A handful of staunchly conservative groups are coordinating efforts to back the speakership bid of Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who is currently embroiled in a sex abuse scandal that includes multiple lawsuits and a federal investigation.
The Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, Conservative Leadership Fund, Tea Party Patriots, and For America have one main goal in backing Jordan's outside push for the position—to keep the slightly more moderate Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from becoming leader of the GOP caucus. Politico writes:
Their effort could deny California Rep. Kevin McCarthy the 218 votes needed to secure the speakership if Republicans retain the House majority — an outcome conservatives would cheer just as much. And if Republicans lose the majority, the groups intend to demand new leadership, which could wound McCarthy’s bid for minority leader.
Now let's remember, Jordan is a guy who probably shouldn't even be around anymore to be elevated. In any era other than Donald Trump’s, Jordan would have likely resigned by now, but Trump has really established a new low on corruption standards.
So instead of pushing for Jordan’s resignation, more than 1,000 conservative activists are expected to attend a September 26 rally in support of Jordan's elevation, followed by a lobbying effort on Capitol Hill.
Let's just pause for a second to review several points: 1) A guy ensnared in a sex abuse scandal is currently making a legitimate push to lead House Republicans; 2) D.C. reporters have been obsessing over Nancy Pelosi's leadership of the Democratic caucus for months now without showing reciprocal interest in really any tough questions surrounding Jordan or anyone else who might lead the GOP caucus following Paul Ryan's exit; 3) Ryan has actually announced he is retiring, Pelosi has done no such thing, meaning Republicans will definitely be going through a regime change while the succession for Democrats is purely a hypothetical at this point.
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The conventional wisdom among D.C. reporters appears to be that Jordan’s bid isn't worthy of inquiry because he'll never win. Does anybody else here remember a certain 2016 candidate who Beltway journalists said wasn't worthy of serious coverage? How did that work out?
Since I wrote about the double standard being applied here last month, I'm going to paste from that post:
So I ask you: Where's the poll of GOP candidates being asked about who they would support as Speaker? They've got a leadership fight brewing and it legitimately involves a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who is currently embroiled in a sexual abuse scandal and yet had the audacity to announce his bid for the Speakership anyway. It's not a small scandal—more than a handful of former Ohio State University wrestlers have stepped forward to say Jordan turned a blind eye to abuse being routinely perpetrated by a team doctor. It's now the subject of multiple lawsuits and a federal investigation by the Department of Education. Honestly, if reporters were really doing their jobs, Jordan might have resigned by now under the media glare, instead of brazenly seeing a window of opportunity.
And yet, even as the question about whether Ohio Democrat Danny O'Connor supported Pelosi became a big issue in the special election last week for that state’s 12th Congressional district, Republican Troy Balderson's refusal to say whether he would back Jordan for Speaker went largely unnoticed by the Washington media. Of course, O'Connor's admission that he would vote for "whoever the Democratic Party puts forward” came after MSNBC's Chris Matthews practically harassed him into a confession of party loyalty even though O'Connor had already said "No," he wouldn't vote for Pelosi. But on the other side of the aisle, Balderson simply refused to answer the question put to him by a Columbus paper, The Dispatch. Is it any wonder that the video of one candidate backed into a corner on cable TV became a bigger flash point than written questions submitted by a local outlet? No, it's not.
Since journalists have relentlessly quizzed Democrats about their support for Pelosi, they should be leveling the same questions at Republicans about Jordan, McCarthy and others. A serious and consequential battle for the heart of the Republican party is raging right now and ignoring who will succeed Ryan as leader of the House GOP caucus is journalistic malpractice.