pelosi is the definition of gravitas. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was a very effective leader in his first real test. And Kevin McCarthy’s promises to everyone finally caught up with him when the bill came due. New York Times: McCarthy’s Extraordinary Downfall Reflects an Ungovernable G.O.P. The glib Californian made many promises and paid a price when he was unable to fulfill them. But his demise also reflected the challenge of wielding a Republican majority that refuses to be governed. In between, the gregarious Californian, previously known more as a backslapper and prolific fund-raiser than a legislative wizard, narrowly pulled the country back from the brink of crisis — twice. But he took many other actions, and said many things, that antagonized hard-line Republicans, Democrats and the White House. When the critical moment came, no one was willing to race to his rescue. And he failed to master the art of corralling a deeply divided Republican majority that could never quite bring itself to rally behind him when it came time to choose normalcy over chaos. With the G.O.P. base increasingly hungry for insurgency and confrontation, Mr. McCarthy found himself out of step, a problem that is likely to plague any candidate who tries to succeed him. This is a fine write-up, but we sorely need the Beltway folks to write this way about Kevin McCarthy and the GOP every day and not just on extraordinary days. x Reaction to McCarthy’s ousting from @SenatorRomney: “One thing it shows us is that President Trump abandoned Kevin McCarthy. He didn’t come to his support. Had he come down hard, I presume Congressman Gaetz and others would have would have followed suit.” — Alex J. Rouhandeh (@AlexRouhandeh) October 3, 2023 Politico: McHenry named as acting speaker The North Carolina Republican was hand-picked by Kevin McCarthy, put on a list back when the Californian was elected speaker in January. Rep. Patrick McHenry is now the acting speaker, the House Clerk announced after Kevin McCarthy was stripped of the gavel in a historic House vote. The speaker pro tempore is imbued with all the powers of an elected speaker of the House. McCarthy hand-picked McHenry (R-N.C.) for this role when he was elected speaker in January. The pro tempore is kept as a secret, held by the clerk of the House, until a speaker is removed or incapacitated, a process designed after Sept. 11, 2001, to ensure continuity of government. However, as acting speaker, he is not in the line of succession. After Vice President Kamala Harris, it’s Patty Murray (Senate president pro tempore). x Remember, Nancy Pelosi had an identically small House majority over the last two years and this stuff didn’t happen. This is not a “both sides” phenomenon; the two parties are not mirror images of each other. — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 3, 2023 What happens now? Unclear. Meanwhile ... Matt Glassman on X/Twitter via Threadreader App: Quick bare-bones Motion to Vacate procedural explainer A motion to vacate the Office of the Speaker would be brought in the form of a resolution. If the resolution was introduced in the normal manner, it would simply be referred to the Committee on Rules, as H.Res.395 was when Meadows introduced it in 2015. If the resolution was offered from the floor as a Question of Privilege, it would be eligible for immediate consideration. Indeed, a Question of Privilege is one of the few ways an individual Member can unilaterally bring something to the floor. Daniel Nichanian/Bolts: The Five States Where Trifectas Are At Play in November Parties are battling over governorships and legislatures in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia, with the future of abortion and voting rights in the balance. Most of these elections are playing out in the South, where Republicans could secure three more trifectas than they currently have—that is, control of the governorship and both chambers of their state legislature. The biggest and most suspenseful battle is taking place in Virginia. Despite Democrats’ gains in the state since the 2000s, the GOP just needs to flip a couple of seats in the state Senate to grab full control of state government. Republicans are also aiming to gain control of Kentucky and Louisiana, in each case by flipping the governor’s mansion. All three states currently have divided governments. In Mississippi, the GOP is defending its existing trifecta. Associated Press with a reminder: Here’s where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House The civil fraud trial that kicked off against Donald Trump this week in a New York courtroom is just one of many legal problems facing the former president as he campaigns for a return to the White House. The judge overseeing the case, Arthur Engoron, resolved the lawsuit’s top claim before the trial even began, ruling that Trump routinely deceived banks, insurers and others by exaggerating the value of assets on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans. Engoron will decide on six remaining claims in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, including allegations of conspiracy, falsifying business records and insurance fraud. Trump is also facing 91 felony counts in four criminal cases in Washington, New York, Florida and Georgia and could potentially be looking at years in prison if convicted. x Agreed. The asymmetrical reality of the GOP's collapse into dysfuction and disinformative theatrics is ignored in favor of an unevidenced claim of overall institutional collapse. It ain't so. https://t.co/4A87pYirWO — David Simon (@AoDespair) October 1, 2023 Aaron Blake/Washington Post: How the right’s elevation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could now backfire Democrats never particularly liked Kennedy, despite what you might have been led to believe. But he’s gone from 14 points underwater (more unfavorable than favorable) with them in mid-June, to 23 points underwater in late June, to 26 points in July, to 31 points in August, and now to 43 points underwater. Lisa Rubin on X/Twitter via Threadreader App: The New York Attorney General’s trial has definitely gotten under Trump’s skin. Yet he was far calmer at his arraignment on 30-plus counts of unlawfully retaining classified documents. Why is he stressing? Part of it is image. Trump’s self concept and public persona alike rest on his King of All Real Estate construct. Although the Attorney General has already exposed how much of it is a fiction, the trial will methodically unspool his legend, witness by email by letter. But it’s more than that. The remedies the AG is seeking — which Trump himself acknowledges constitutes a sort of “corporate death penalty” — are the only ones he can’t campaign away. If restored to the presidency, he can pardon himself for his alleged federal crimes. He can also arguably force the Manhattan and Fulton County DAs, who might not be able to try their cases against him before the election, to stop on the ground that prosecuting a sitting president is constitutionally verboten. But the only way out of Tish James’s civil suit is through (and then appeals). And before then, the court could impose serious penalties: bars on acquiring NY real property, borrowing from any NY-registered lender, or serving as an officer or director of any NY company. 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