Meet Gene Taylor; he may decide which party controls Congress
Michael Barone — whose political judgments you should take to heart — forecasts a narrow win in the House for Democrats:
My predictions would produce an almost evenly divided House: 219 Democrats, a net gain of 16, and 216 Republicans.
But …
Such a result would raise the question of whether Mississippi Democrat Gene Taylor, who declined to vote for Nancy Pelosi for speaker in this Congress, would do so again, and whether another Democrat might do so — which could produce a Republican majority for speaker.
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| U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-MS |
It takes 218 votes to elect a speaker. If the Democrats end up with exactly that number, Rep. Taylor becomes kingmaker.
A Democrat from Mississippi’s Fourth District, Taylor has a lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union of 68 and an “A” from the National Rifle Association.
Technorati tags: 2006+elections, Democrats, Republicans, Congress
I think it’s more likely that Gene Taylor picks Steny Hoyer (D-MD) as Speaker and forces the Dems to pick him instead of Pelosi. I had some contact with Gene when I worked on the Hill and he doesn’t want to desert his party but he’s no pelosi fan. This would allow him to have his cake and eat it to.
I’m wondering about another scenario. What if Dems win, say, a 5 seat majority. Wouldn’t it be possible for GOP to link up with the most conservative Democrats and elect a compromise choice, like a Democrat like Taylor, over Pelosi for Speaker. This conservative Democrat speaker could then appoint committe chairs based on compromise choices instead of seniority, a mix of Dems and GOP perhaps. Cross party votes for speaker have happened for state legislatures in the past, why not for Congress?
Rob,
That’s a very interesting idea. But in our hyperpartisan environment, I doubt it would ever see the light of day.