The speaker does not have to be a member of Congress. The constitution does not require it.
So, we go find some figurehead that everyone loves, maybe a medal of honor recipient, astronaut, civil rights pioneer, 9/11 firefighter… Somebody without a political agenda. And instead of letting the Republicans flail until they can finally figure out how to consolidate power within their party, Democrats nominate a truly admirable outsider, and invite the Republicans to reject them.
Repeat every day with a new candidate until we have a speaker. And whoever they do eventually approve, Democrats can spend the rest of the term comparing them to the string of laudable candidates rejected by Republicans.
Technically, Nixon was first, Agnew was second, so in a sense, Ford could have been considered number 3. If we ever did get to a true #3, it would be a very comparable to Ford’s presidency.
The speaker does not have to be a member of Congress. The constitution does not require it.
So, we go find some figurehead that everyone loves, maybe a medal of honor recipient, astronaut, civil rights pioneer, 9/11 firefighter… Somebody without a political agenda. And instead of letting the Republicans flail until they can finally figure out how to consolidate power within their party, Democrats nominate a truly admirable outsider, and invite the Republicans to reject them.
Repeat every day with a new candidate until we have a speaker. And whoever they do eventually approve, Democrats can spend the rest of the term comparing them to the string of laudable candidates rejected by Republicans.
There’s a lot of work being speaker. Not only do you need to know the rules of the House and align subcommittees, you control what goes to the floor.
The majority and minority leader can handle the overwhelming majority of that work. The speaker role could be as a mediator between the two of them.
The troublesome part is that the speaker is third in the line of succession.
Have we ever got to number 3? Not really worth worrying about…
Technically, Nixon was first, Agnew was second, so in a sense, Ford could have been considered number 3. If we ever did get to a true #3, it would be a very comparable to Ford’s presidency.