UPDATE: I recorded this Tuesday night, and so of course, it's slightly out of date. Since recording Republicans selected Mike Johnson of Louisiana to put forward as their Speaker candidate. In case you were wondering, he's all-in on the stolen election narrative, so while I'm sure he'll have Trump's support, he probably can't get what the press keeps calling "moderate" Republican votes (I guess "moderate" meaning "non-stolen-election-narrative-pedaling").

The House of Representatives has been turned into the most boring of reality competition shows. After ousting Kevin McCarthy a few weeks ago, Republicans have now put forth four different candidates for Speaker of the House, none of whom have managed to be able to get the necessary 217 votes to become Speaker. Trumpy congressmen like Jim Jordan couldn't get the moderates on board (it probably didn't help that the GOP is so keen to use violence and intimidation as their form of pursuasion, sending death threats to holdhouts' families), and a candidate like Tom Emmer was immediately torpedoed for his refusal to not certify the 2020 election.

Some think we may be seeing the Republican party fracture in real-time. I'm not sure if that's happening or not, but I certainly don't see any way Republicans, with only a 4 seat majority, are going to manage to choose a new speaker who satisfies all parts of the party. And it couldn't come at a worse time as congress has a budget and a couple of proxy wars to fund.

00:00 - Start
00:56 - A brief history - What does the Speaker of the House do?
02:53 - The process - How is the Speaker of the House elected?
05:11 - Upside down congress - How is the Speaker job different now than in the past?
06:57 - "How to salvage congress" excerpt from Rep Mike Gallagher's Atlantic article
13:53 - The Republican speaker problems aren't new
17:33 - Poor Kevin - The rise and fall of Kevin McCarthy
26:07 - Who's next - How do Republicans choose their new Speaker?
27:24 - Trump is the wedge dividing the Republican party
32:39 - Where is the race for Speaker of the House at now (or at least where was it Tuesday night at 8pm CT)?
39:20 - Are we possibly seeing a break up of the Republican party?

Links:
- How To Salvage Congress - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/gallagher-congress/575689/