Why didn’t Dick Armey become Speaker when Gingrich resigned?

[darklordoftech]

Wasn’t Armey next in line? Where did Livingston and Hastert come from?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Factionalism in the party and him being on the wrong side of them. Livingston was Chairman of an important committee, cannot remember which one. Hastert was also a chairman, but more importantly he was a Tom Delay front man and since Delay was too controversial to lead the caucus, he put his front man in charge.

[Orser67]

Hastert owed his election to support from House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, who basically set up Hastert as, if not an outright puppet, then at least a fairly pliable figurehead. Armey was not particularly popular in the caucus and had pissed off a lot of people with his wavering actions in 1997, when House Republicans had previously tried to remove Gingrich.

Not sure how exactly Livingston entered the picture, but he was the chairman of the appropriations committee, which is generally regarded as one of the most influential committees.

[darklordoftech]

Armey was not particularly popular in the caucus and had pissed off a lot of people with his wavering actions in 1997, when House Republicans had previously tried to remove Gingrich.

Were they pissed off that Armey was pro-Gingrich or that Armey was anti-Gingrich?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Armey was not particularly popular in the caucus and had pissed off a lot of people with his wavering actions in 1997, when House Republicans had previously tried to remove Gingrich.

Were they pissed off that Armey was pro-Gingrich or that Armey was anti-Gingrich?

In 1997, there was a push to overthrow Gingrich and replace him with Bill Paxon, the NY Representative not the actor. The move had the support of a number of the 1994 Revolutionaries, as well some others also. Armey as I recalled sold them out to Gingrich, who promptly squashed this rebellion.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-07-17-9707170216-story.html

[StateBoiler]

Armey was not particularly popular in the caucus and had pissed off a lot of people with his wavering actions in 1997, when House Republicans had previously tried to remove Gingrich.

Were they pissed off that Armey was pro-Gingrich or that Armey was anti-Gingrich?

In 1997, there was a push to overthrow Gingrich and replace him with Bill Paxon, the NY Representative not the actor. The move had the support of a number of the 1994 Revolutionaries, as well some others also. Armey as I recalled sold them out to Gingrich, who promptly squashed this rebellion.

The story Joe Scarborough said in his book was they were going to vote for Armey who was in on the coup, and one of the 8 or 9 required to oust Gingrich said in the last-minute meeting he was backing Paxon. Scarborough said this was horrible timing of this Congressman to bring this up, I forget who, that Armey realized he would not become Speaker, and went to Gingrich.

[darklordoftech]

Armey was not particularly popular in the caucus and had pissed off a lot of people with his wavering actions in 1997, when House Republicans had previously tried to remove Gingrich.

Were they pissed off that Armey was pro-Gingrich or that Armey was anti-Gingrich?

In 1997, there was a push to overthrow Gingrich and replace him with Bill Paxon, the NY Representative not the actor. The move had the support of a number of the 1994 Revolutionaries, as well some others also. Armey as I recalled sold them out to Gingrich, who promptly squashed this rebellion.

The story Joe Scarborough said in his book was they were going to vote for Armey who was in on the coup, and one of the 8 or 9 required to oust Gingrich said in the last-minute meeting he was backing Paxon. Scarborough said this was horrible timing of this Congressman to bring this up, I forget who, that Armey realized he would not become Speaker, and went to Gingrich.

What’s the book you’re citing called?

[StateBoiler]

Armey was not particularly popular in the caucus and had pissed off a lot of people with his wavering actions in 1997, when House Republicans had previously tried to remove Gingrich.

Were they pissed off that Armey was pro-Gingrich or that Armey was anti-Gingrich?

In 1997, there was a push to overthrow Gingrich and replace him with Bill Paxon, the NY Representative not the actor. The move had the support of a number of the 1994 Revolutionaries, as well some others also. Armey as I recalled sold them out to Gingrich, who promptly squashed this rebellion.

The story Joe Scarborough said in his book was they were going to vote for Armey who was in on the coup, and one of the 8 or 9 required to oust Gingrich said in the last-minute meeting he was backing Paxon. Scarborough said this was horrible timing of this Congressman to bring this up, I forget who, that Armey realized he would not become Speaker, and went to Gingrich.

What’s the book you’re citing called?

Scarborough released his first book, Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day: the Real Deal on how Politicians, Bureaucrats, and other Washington Barbarians are Bankrupting America, on October 4, 2005.

There's an excellent story in there where some procedural thing or bill got defeated by some of the freshmen intransigents, and they hold a Republican Caucus where they are being bullied a bit not by the Congressmen but all the people that work for the Congressmen - I think Scarborough called them "Pink Shirt Boys", I no longer have the book and I read it not long after it came out - and then Gingrich has them up front and asks if any of them wish to explain themselves. Steve Largent, former Seattle Seahawks receiver and great player, stands right up and takes the microphone. Largent details how he picketed the NFL strike to play and that he realized from that point on any time he went across the middle a linebacker could try to lay him out and injure him. He said if he wasn't going to be intimidated by a linebacker going over the middle trying to put him in a wheelchair, what made Gingrich think he could intimidate him. Lindsey Graham, then a Congressman and also part of this thing, stands up and says "unlike Steve, I can be intimidated..." to laughter, but then outlines why he voted against the bill. Scarborough says leaving they were being congratulated by the same people that were pseudo-bullying him coming in (the Pink Shirt Boys).