Today is the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection. On that day a group of right wing extremists breached the U.S. Capitol, declaring, "this is OUR house." They ransacked the place and attempted to hunt down Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with the intention of staging a coup d'état. Two years later we are witnessing another group of right wing extremists attempting a takeover. This time, they're staging an insurrection against their own party by refusing to allow a new speaker to be elected unless their demands are met. And unlike two years ago, they're going to be successful.
Yesterday, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy endured a third straight day of ritual humiliation as his party was unable to get the 218 votes needed to grant him the Speakership after 11 rounds of voting. This is the first time since 1859, on the cusp of the Civil War, that the process has taken this many votes. As Congressman-elect Jeff Jackson, D-N.C., quipped when it went to the 10th ballot, "the last time it took this many ballots to elect a Speaker, Davy Crockett had a vote."
