happening behind the scenes?
The Conservatives pretty much have McCarthy by the short hairs of the neck, here.They are OK if we go on without a Speaker (though that would be far from ideal). McCarthy is the one squirming!
And the truth is, it may well be better to have a Speaker on a short leash with his arm twisted up behind his back (and the constant threat of vacating the chair motions) than a more popular person who assumes he or she can get away with things. (<cough>PaulRyan<cough>)
But I will say, if McCarthy wants to win he better wrap this thing up fast. Because the longer this goes on, the less inevitable and invincible he looks. And THAT leads to more defections.
This story is moving so fast that many of my posts may be behind the times as soon as they hit. Ugh!