A Bad Day for MAGA

Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

Friday Update:

—Jordan/GOP fail, for a 3rd time, to elect a House Speaker. No plan forward in sight.
—Kenneth Chesebro pleads GUILTY in 2020 election subversion case, flips on Trump, takes a felony plea.
—Trump is threatened w/ jail time for violating gag order in NY fraud case

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) October 20, 2023

The 2023 Field of Blood

Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

Jim Jordan has never sponsored a bill that became law, even though he has served in the majority. Newt Gingrich developed the modern "outside game" of congressional politics.  Jim Jordan is bringing it to peak -- so far without success.

 

Several House Republicans who have voted against Rep. Jim Jordan for speaker are seething after threats have been made against them, their offices or even their spouses — including one that a lawmaker called a "credible death threat." https://t.co/wIAXg2lAU8

— ABC News (@ABC) October 19, 2023

JORDAN’s close ally does him no favors, suggesting death threats due to opposing Jordan is overblown and a “red herring” https://t.co/r1TQV1kM7k

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 20, 2023

Damage to the House GOP

Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

Jim Jordan has never sponsored a bill that became law, even though he has served in the majority. Newt Gingrich developed the modern "outside game" of congressional politics.  Jim Jordan is bringing it to peak -- so far without success.

 Annie Karni at NYT:

The latest round of House Republican infighting has badly damaged the G.O.P. brand. It has left the party leaderless and one chamber of Congress paralyzed for more than two weeks. The chaos is raising the chances that Democrats could win back the majority next year, and it has given them ample ammunition for their campaign narrative, which casts Republicans as right-wing extremists who are unfit to govern.

“It hurts the country; it hurts the Congress; it’s hurting our party,” said Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, one of 18 Republicans who represent districts won by Mr. Biden in 2020. “It’s putting us in a bad hole for next November.”

He said his hard-right colleagues who moved to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month and touched off the intractable scramble to replace him “want to be in the minority.”

Mr. Bacon added: “I think they would prefer that. So they can just vote no and just yell and scream all the time."

A bizarre, unforced error. Tom Cole has been both executive director and chair of the NRCC. He should know better than any of his R colleagues that he just cut an ad for @dccc. https://t.co/83VszXMfdn

— Jack Pitney 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@jpitney) October 18, 2023

Yikes -- Stefanik is jeered when she mentions Jordan's background "on the wrestling mat" pic.twitter.com/ZnLDmpJx8j

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2023

Trump's America: "Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) said that after she flipped from voting for Jordan on Tuesday to Rep Kay Granger on Wednesday, she received “credible death threats & a barrage of threatening calls” Threats now woven into US politics https://t.co/3NaP8uXnRc

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) October 19, 2023

Jordan Tactics Backfire, Big Time

Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

Jim Jordan has never sponsored a bill that became law, even though he has served in the majority. Newt Gingrich developed the modern "outside game" of congressional politics.  Jim Jordan is bringing it to peak -- so far without success.

Jordain Carney, Sarah Ferris, and Oliva Beavers at Politico:

Jim Jordan’s allies attempted to badger House Republicans into making him speaker. Those tactics backfired on Tuesday, and could soon doom his speakership push outright.

The Ohio Republican’s most vocal GOP defectors during Tuesday’s failed speaker vote said they were pressured to back Jordan by party bosses back home and national conservatives with big megaphones. Most of those skeptics viewed it as a coordinated push with a threatening theme: Vote for Jordan — or else.

The arm-twisting campaign, which in many cases included veiled threats of primary challenges, was meant to help rally support behind Jordan’s candidacy. Instead, it has put the Judiciary chair’s bid on life support and threatened to plunge House Republicans deeper into turmoil with no clear way out.

“Jim’s been nice, one-on-one, but his broader team has been playing hardball,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told POLITICO about Jordan’s network of supporters, adding that he’s been getting calls from party chairs back in Nebraska. He added that his wife even received multiple anonymous emails and texts saying: “your husband better support Jim Jordan.”

He’s not the only one who faced significant pressure. Other Republicans, too, told POLITICO they have received a barrage of calls from local conservative leaders. They blame the onslaught on his backers even though, by all accounts, he isn’t directly involved. Even some of Jordan’s supporters acknowledge that the aggressive moves have set him back ahead of a potential second speaker ballot.

“I think some of it did backfire … and I think it was to the detriment of Jim,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), a Freedom Caucus member who voted for Jordan, told reporters.

Jordan's Outside Game

Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

Jim Jordan has never sponsored a bill that became law, even though he has served in the majority. Newt Gingrich developed the modern "outside game" of congressional politics.  Jim Jordan is bringing it to peak]

 A campaign ad. For speaker.

One of the most important races in our lifetime. I am voting for @Jim_Jordan. pic.twitter.com/yl59wTrtMh

— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) October 14, 2023

Moderates are growing increasingly irritated with the tactics Jordan allies are using to pressure them into voting for him, with one member noting the Hannity show has gotten involved in the efforts sending potential defectors the email below. One lawmaker said the push is… pic.twitter.com/ulOn0ZEbts

— Juliegrace Brufke (@juliegraceb) October 15, 2023

Jordan on January 6

Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

From the House J6 Report:

Representative Jordan was a significant player in President Trump’s efforts. He participated in numerous post-election meetings in which senior White House officials, Rudolph Giuliani, and others, discussed strategies for challenging the election, chief among them claims that the election had been tainted by fraud. On January 2, 2021, Representative Jordan led a conference call in which he, President Trump, and other Members of Congress discussed strategies for delaying the January 6th joint session. During that call, the group also discussed issuing social media posts encouraging President Trump’s supporters to “march to the Capitol” on the 6th.661 An hour and a half later, President Trump and Representative Jordan spoke by phone for 18 minutes.662 The day before January 6th, Representative Jordan texted Mark Meadows, passing along advice that Vice President Pence should “call out all the electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all.” 663 He spoke with President Trump by phone at least twice on January 6th, though he has provided inconsistent public statements about how many times they spoke and what they discussed.664 He also received five calls from Rudolph Giuliani that evening, and the two connected at least twice, at 7:33 p.m. and 7:49 p.m.665 During that time, Giuliani has testified, he was attempting to reach Members of Congress after the joint session resumed to encourage them to continue objecting to Joe Biden’s electoral votes.666 And, in the days following January 6th, Representative Jordan spoke with White House staff about the prospect of Presidential pardons for Members of Congress.667

The Mess on the Hill

Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

Mary Ellen McIntire and Aidan Quigley at Roll Call:

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan became Republicans’ nominee for speaker Friday, winning a secret-ballot election against Georgia Rep. Austin Scott, a last-minute entrant into the race.
...

“We’re done here until Monday,” Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., said after the second ballot to gauge how many GOP members would back Jordan on the floor came in at 152-55. One member voted “present” on that second ballot, according to Cammack and Rep. French Hill, R-Ark.

...

The second vote indicated slightly higher margin than the initial 124-81 vote Friday to nominate Jordan, a founder of the House Freedom Caucus who became an ally of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in recent years. Still, according to Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, the second-round vote total was “enough to not know if we could go to the floor today.”

...

“I don’t know, but the math is not good” for Jordan, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., a Scalise backer, said Friday. “I think ultimately, we’re gonna have to find somebody who can truly unify us.”

Another Scalise ally, Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, said ahead of Friday’s votes that he didn’t believe Jordan could get to 217 votes and that a quick turnaround to considering his bid was unfair to any challengers.

“I like Jim, but I just think that Steve got a raw deal,” Buchanan said. “I think he’s worked hard, he’s earned it and I think if [Jordan] would’ve given him a little bit more support — that really changed my mind a little bit on Jim Jordan.”

Sahil Kapur and Julia Jester:

Democrats are standing firm in their refusal to bail out the House Republican majority as it struggles to elect a new speaker 10 days after after booting Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

They're also dialing up the rhetoric against the GOP’s new nominee for speaker, prominent Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan of Ohio, blasting him as an insurrectionist, election denier and extremist.

“House Republicans have selected as their nominee to be the speaker of the people’s House the chairman of the chaos caucus, a defender in a dangerous way of dysfunction, and an extremist extraordinaire,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Friday on the steps of the Capitol, flanked by dozen of Democratic lawmakers. “His focus has been on peddling lies and conspiracy theories and driving division amongst the American people.”

  Corky Siemaszko at NBC:

Four of the former Ohio State University wrestlers who have accused Rep. Jim Jordan of failing to protect them from a sexual predator when he was the team’s assistant coach in the 1980s and '90s said Tuesday he has no business being the next speaker of the House.

“Do you really want a guy in that job who chose not to stand up for his guys?” said former OSU wrestler Mike Schyck, one of the hundreds of former athletes and students who say they were sexually abused by school doctor Richard Strauss and have sued the university. “Is that the kind of character trait you want for a House speaker?”

Scalise, Jordan, Trump

Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

Paul Kane at WP:

Despite a boisterous endorsement of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to be the next speaker, Trump’s pick got just 99 votes in the behind-closed-doors vote in a sprawling committee room, less than 45 percent of the GOP caucus.

Instead, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) leveraged his long tenure in multiple leadership positions over the past decade to secure the nomination, winning with a time-honored inside game that was built on personal relationships with lawmakers and not outside endorsements.

Currently the House majority leader, Scalise still faces some doubt that he can unify Republican ranks enough to get the necessary 217 votes, out of 221 eligible GOP votes, when the full House holds its roll call later this week.

Scalise vanquished Jordan despite the Judiciary Committee chair’s higher-profile campaign, beginning with Trump’s “complete” and “total” endorsement Saturday in a social media post

Scooplet: Trump Not Expected to Help Scalise in Speaker Bid (Exclusive)

Three sources close to Trump tell me and @MarcACaputo that he isn't planning to come to the aid of Scalise, who is having trouble securing enough support to become speaker.https://t.co/kOHZs3Rp69

— Stephen Neukam (@stephen_neukam) October 12, 2023

Mace

Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

Jonathan Weisman at NYT:

When South Carolina’s First Congressional District evoked wide sand beaches, Spanish moss, oyster and cocktail bars and hot yoga, its Republican congresswoman, Nancy Mace, made her name appealing for moderation on abortion, climate change and marijuana legalization, while calling out the G.O.P.’s biggest bomb throwers as bigoted clowns.

Then in 2022 came the redrawing of district lines, as rural reaches like Cordesville, S.C., with their modest one-story brick homes and prefabricated double-wides, replaced the graceful mansions and Black neighborhoods of Charleston. So last week, when Ms. Mace shocked Washington and joined seven hard-core conservatives to oust Representative Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s chair, her new constituents were not surprised.

“I’ve always heard the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and when you’re a female, you don’t get heard unless you’re loud,” said Janet Jurosko, a new constituent of Ms. Mace’s from Cordesville and the auditor of Berkeley County, S.C., which joined the First District in its totality last year. “I think she’s doing a good job — I really do.”

Ms. Mace still calls herself an iconoclast, but her transformation from denouncing the likes of Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, to joining him in the first overthrow of a sitting speaker underscores a truism: Voters lead their politicians; politicians don’t lead their voters.

Brennan: Do the past allegations of Jim Jordan that he turned a blind eye to sexual abuse give you reservations?

Mace: I'm not familiar or aware of that.

Brennan: Ohio state university allegations.

Mace: I don't know anything pic.twitter.com/OGQQFqR9pt

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 8, 2023

Brennan: McCarthy said his ouster is personal payback from Gaetz for the house ethics committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct… Does that bother you?

Mace: Well, again, he's not indicted for anything. I don't really -- I don't know much about it. pic.twitter.com/i9qINKGP2m

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 8, 2023

Mace: I’m wearing the scarlet letter after the week I had being a woman and being demonized for my vote and voice. pic.twitter.com/guVpxGHUq7

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 10, 2023

Mace: There are Democrats who trust Jordan

Tapper: Jim Jordan?

Mace: Yes

Tapper: From Ohio?

Mace: Yes

Tapper: Name one pic.twitter.com/22QdZLARx2

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 11, 2023

Inside Game, Outside Game

 Our 2020 book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.  Among other things, it discusses the state of the parties. The state of the GOP is not good.  

POLITICO Playbook:

INSIDE VS. OUTSIDE — The speakership race between Reps. STEVE SCALISE and JIM JORDAN is turning into a test of two very different strategies.

Scalise is running the way successful speakers always have: by focusing assiduously on the inside game of member-to-member lobbying. In Scalise world, the way to win next week’s secret ballot election is to break down the conference into granular Scalise-friendly factions that he can cobble together into a majority.

Scalise is the second-most-prolific GOP fundraiser after KEVIN McCARTHY, and his team is making sure the recipients of his largesse remember that. He’s a former whip in a chamber where serving on a whip team is a bonding experience. He’s a southerner in a party that is dominated by that region of the country. He’s targeting colleagues who sit with him on the Energy and Commerce Committee. He’s counting on committee chairmen who are close to leadership and wary of Jordan’s Freedom Caucus roots. And despite the fact that he once led the Republican Study Committee, the jovial Scalise is wooing moderates freaked out by the idea of making Jordan the face of their party.

There are lots of ways that members bond that defy the typical GOP categories, and you hear a lot about these relationships from Scalise world. “@SteveScalise and I were elected to Congress together through special elections and became close friends,” Rep. ROB WITTMAN of Virginia said on X last night. “I am proud to support him for Speaker of the House.”

It’s not that Jordan doesn’t have similar pockets in the House to target. He does. He’ll do well with most of the nine other Republicans in the Ohio delegation, with the MAGA right, with Judiciary Committee colleagues who will want to support their chair, with some McCarthy allies who had beef with Scalise.

But Jordan is running much more of an outside game, trying to leverage the modern conservative media world and its best-known influencers to pressure Republicans to back him. And early this morning, he won the backing of the ultimate GOP outsider: DONALD TRUMP.