What's the fuss? Speaker of the House election showed democracy in action | Opinion
Does history repeat itself? Consider our U.S. House of Representatives. Listening to pundits and political commentators, one could conclude that the House’s efforts to choose its new leader, amid several unsuccessful attempts, represented an unprecedented period of chaos and disarray — that such disorder among elected representatives has never occurred before.
But while the time it took for our House to choose a new Speaker may seem lengthy, it does not set the record. That record belongs to the 34th Congress, when, between December of 1855 and February of 1856, House members chose a Speaker after 133 rounds of voting and more than 20 members sought the Office.
Politics is a contest for power, and at moments in our nation’s history, power has shifted or changed hands in the Speakership in less-than-expected ways. The end of the control exerted by Speaker Joseph Cannon in the early 1900’s was one such moment. Cannon was a Republican who would set his own record as the House’s longest serving member, with 23 terms. As Speaker, his reputation was that of a “czar.” He routinely prevented the legislation of disfavored members from advancing by keeping it off the House agenda. The Speakership, as we know, is highly influential, and one of the powers the Speaker exercised at that time was to chair the powerful Rules Committee. The Rules Committee is the committee that sends — or does not send — most legislation to the House floor for a vote.
On St. Patrick’s Day in 1910, one particularly frustrated member, Progressive Republican George Norris, worked with Democrats to introduce a resolution reducing the power of the Speaker, including his control over the Rules Committee. While Speaker Cannon retained his office — because the Republican Majority did not want to risk a Democrat Speaker — Cannon lost his position as the Rules Chair, loosening his tight grip on the chamber. (But, fun fact: the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C., still bears his name.)
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The office of Speaker is mandated by our U.S. Constitution, which states that “The House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker and other Officers.” Fifty-six members have served as Speaker since 1789, and, while House members serve two-year terms, the average tenure as Speaker has been only barely more: 4.3 years. Members of Congress are not subject to term limits (to change this would require a constitutional amendment), and one can only speculate how term limits may impact any race for the Speakership. Nancy Pelosi, for instance, has been a member of Congress for 36 years and served as Speaker twice.
Does history repeat itself, or is politics simply full of surprises? Closer to home, Floridians witnessed our own period of uncertainty relating to a House Speaker about 11 years ago. We had a Florida House member, at the state level, who was designated as the next Speaker, but never assumed the office. The Speaker-designate surprisingly lost his re-election in November 2012. To fill the void, the Republican caucus rallied around Representative Steve Crisafulli of Brevard County. Crisafulli served as our Speaker in the Florida House of Representatives from 2014 until 2016.
In our elected legislative bodies, national and state, there are processes in place to account for shifts in power and leadership among members. While the recent events in Washington, D.C., are historic—the motion to vacate that led to the vacancy in the Speakership was the first such motion to succeed in our history—this is precisely why rules and motions in the House exist. Whether it is to reduce the power of the Speaker, as in Speaker Cannon’s case, or to remove a member from the position, the process unfolded as it was designed to.
Recognizing that power in government tends to accumulate and grow, we would not desire any Speaker to be so powerful as to make removal impossible. Our democratic system was not designed to secure any officeholder from challenge. In selecting a Speaker, our elected representatives engaged in a fundamentally democratic process. Of course, as our own experience teaches us, democracy can be messy and often appears disorderly. But the House’s selection of a Speaker, like the voters’ selection of their elected representatives, allowed all voices to be heard and a new leader to be chosen through a campaign of debate and dialogue and, eventually, consensus. Meanwhile, the elected members who engaged in that process remain accountable to the people whom they represent. What some saw as chaos and disorder might in fact have represented the best of our democratic traditions in action.
Nicole James teaches political science at Eastern Florida State College.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: longest span without a speaker belongs to the 34th Congress in 1855
