​Why 'ultimate show horse' Jim Jordan would be a 'chaotic catastrophe' as House Speaker

On October 12, Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Missouri) seemed to be adamantly opposed to making far-right Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) House speaker. Wagner told NBC News' Scott Wong that she was a "hell no" on Jordan — only to flip-flop and give Jordan a full endorsement four days later.

The pressure to support Jordan as speaker was so intense that Wagner caved in, as did Rep. Ken Calvert (R-California) and House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) — two other House Republicans who flip-flopped on Jordan.

In an op-ed published by MSNBC on October 16, liberal author/opinion writer Paul Waldman notes that Jordan's allies have "mounted a pressure campaign to convince recalcitrant House Republicans" to vote "yes" on choosing Jordan as speaker. And if they are successful, Waldman warns, it will be a "catastrophe" for Congress.

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"A Jordan speakership would offer a new level of media-political synergy to the right," Waldman observes. "What it wouldn't offer is the hope of anything less than chaos in the House itself. That includes the possibility of a government shutdown, which will happen in mid-November unless Congress passes a new funding bill."

Waldman stresses that "Jordan's bid for the speakership is preposterous" because "he's the ultimate show horse."

"He has never served in the House leadership," Waldman observes. "The very idea of him carefully assembling votes to pass a difficult bill is farcical…. Jordan has other glaring issues, including the accusation he turned a blind eye to abuse as a college wrestling coach, and his deep involvement in plotting with Trump to overturn the 2020 election."

Waldman continues, "In a rational political party, either would have instantly disqualified him. But the biggest problem with imagining Jordan as speaker is that he is one of the primary avatars of the contemporary Republican political style: eager to kneecap government, allergic to any hint of compromise, committed to conflict for its own sake and happy to create crisis after crisis."

READ MORE:GOP lawmaker who was a 'hell no' on Jim Jordan speaker nomination flip-flops and offers full support

Read Paul Waldman's full MSNBC op-ed at this link.