--- title: >- Chaotic speaker vote two years after attempted coup in oil-rich North American country date: 2023-01-08 01:18:20 modified: 2023-01-08 01:18:20 lang: en authors: rysiek tags: - politics - media - satire status: published pinned: false --- This week in the United States of America, a former British colony on the North American continent, long-brewing political and social problems culminated in a messy speaker election in the lower chamber of the bicameral national parliament. The Republican party, by far the more conservative of the two major parties in what effectively is a two-party political oligopoly, gained narrow majority in the chamber in November elections, but was unable to effectively execute on its new-found power. A small far-right splinter group within the party blocked the election of the speaker — a procedural position that has gradually become heavily politicized — demanding political favors in return for their votes. This resulted in four days of heated and often chaotic proceedings, at one point [devolving into a brawl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp9XYnoEAMA). The Speaker of the House, as the post is officially called, [has finally been elected](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/mccarthy-elected-house-speaker-after-chaotic-votes-in-late-night-session) on the fifteenth try, the [largest number since before the country's bloody civil war](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker-multiple-ballots-history/). Last time election of the speaker — which is largely a formality — required more than one ballot was in 1923. To placate the hold-outs, the now-newly elected speaker had to first agree to a long list of concessions, potentially going as far as giving the far-right hardliner minority [control over which legislative proposals are even put up for a vote](https://time.com/6244990/mccarthy-concessions-transform-house/). This raises the possibility of a government shut-down due to running out of funds later this year; [government shut-downs have become more frequent recently](https://www.thebalancemoney.com/government-shutdown-3305683) in the heavily politically polarized North American nation. There are also concerns that the country [might default on its debt](https://steveschmidt.substack.com/p/a-tragic-week-for-america), bringing more political and economic instability to the region. The troubled vote comes exactly two years after a [violent coup attempt](https://www.newsweek.com/january-6-attempted-coup-was-dark-day-american-history-opinion-1667052), supported by then-President, who [refused to accept defeat in his bid for re-election](https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-election-trump-strategy-idUKKBN27Z30Q). Armed militia storming the building where the legislative branch of the country's government deliberates — United States Capitol — tried to stop the formal certification of the election's result. The crisis was enabled partially by an [outdated electoral system](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/american-system-broken/616991/) that often [relies heavily on norms and custom in place of strict regulations](https://www.vox.com/2016/6/7/11872834/donald-trump-norms). Members of both chambers of the legislative branch, as well as then-Vice President of the country, had to be evacuated from the building. The attack resulted in several deaths. Certain right-wing political figures, aligned with the former President, who had voiced their strong support for the armed insurgency perpetrating the coup and defended the organization ([designated as "terrorist" in some countries](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-zealand-designates-proud-boys-terrorist-organization-rcna36064)) involved in organizing it have now been sworn-in as elected members of the lower legislative chamber, House of Representatives. They formed the core of the splinter group, leader of which [had been accused](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/us/politics/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-investigation.html) of being involved in child sex trafficking and prostitution of minors. The former President, who strives to maintain a strongman persona, is named in a number of investigations and criminal cases, ranging from tax evasion to stealing classified documents to inciting the coup attempt. He had also [drawn accusations of nepotism](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/12/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-are-case-study-why-nepotism-is-problematic/) after having appointed his daughter and son-in-law to important positions in his administration, and was embroiled in scandals involving, among others, [paying off a porn star over an alleged affair](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/12/trump-affair-adult-film-star-stormy-daniels). The oil-rich North American country is struggling with high rate of gun violence (among the 20 most heavily affected countries in the world, [according to a 2016 ranking](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/theres-a-new-global-ranking-of-gun-deaths-heres-where-the-u-s-stands)), [high cost of and difficult access to healthcare](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/07/americans-healthcare-medical-costs), lowest [adult literacy rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_literacy_rate#List_of_UN_member_and_observer_states_by_adult_literacy_rate) in the region, and [one of the highest incarceration rates in the world](https://icetonline.com/incarceration-rates-by-country/). These issues disproportionately affect communities of people of color, in no small part due to country's economy having relied heavily on slavery in the past. ---- *This post is inspired by Joshua Keating's ["If It Happened There" column in Slate](https://slate.com/tag/if-it-happened-there), which I found to be as hilarious as it is illuminating. I can only wish someone would continue this kind of lighthearted yet much-needed work*.