Page 16 - Consensus Candidate News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

I want to go back to the question about fred upton. many moderates in the days leading up to yesterday's vote who have been in conversations with scott perry, two of the holdouts, they have been telling them, listen, this is the reality right now. fred upton could be that consensus candidate. maybe democrats could get there to support someone like him. but if you do have a consensus candidate, then the freedom caucus is not going to get anything they want. there will be a new rules package. at the end, they will lose way more if they choose that route and oust mccarthy than just voting for him...

Bail out mccarthy, but they would be willing to talk about a consensus candidate. we'll see. the fact that republicans are even thinking about going that route really speaks volumes. it is a far-fetched idea, and i know one lawmaker, a republican lawmaker who did go up to mccarthy on the floor and float this idea. i talked to another republican who said they're going to give it another week before they try to encourage mccarthy to look at other options here, and all -- this is also coming as i'm learning about one of the demands that one of these critics made of kevin mccarthy monday night. ma...

You, this would be a move that kevin mccarthy would want. it would be tough for him to take a fourth ballot, fail again as the speaker and then the cake is getting baked all along, right? >> this should dash any hopes that democrats are going to bail kevin mccarthy out. they won't let him take a break to find the votes. >> much less vote for a consensus candidate for speaker. >> or vote present or whatever it may be. this is raw politics and they love -- the republicans -- it was supposed to be their day of joy, taking over. and democrats were having the times of their lives on the floor watch...

Elections and they will lose power if they pursue that or the government will get down. i agree with your previous guy, it's not really about kevin mccarthy. it's about the ideas underpinning this debate, and the republicans who are with perry are just so far out of the mainstream of where everyday americans are that whether they elect a speaker here or not, they're going to lose him again because they're on the wrong side of these issues. >> any doubt in your mind that democrats will do anything but keep making it difficult for republicans here? >> i don't think they're the ones making it dif...

That doesn't change the bottom line, however, the house still doesn't have a speaker. it's not clear how or when this open warfare among house republicans may end. back with our team now as we continue to watch the counting of the votes and the roll call. alyssa, what do you see at play? >> so i suspect that the freedom caucus, the right flank blocking kevin mccarthy right now are running a 2015 playbook. i was at the time their comms director and what they were planning to do then, allow it to go to multiple ballots to show paul ryan didn't have the majority and that jim jordan couldn't be sp...