Jan 11, 2023
The multiple voting rounds for a new speaker in the House of Representatives brought back memories of the 1868 nursery rhyme "Ten Little Indians." While the rhyme was written to teach children to count backwards starting from 10, in the House vote for a new speaker the starting number was 20 - the 20 Republican holdouts denying candidate Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., an early victory. The rhyme explains the reduction, one-by-one, of members of a group of 10 Indians - a similar fate that eventually befell the 20 holdouts as each round progressed. It would take 15 rounds before McCarthy won on a vote that stretched into the early morning hours of Saturday, Jan 7. Just like law enforcement investigators conduct lengthy interrogations of criminal suspects using confinement and pressure to wear them down, the same combination worked with most of the 20 who, one-by-one, broke away to support McCarthy. Advertisement - story continues below A brief explanation is in order for those