Vox Sentences: The conservative coup against John Boehner fails

1. Come at the king, you best not miss

Boehner, post-victory. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

• John Boehner was easily reelected as House Speaker despite vocal dissent by GOP conservatives.

  [Vox / Andrew Prokop]

• 24 House Republicans voted for non-Boehner candidates, half for Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL), a former Florida House speaker.

• Four Democrats cast protest votes against Nancy Pelosi (whom the rest of the caucus backed). The other candidates getting Democratic votes were Colin Powell and Reps. Jim Cooper, John Lewis, and Peter DeFazio.

  [WSJ / Reid Epstein]

• The House Speaker isn't technically required to be a member of the House; Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Rand Paul (R-KY) got protest votes, in addition to Powell.

  [Vox / Andrew Prokop]

• Boehner's life was made easier by the fact that around 10 House Democrats were absent to attend former NY governor Mario Cuomo's funeral; that lowered the vote threshold Boehner had to reach.

  [Daily Beast / Ben Jacobs and Jackie Kucinich]

• Boehner has already stripped Webster and his ally Richard Nugent (R-FL) of their seats on the House Rules Committee.

  [Politico / Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan]

• The case for Boehner: he extracted trillions in spending cuts out of the White House, stopped Obama's legislative agenda cold, and presides over the largest GOP House majority since the 1928 election.

  [Vox / Ezra Klein]

2. McDonnell down

Alex Wong / Getty

• Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has been sentenced to 2 years in prison after being found guilty of 11 corruption charges.

  [Vox / Andrew Prokop]

• Allegedly, McDonnell used his powers as governor to benefit businessman Jonnie Williams, who had given thousands in loans and gifts to McDonnell and his family.

• The sentence is far less than the 10-12 years requested by prosecutors.

  [The Atlantic / David Graham]

• The Washington Post broke the story of the scandal in March 2013 — see their original report here.

  [Washington Post / Rosalind Helderman and Laura Vozzella]

• McDonnell defended himself at trial by blaming the whole thing on his wife (who was also convicted of corruption).

  [Slate / Amanda Marcotte]

• McDonnell will appeal; there are some questions remaining about what counts as an "official act" of the governor, and whether certain conversations he had are protected by the First Amendment.

  [Rick Hasen]

3. Keystonewalled

Sen. John Hoeven (2nd R) points to a chart while speaking at a press conference with (L-R) Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) at the U.S. Capitol September 18, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

• President Obama has officially threatened a veto of a GOP bill to fast-track the Keystone XL pipeline.

  [Vox / Brad Plumer]

• Previously, the bill came one vote short of breaking a filibuster in November. With a Republican Senate, it's likelier to make it to Obama's desk.

  [Vox / Brad Plumer]

• It's worth noting that Obama could still approve the pipeline unilaterally, though he's soundly skeptical recently.

  [Vox / Brad Plumer]

• Another possibility is that Republicans attach the bill to must-pass legislation, like a spending bill, making it hard for Obama to veto.

  [Reuters / Timothy Gardner and Richard Cowan]

• A Nebraska Supreme Court ruling could also delay the project by requiring it to be rerouted.

  [Reuters / Patrick Rucker]

• The falling price of oil might make the project less financially viable.

  [LA Times / Evan Halper]

• Our complete Keystone explainer, for more context.

  [Vox / Brad Plumer]

4. Misc.

• There is a spa on Long Island that caters to children. It's called "Seriously Spoiled." Really.

  [NYT / Julie Turkewitz]

• A profile of Stanley Fischer, the Fed's unusually prominent deputy chair.

  [Politico / Kate Davidson]

• Fischer has a pretty amazing life story; I profiled him when he ran Israel's central bank.

  [Washington Post / Dylan Matthews]

• Inside Providence Talks, a new program meant to close the word gap between poor and rich kids.

  [New Yorker / Margaret Talbot]

• Snow days are good for learning outcomes.

  [Vox / Libby Nelson]

• China's population of billionaires has grown dramatically — now luxury brands just need to figure out how to sell to them.

  [GQ/ Devin Friedman]

5. Verbatim

• "I became a statistician because I was put in prison."

  [Claus Moser via The Economist]

• "In Green Bank [West Virginia], you can’t make a call on your cell phone, and you can’t text on it, either. Wireless internet is outlawed, as is Bluetooth."

  [Washingtonian / Michael Gaynor]

• "'Who do I know in the States who’s not a kid on heroin?' she asked herself."

  [NYT Mag / Christopher Glazek]

• "Absolutely inert and yet fecund, Giant Rock was less a rock than a destiny."

  [Cabinet Magazine / Sasha Archibald]

• "Known as 'the disco clam,' this six-centimeter shellfish has tentacles that flash like a strobe light."

  [Nicholas St. Fleur]

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