What a speaker Gym Jordan says about the GOP
Many Americans watched the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. I did not, by the way; I was driving for practice in a black Ford SUV. The question now is who will replace McCarthy. It will probably be either Scalise or Jordan. Jordan, the congressman from Ohio, has the upper hand as of now, although that could change. I want to discuss Congressman Jim Jordan and his history.
GYM JORDANS SCANDALS
Notice how I called Congressman Jim Jordan ‘Gym Jordan,’ I will get to that point soon. Jim Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University, where sports doctor Richard Strauss sexually abused dozens of athletes. Six former wrestling athletes later accused Jordan of knowing what occurred and then covering and dismissing the incidents. So, if you are wondering, that is why I call him Gym Jordan that is why. Another thing is this scandal disqualifying a House Speaker, Gym Jordan. In my opinion, after all, former disgraced House Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert was arrested in a sex scandal and was a former wrestler. It also says a lot about a person when they turn a blind eye to inappropriate and illegal behavior. Gym Jordan voted to overturn election results and defied a subpoena from the January 6th select committee. Gym Jordan was also criticized by former House Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) for his behavior regarding the January 6 insurrection. Considering his scandals, I do not understand how a person could justify voting for Gym Jordan as a speaker.
GYM JORDAN'S TENURE IN CONGRESS
Congressman Gym Jordan was known for being aggressive and combative, most notably in investigations like the Benghazi investigation involving Hillary Clinton and the House GOP’s probe into Hunter Biden. He also had a reputation for being a nuisance to House GOP leaders, especially former Speaker and fellow Ohio Republican John Boehner, who described Congressman Jordan as a “legislative terrorist.” The GOP changed since then. Boehner left Congress, and now Congressman Jordan is eyeing to be a part of House GOP leadership when he was considered part of the fringe just a few years ago. Gym Jordan, a strong defender of former president Donald Trump congressman Jordan, would be the most ideological extreme speaker of the house in American history. We do not know how many ballots it will take to elect a speaker, but I guess it will take around six ballots to select a speaker who is most likely to be Congressman Gym Jordan. The government will likely shut down on November 17th at 11:59 pm Eastern time under Speaker Jordan. Jordan, though he broke with some Republicans voting in favor of a bipartisan debt ceiling bill to avoid a disastrous default, voted against a recent bill to prevent a government shutdown. Jordan is not known for comprising, so I expect a government shutdown soon. The GOP has shifted to the right faster than Democrats have shifted left. Gym Jordan is the best example of that. It also could put vulnerable Republicans in a difficult spot as having members as extreme as Jordan, the leading voice of House Republicans.
CONCLUSION: A BLEAK SYMBOL FOR AMERICAN POLITICS
I hope someone is brave enough to stand up to Gym Jordan for his egregious and unequivocally wrong behavior, but that seems unlikely. A Jordan Speakership shows that gaining power in Washington is not about dealmaking or charisma but about raising money and getting attention from cable news. It is a sad symbol of American politics right now. I know people ignore politics because it is ugly, but it impacts people. A government shutdown, for example, means federal employees will not get paychecks and will impact the overall economy negatively.
REFERENCES
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/politics/jordan-osu-wrestlers-strauss-invs/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/05/jordan-scalise-speaker-republicans/
https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-sexual-abuse-illinois-dennis-hastert-99160a4428db66e86da8e275e57c8ec7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l8wnn8BZ6w
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/27/jim-jordan-legislative-terrorist-gop-500785
