High drama prevails in Washington DC this week, where GOP Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has narrowly lost thirteen votes for the Speakership, beating a record that went back to before the Civil War. Speaking of civil war, members of the Freedom Caucus, most vocally Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert, are in open rebellion against McCarthy's leadership. With the house narrowly divided, McCarthy can only afford five defections from his party, and as we go to press, he is still a half dozen votes short. For him, that's good news - earlier votes saw as many as 20 Republicans refusing to support him. What happens now?

We're joined today by Carl Cannon, the Washington Editor of RealClearPolitics and former executive editor of PoliticsDaily.com, DC Bureau chief for Reader's Digest and White House correspondent for both the Baltimore Sun and National Journal. And, handy for us Californians, a former California newsie and longtime contributor to California Journal.

Carl knows DC and California politics inside and out and gives us his view of what to expect and what to watch as this historic Speakership battle unfolds.

:51 why can't McCarthy put a majority together?

3:18 if McCarthy offers too much to the renegades, will he lose the moderates?

6:07 The danger for Democrats

8:32 McCarthy's strengths

10:59 "Rookie of the year"

14:42 The path forward

16:59 A Unity Speaker?

20:55 Can we take a lesson from the British model?

23:59 WWCA

24:35 McCarthy's prior run for Speaker

26:35 Where is Gaylord Parkinson when you need him?

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