,

House Democrats’ ‘Rule 34’ discussion sets Twitter asunder

Democratic members of the House of Representatives are set to discuss “Rule 34” in the Democratic Caucus, and you better believe the internet is concerned, confused, and slightly aroused.

Democrats are now set to hold the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wants the caucus’ nomination for speaker of the House once again. Under Rule 34 of the Democratic Caucus, entitled “Binding Votes on House Leadership,” Democrats simply need a majority vote within the caucus in order to nominate the speaker of the House.

Pelosi’s opponents are ready to challenge Rule 34, in part because progressive Democrats want fresh leadership guiding the party. So instead of simply finding another candidate, Pelosi’s critics want to change the nomination process so all candidates must receive 218 votes within the Democratic Caucus to secure a nomination, according to the Hill.

The Atlantic’s Elaina Plott was quick to point out the party’s internal conflict, telling her followers to “look for Rule 34 discussion to come up.”

https://twitter.com/elainaplott/status/1062733347364003842

Unfortunately for Plott, Rule 34 just so happens to be one of 4chan’s rules of the internet: “there is porn of it. No exceptions.” It didn’t take long for Twitter to catch the coincidence.

https://twitter.com/ChainedBahamut/status/1062879850535501824

https://twitter.com/NecroC/status/1062802854715498507

https://twitter.com/silkeneight/status/1062764432181342208

https://twitter.com/ChocolateWilk/status/1062734851755925504

https://twitter.com/SpartanV_327/status/1062740035139715073

https://twitter.com/Valsu/status/1062738808389550080

Twitter users immediately struggled to push the mental image of “Rule 34 Nancy Pelosi” out of their heads.

https://twitter.com/Seriouslywtf16/status/1062765230709751808

https://twitter.com/ShineImperium/status/1062779121938325504

https://twitter.com/Valsu/status/1062797374798491648

Twitter extends condolences to every Democratic intern Googling “Rule 34” 10 minutes before caucus meetings.

https://twitter.com/_bsokol/status/1062822051965210631

https://twitter.com/memeings/status/1062798561589518336

https://twitter.com/SHSLMayuriStan/status/1062935938022735872

READ MORE

In the meantime, Pelosi remains an unpopular choice for speaker among Democrats, with a mere 23 percent supporting her potential nomination, the Washington Post reports. Maybe it’s time for Democrats to talk about Rule 34 after all—for better or for worse.