Merry Christmas from Santa Paws! https://www.amazon.com/Night-Before-Christmas-Stephen-Richardson/dp/1736456504?fbclid=IwAR2sySwOh-YgKOR5Jl52oRgt9vJ5J8iDqjqMZxEdQnL5378Wvg0tCCqVzUo

The conclusion of this is very sad.

This is what I was thinking.

Snip>

Even in theory, it's a potential midterm mobilizer
Unless and until Trump himself totally shuts down all this chatter, Trump as a potential speaker is becoming a political issue. Republicans in Make America Great Again districts love it, Republicans in swing districts don't and it's something that could help Democrats mobilize their base.

"The idea for some that Donald Trump could become the speaker of the House is almost as frightening as the idea of him becoming president again," said Democratic strategist Karen Finney. "That will potentially advantage Democrats — again, just the fear of it, just the very thought of it."

Democrats would want to force every Republican House candidate to answer the question: If Trump wants the job, would they vote for him?

Saying no would anger their MAGA base, but saying yes would risk turning off swing voters who are exhausted with the former president. They'd be stuck, which is appealing to Democrats.

"I think it's totally fair game," said Democratic strategist Doug Thornell. "Look, like Republicans do this to Democrats all the time. To our front-liners, they say, 'Well, would you vote for Nancy Pelosi?' For Republican members, yeah, they should absolutely be on the record on ... would they vote for Trump as speaker."

"If we lose this election, it'll be because the election's not about Joe Biden but about Donald Trump," he said. "I know that Trump believes that everything good happens when the people talk about him. But actually, in this midterm election, for Republicans to be successful they need to kind of keep the focus on Joe Biden's failures, not Donald Trump's speakership."

Trump himself will have a lot of control over how that plays out because he continues to sway what many Republicans are talking about.

More: https://www.npr.org/2021/10/16/1045991224/just-the-idea-of-house-speaker-trump-could-be-a-dream-or-nightmare-for-each-part

for the midterms? Dear God would that get me out to vote even if my life depended on it.