By T.N. Ashok
Washington, Jan 4 (IANS): A battle royale has ensued for the speakership of the House of Representatives as the Republican dominated new lower house meets with Kevin McCarthy battling his way in a suspense thriller equivalent to the popular TV serial House of Cards.
The cards could come crumbling down on McCarthy if a section of the Republicans double down on him and vote with democrats as he needs 218 republicans to vote together to win the speakership he has been eyeing for years.
Daily Caller, a right wing daily reported that Nebraska Governor Don Bacon has said in an oped that he was willing to work with democrats if five GOP rebels, who don't want the Californian to become speaker, refuse to budge on their stand, media reports said.
"I support Kevin McCarthy, but a small handful of people are holding us hostage," Bacon said in his opinion piece in the daily adding, "The vast majority of the conference knows we can't cave in to the few when the demands are unreasonable. The immediate gridlock by this handful threatens the entire GOP, the House and will delay the operations of the 118th Congress."
Bacon said that the rebels' demands include passing a rule allowing any single member to call for a vote of no confidence in the Speaker.
Bacon, a "retired brigadier general who served nearly 30 years in the Air Force", said "I know how important it is to rally the team behind a common goal. Teams can't make perfection the enemy of good.
Bacon, it may be recalled, won his reelection in 2020 in a district that Joe Biden carried. He felt that McCarthy had the support of the GOP conference irrespective of his failings. "When Conference voted, 85 per cent stood beside McCarthy and declared they wanted him as the next Speaker. Now that number stands around 95 per cent," he claimed.
The Nebraska governor said his statements had been made that he would work with moderate Democrats to elect a more moderate Speaker. "But my actual words were that if the five rebels refused to coalesce around what the vast majority of the conference wants, I'm willing to work across the aisle to find an agreeable Republican."
"We cannot be held captive by a small number and run the risk of delaying the formation of committees and working on the agenda we promised Americans this past November," he was quoted by the Mediaite as saying.
The five GOP members Bacon pointed to are Reps. Andy Biggs, Bob Good, Matt Rosendale, Ralph Norman, and Matt Gaetz.
"We should not set a bad precedent and allow a few people to undercut the entire team of 222 members. Further, of the 16 new Republicans elected, 13 are affiliated with the Mainstreet GOP. It was the governing conservatives who got us the majority," Bacon maintained.
"The real complaint here should be with the small faction who refuse to work with the rest of the conference. They are putting our majority in the House at risk," Bacon warned.
As McCarthy needs 218 votes to win the speakership, "if the rebels won't be a part of the 218 then we can find other ways to get to that number to fulfil the need to govern," media reports quoted him as saying.