Just when you think things can’t get worse…..please Republicans, don’t select Jim Jordan.
What I admire
I actually admire his tenacity and ability to clearly speak his mind. But it’s what comes out of his mouth that I don’t admire. And then there’s a matter of intetgrity.
Remember where he came from
Let’s go back a ways.
Mr. Jordan is the former assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University. You surely remember that! The team doctor, the late Dr. Richard Strauss, was found to have sexually abused 177 student athletes and other students. The school paid $40.9 million in damages to 162 abuse victims so far, with other lawsuits still outstanding. And in 2019, the school acknowledged some 1,430 young men were fondled and 47 raped by Strauss.
Several said Jordan kneew
Jordan has said he didn’t know about the incidents while he was employed between 1987 and 1994. But several former athletes have challenged that. Some said they told Jordan and he brushed it off. One former referee said the same.
Then there’s the Freedom Caucus
Jordan, elected to the House in 2006, is a founding member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus and now serve as its vice chair. He’s currently also chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
Close to Trump
Jordan is a close ally of Donald Trump. He also was recently described by former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney as the person who knows more than anyone else about Trump’s plans on January 6.
Speaker McCarthy was done from the start
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tried, I think, to cobble together a GOP caucus that would work. But it would never really work because he didn’t have strong support. With only one voice required to call for a vote to vacate, destruction was nearly inevitable. And the incredibly narrow GOP-Democrat ratios help none at all.
At the last hour
Thank goodness, at the last hour Mr. McCarthy chose to do the right thing for the country. He brokered a budget that moderate Republicans and Democrats supported. And the government’s doors stayed open. That right thing cost him something he held dearly. I’m sorry he had to sacrifice. Can’t say I’m sorry he’s gone. But it was in the tea leaves from the start.
Unlike Jordan, unlike McCarty
The next Speaker of the House needs to be someone who can do the people’s business. This person needs to be not Jim Jordan. Not Kevin McCarthy. But it needs to be someone with strong basic GOP values who can at least talk nicely to Democrats. Perhaps they can even talk nicely enough together to get Congressional work done.
And remember who to vote for
Please don’t vote for people who prefer shenanigans to basics. Please vote for people of strong moral character who want to do the right thing for ALL of the American people, not Donald Trump, but everyone.