Conservatives Want to Oust John Boehner, But Have No Clue How

It seems like every time the House leadership crosses the right wing of the Republican conference, rank-and-file conservatives respond by contemplating a coup to deny John Boehner the speakership next year.

A few days ago, leaders did an end run around the hardliners to jam a Medicare "doc fix" bill through the House. Now the hardliners are furious. And thanks to Tim Alberta's latest piece for National Journal, we know that they're being more public about a still-marinating plan to oust Boehner in January.

From my own reporting, I can confirm that these conversations are ongoing, and not even particularly hushed. I can also confirm that the rebel faction (such as it is) hasn't found an heir apparent. It's not even clear anyone who could feasibly be an heir apparent would want to participate in the rebellion. That doesn't mean a dedicated group of disaffected conservatives couldn't deny Boehner the speakership. But without a prospective replacement, it's the kind of bluff Boehner could probably call if he wanted to.

If you'd like a detailed explanation of the speakership election, the Congressional Research Service has you covered. The short version is that a speaker-hopeful needs to win a majority of voting members to actually claim the gavel. And given the GOP's fairly narrow margin in the House right now (a margin that will presumably remain narrow after the election) it wouldn't take many dissidents to deny Boehner a majority.

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