When it was initially announced that Speaker John Boehner was resigning and that there was gonna be a new speaker in congress, many politicians and scholars alike expected Kevin McCarthy to be the very next person in line to fill the empty position. However McCarthy resigned from the race because of what some speculate as a threat he received from a conservative activist, but McCarthy explained that it was because he wanted to see a speaker elected that was supported by the entire GOP, which McCarthy believed would not happened if he ran. Kevin McCarthy did not want the speakership to go to ANYONE he believed wouldn't be able to united the party, and eventually he came to the determination that wouldn't be himself either.
For almost a month the speculation of who the new Speaker would be bounced between several different names, but the name that was most popular during that month was Paul Ryan's. Even Paul Ryan himself had initially stated that he didn't want to take the job as Speaker because he wanted to be able to spend more time with his family. Eventually though, Ryan said he would think about taking the position, and not too much later, he was actually elected as Speaker of the House. What factors may have changed Ryan's mind? Kevin McCarthy had stated for the media that he was ecstatic with Ryan's election, and noted that if he hadn't stepped away from the race and let Paul Ryan become the new favorite, that he very well may have been elected but only after multiple ballots, and divided votes from within the party. McCarthy had been stressing party unity the entire duration of the race, so perhaps he and other powerful members of the GOP were able to convince Paul Ryan to enter the race and take the position. It's certainly not an improbability since Ryan had initially stated he'd rather not enter the race, but then ultimately did and was elected. Perhaps with more party support for newly elected Speaker Ryan, the GOP will be able to stifle the inner party conflicts and have more success in congress.
http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-decision/?dcz=
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/us/politics/house-speaker-vote.html?_r=0
1 comment:
After the foolish Benghazi comment McCarthy made, his chances of winning the Speakership plummeted and he resigned from the race as a result. And while the media spotlight was taken off of him after him resigning, his position as Majority Leader kept him relevant in the race though through endorsing who he believed would make a great next Speaker of the House. His role in getting Paul Ryan elected is definitely an interesting concept to investigate and I would definitely argue that his endorsement did matter in the role of electing Ryan as Speaker.
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