Jim Jordan--Ineffective Thug (UPDATED)

 

There's a handful of things we know about Jim Jordan, who might have a vote Thursday to once again not be named Speaker of the House--he's Trump's minion (small, yellow, attendant to a real villain, speaks gibberish), he turned a blind eye to sexual abuse when he was a wrestling coach, and he's never actually passed any legislation at all during his congressional career.  Based on his failed votes so far for the gavel, I'm not even sure he can count votes.

But the thing I really am impressed with is that his manner of whipping votes for the speakership is open thuggery. Just right out there--strongarming folks. It's like he realized he could not win people over with his record or his winning personality, so, he just went directly to intimidation tactics. 

So when the wife of a Republican representative gets anonymous messages about her spouse, that's sort of gross, right? It's a bad look. If you want to unite the party behind you--how is threatening people the way to convince them you're looking out for the team?

It seems more like a way to say Team Jordan is a party of one--out for himself. 

But this has accelerated to death threats credibly reported against Rep. Miller-Meeks. For voting with her conscience when Jordan's candidacy for speaker wasn't working. A democratic (small "d") deliberative body should be swayed by debate, not threats!

Jordan did not have the votes Tuesday. He did not have the votes Wednesday. If the pattern holds, he won't have them Thursday--he may well have lost even more support. Note this is one-day, one-vote. Say what you will about McCarthy's Pyrrhic performance to get his gavel, but he ate multiple losses over several days without having to take them at this petty pace. 

If this is the best the GOP has, they need to consider the bipartisan option--someone who can count votes, isn't an insurrectionist, and hasn't resorted to death threats. The guy who has been getting the most votes all along. 

Just saying!

UPDATE: Reps. Ken Buck and Drew Ferguson have now stated they have received death threats for not being Team Jordan:

Rep. Ken Buck: “I've had four death threats. I've been evicted from my office in Colorado...because the landlord is mad with my voting record on the Speaker issue...Family members have been approached and threatened...There's going to be some tension.” pic.twitter.com/B6Fjiyle3C

— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) October 19, 2023

 That's appalling. People should be able to vote their conscience without being subject to terrorism, but this is a time to recall that former Speaker John Boehner did call Jordan "a legislative terrorist." It's just become more actualized. 

The paralysis in the GOP House led to no vote at all today. A plan to have Rep. McHenry continue to act as a caretaker got scrapped. Jordan plans to have some sort of presser at 8 AM ET (really?) which sounds like Coach wants to give a pep talk. But when he wanted to talk to the 20 (or so) holdouts, he wasn't getting too many people looking to meet with him. 

Funny how off-putting violence is to some people. 

So, I don't know how well his announcement tomorrow is going to go, whatever it may entail. 

It strikes me that possibly, Jordan isn't directly behind some of the threats, and this is just MAGA being MAGA. That possibility of violence might even be upgraded by the threat of a bipartisan solution to the Speaker of the House crisis. This is no way to run a country, and whatever you want to call it, it's not making America great, but a laughingstock.