Kevin McCarthy looked like a shoo-in for the intra-party Speakership vote today. Except for when he didn’t. You see, there’s been a significant implosion on the Hill this morning, one that many pundits of all stripes across the nation did not see coming: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced this morning that he is not the person to lead the House, removing his name from the wading pool of potentials. (I couldn’t agree more!) He had this to say following his announcement:

You may recall the epic faux pas McCarthy uttered on Hannity last week as he struggled to come up with SOMETHING the House leadership has successfully done this session after being handed both houses of Congress last November:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8KYu-3o9D8

And despite trying to walk those comments back to the barn, he failed to make a case to justify that painful exchange. And that, my friends, is what a self-inflicted implosion looks like.

So what are the possibilities going forward?

• Another establishment squish will step in. (The name Scalise comes to mind…)
• Boehner stays put until after the 2016 election.
• A more acceptable alternative will emerge that will unite all the diverse factions of the Republican wing.
• A completely new face will step forward, one we’ve never even considered.

Kevin McCarthy drops out of House speaker race (CNN) http://t.co/ELFK0Snjrg http://t.co/Y894eTAuVF

— memeorandum (@memeorandum) October 8, 2015

Rich Galen, Publisher of Mullings.com, had this to say in response to McCarthy’s decision:

Here's what the McCarthy decision means: House Republicans are better at, and should resign themselves to, being the permanent minority.

— Rich Galen (@richgalen) October 8, 2015

Sorry, Mr. Galen, this Victory Girl respectfully disagrees. And the intense support for a handful of outsider candidates this election cycle proves the Republican voters are fed up with the status quo and broken promises.

Things will get very interesting in the next few days. But I will say this: True Republicans with a capital “T,” including the growing ranks of the Freedom Caucus in the House, with the unintentional help of a boneheaded Kevin McCarthy, have won this round. McCarthy is out of the running for the Speakership, and a real possibility for a whole new team has become a reality.

“After Leader McCarthy’s announcement, members of the House Republican Conference will not vote today for a new Speaker.  As I have said previously, I will serve as Speaker until the House votes to elect a new Speaker.  We will announce the date for this election at a later date, and I’m confident we will elect a new Speaker in the coming weeks.  Our conference will work together to ensure we have the strongest team possible as we continue to focus on the American people’s priorities.”