Republicans Living 'Groundhog Day' Nightmare With Six Failed Speaker Bids

Republicans are being mocked for taking part in a political "Groundhog Day" following Representative Kevin McCarthy's repeated failed attempts to become House speaker.

McCarthy lost his sixth consecutive vote on Wednesday before the House adjourned for an evening recess. The California Republican lost on two additional ballots earlier in the day, which followed three previous failures on Tuesday. He was at least 15 votes shy of the required majority on each occasion, while having lost support since the first vote.

GOP Representative Kat Cammack of Florida praised McCarthy for his ability to "get things done" while nominating him for his sixth attempt on Wednesday. She began the nomination by telling the chamber that it was "Groundhog Day again," referring to the 1993 film Groundhog Day, which stars Bill Murray as a man forced to live the same day over and over during Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

The repeated attempts to nominate McCarthy for speaker despite the looping failures prompted similar Groundhog Day comparisons throughout the day on social media, albeit with fewer kind words for McCarthy and Republicans.

"Starting to be like Groundhog Day in Congress," tweeted former U.S. House candidate Mark Gonsalves of Georgia.

"The U.S. House of Representatives is currently experiencing, what the founders outlined in the U.S. Constitution, as a Groundhog Day scenario," journalist Andrew Henderson tweeted.

"I highly recommend this new film produced by CSPAN called Groundhog Day: Congress Convenes, which follows antagonist #KevinMcCarthy who is doomed to relive the same #SpeakerOfTheHouse vote until he learns a lesson about truly putting America First and votes for #SpeakerJeffries," tweeted Jenna Wadsworth, a county official from North Carolina.

"This vote for Speaker of the House resembles some political version of the movie Groundhog Day," radio host Jason Page tweeted. "It's exhausting. That's exactly what McCarthy wants. He's going to try and wear down his 20-or-so defectors in an effort to win this speakership. Be damned the consequences."

"House Republicans have created the worst ever remake of Groundhog Day," tweeted @SuzyHartmann.

"At the end of Groundhog Day, Bill Murray learns an important lesson that helps him evolve out of the time-loop... just sayin'..." writer Craig Thomas tweeted.

"It's Groundhog Day," tweeted Robin Fulford, a former Democratic congressional candidate from Texas. "This is what happens when you have no policy and no guiding principles, and your Party is filled with the self-serving instead of public servants. @JulianCastro has spoken eloquently about that difference, and these repeated votes showcase this. #failedGOP"

"OK, folks, let's try this again," @karichisholm tweeted. "My question: Can the Republicans keep this Groundhog Day action running until it's actually Groundhog Day?"

On Tuesday night, McCarthy's repeated failures were met with an avalanche of circus-themed mockery and criticism for Republicans from both ends of the political spectrum.

Fox News host Sean Hannity warned that "House Republicans now are on the verge of becoming a total clown show if they're not careful" during his evening broadcast, while similar sentiments were expressed on social media.

Newsweek has reached out to the office of McCarthy and the Republican National Committee for comment.