Barbarians at the Gate
18/10/23 13:31
October 18, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 42) - For the second straight day, Jim Jordan has been a loser. And as long as he keeps losing, America wins. It's been 15 days since a small band of Republican zealots threw the House of Representatives into chaos by ousting one of their own, Kevin McCarthy, as Speaker. The shirt-sleeved schmuck from Ohio has tried to position himself as the heir-apparent. But, as Lee Corso of ESPN might say, "Not so fast!" The thought that Jim Jordan, a man deeply involved in the January 6, 2021, attempt to overthrow the government, might become the second person in line to the presidency is both repulsive and frightening. That Donald Trump's useful idiot is even in Congress is an obscenity. He is a man, who as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University, turned a blind eye to a sexual abuse scandal and should be disqualified from public office. That a leach with such a woefully thin legislative record is being considered as Speaker is a sick joke. And yet, in today's ultra-conservative, nationalistic and oligarchical Republican Party, Jim Jordan has received a majority of that party caucus' support for this constitutionally critical role in two votes. (The good news: Opposition to Jordan's candidacy appears to be growing.) Remember, Jordan has repeatedly taken an oath to "support and defend" the Constitution. And yet, it has been proven that he was deeply involved in the January 6 insurrection. Worse, he remains an acolyte of Donald Trump, who recently said that he, as president, had no responsibility to support the Constitution. The battle for the speakership may seem like little more than an "inside Washington" kerfuffle. But it is a lot more than that. The very future of this Republic is at stake. To be sure, there isn't a Republican in Congress who has shown the backbone necessary to do the job. However, there could be few worse choices than Jordan. He has been doing Trump's bidding - which means he's been doing Russia's bidding. Indirectly, he's also doing Iran's, North Korea's and China's bidding. The longer American Democracy appears to be in chaos, the more our adversaries will exploit the power vacuum. Make no mistake about it: The barbarians are at the gate. Do we really want to give Jim Jordan the keys? That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.