There May Be a New Speaker No Matter Who Wins the House

An insurrection is brewing:

Even if Democrats retain a slim majority in the House this November, Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have an insurrection on her hands from moderate Democrats looking for a change in leadership.

Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., who two weeks ago threw a colossal insult at his party by joining Republicans in a pledge to repeal the health care law, stepped out of line again over the weekend by telling a pair of Capitol Hill newspapers he wants someone other than Pelosi leading the chamber -- specifically pro-defense Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo.

Taylor's comments add an element of chaos into the mix. Worst-case scenario for Democrats would be that defectors like Taylor, who would almost certainly struggle to mount an effective mutiny inside the caucus, could torpedo the speaker vote in the full chamber and hand the post to Minority Leader John Boehner.

Nothing in the U.S. Constitution requires members to vote for one of the two parties' nominees -- perhaps no Democrat would dare vote for Boehner -- but enough votes for a de facto write-in candidate could act as a Pelosi spoiler if Democrats hold a slim majority.

This whole discussion is probably academic because I think the GOP will likely gain the 39 seats necessary to take control. If they do, what happens then?

We know that John Boehner will be the GOP nominee for Speaker, but who will the Dems nominate to be the symbolic loser? If Pelosi stays in Congress (and that's not a sure thing since former Speakers tend to resign rather than stay as a member of the minority) someone will likely nominate her, but I wouldn't be surprised to see another Democrat like Skelton get a nod as well. That would be a warning to the liberals that they lost power and they're not going to call the shots in the future.