U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann caused a minor stir during Thursday's election for U.S. House Speaker, when she did not appear during a roll call vote to elect Ohio Republican John Boehner. The Minnesota Republican's name was called twice. Boehner has had well-known troubles with the Tea Party wing of the Republican caucus over the "fiscal cliff" deal, and his reelection was less of a sure thing than these pro-forma session-opening votes usually are. By the end of the roll call, 14 members had still not voted, and Boehner was still short of the 218 needed to remain House Speaker. But the absent or not-voting members were called again, and on the second round Bachmann was on the House floor. She cast her vote for Boehner, and joined him later for the traditional swearing-in photo-op. Message sent? Not according to Bachmann spokesman Dan Kotman. "There's nothing to read into it," he said.
