104 Comments

I always wonder how enough people in Ohio could have voted for Jordan to serve in any capacity whatsoever. I can't think of a single appointed or elected position that I would trust him to hold and be good at.

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Oct 18, 2023Liked by Jay Kuo

If you have not yet seen his gerrymandered district, it should be easy to find. It has been carved out just so he could win.

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That's one reason Ohio is working hard for a Blue Wave; redistricting reform is on their list as soon as they have to votes to make it happen.

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I have, and it would be funny if it weren't so criminal. One of my absolute favorite places in this country is Yellow Springs, Ohio. Betting not one person there voted for this awful man!

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Ohio, and Jordan's district in particular, is highly gerrymandered. If we had fair districting, Jordan would have been long gone.

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Give his District a merry gander.

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author

Clever!

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Thanks, Jay! I hope you also enjoyed the recent Mean Girls dialog I wrote for you!

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I'm thinking a majority of the people in Jordan's gerrymandered district only know what Fox tells them to think. No grasp of the realities of Jordan's voting record and the implications of it.

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Well, Gym lost on the second balloting, even losing two previous supporters...the creep is toast.

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author

He’s going to keep trying apparently

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I sometimes wonder if the House should have a three votes and you are done rule. Sort of like in little league where when the score gets to a certain point they call the game as won to avoid embarrassing the other team.

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Oct 19, 2023·edited Oct 19, 2023

🤦🏽‍♀️ So there really is truth to the saying that some people are too damn dumb to know when they're dead...!

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Dead-man walking.

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Be still, my heart!

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Jordan's district he represents in Ohio (obviously) is very conservative. I was born and raised in Ohio, not in his district, but moved away in 1990 and never went back. Are the Dem's talking about other people to serve as Speaker? I thought I heard Mitt Romney or Angus King's name mentioned last night on tv. Lastly, a bit of trivia...both Jim Jordan and Casey Desantis were born in Troy, Ohio which is north of Dayton.

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Are you telling me they are the same person!?! Have we ever seen them together?

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Bc they vote party at all costs and if the traitor supports him then he has to be good. Oh, and the gerrymandering. I’m a Democrat from Ohio.

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intense gerrymandering

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All any sane person needs to do is to read what John Boehner, former Republican Speaker of the House said about Jordan: "Jordan was a terrorist as a legislator...A legislative terrorist. I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart - never building anything, never putting anything toegther." Maybe that's why there are some Republicans who want him as their leader and the smart ones do not.

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The choices seem clear. Continued chaos or common sense. Build up or tear down.

Cooperation or isolation. Sanity or insanity. Reliability or liability. Trust or Mistrust.

Time to decide and go forward or backward.

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The Republicans seem devoted to tearing down and chaos. They do want to shut down the federal government. Remember Grover Norquist? These are his people.

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This was really good. I am somewhat panicked about a Jordan Speakership, but this layes things out pretty well and I am a little calmer.

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Me too

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Me too. Though I am still clinging to hope that anyone but Jordan will be elected speaker. I am concerned that if Jordan & his extremist buddies burn down the "House" (i.e. through a Government shutdown), the GOP will simply blame it on the Democratic Party and will convince their supporters that all Democrats are evil. Then, we may end up with an economic & global disaster and of course, finger-pointing at the Biden administration?

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But they already have been programmed to believe that Democrats are evil with Disinformation ever since rightwing talk radio got into their brains decades ago - and the drumbeat has only gotten worse with cable talk shows and vile Internet sites.

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So true. It is like living in a parallel universe. Frustrating!

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Well, they already keep trying to blame the Dems for McCarty's ouster. And are still crying, "Oh, boo-hoo, if only those horrible Democrat people would step up and do the right thing, we could get on with things." Hahaha - it is to laugh... or it would be if it were not so pathetic (and dangerous). They will try to blame Dems for everything from sour milk to Hamas. It is who and what they are. They are committing political suicide, and don't understand why so many people are popping corn like mad.

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It's that cartoon of the guy on the bike with a stick. He pushes the stick between the spokes and falls over and then blames whoever he wants. It's never his fault.

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"Even former Speaker Newt Gingrich is pessimistic about Jordan’s chances on Wednesday."

Gingrich? THAT Gingrich? The avatar for a Congressional bomb-thrower, he's still a playah? Him? So '90s, but just shows the staying power of Newt's approach to governance - push the plunger, then duck as pieces fly.

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Oct 18, 2023·edited Oct 18, 2023Liked by Jay Kuo

Lance, we share a brain! I said verbatim to my husband what you wrote then read it here. How are these disastrous dinosaurs still throwing around any weight??!! Oy vey!

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Oct 19, 2023·edited Oct 19, 2023

Gringrich, that repulsive scumbag, is currently playing the "elder statesman" role--something for which he is singularly unfit, to say the least.

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Elder, yes. Statesman? Only in another virtual reality.

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Before I wrote that comment I >was< calling Gingrinch the elder snakesman of the GQP.

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I'd say the ads are already writing themselves. And yesterday, I saw that Dark Brandon has opened up an account on Truth Social. He may be old, but he seems to be smart enough to get young people involved, because that account is hilarious, in a youthful kind of way. Disclaimer: I don't (and won't) have an account — I've only seen reports on it.

I finally saw a stitch of good news yesterday: Democratic congress critters (in both the House and Senate) are getting boatloads of money, and Republicans are not. This makes sense. If you have dollars to spare for a political campaign, why would you spend it on such an obvious train wreck, even if you do subscribe to their malignant thinking?

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I love the idea of Dark Brandon regularly going viral on TFG's own platform!

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I wonder if tracking this might even be more accurate than polling. If the data can be parsed so as to differentiate between smallish personal donations and larger organized donations, why's that info be used to forcast votes?

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That's a really good question. My hunch and hope is yes. I don't have a link to the story I read, but I am pretty sure I read that the smaller donations for Trump are way down. It was probably a newsletter, which I get a lot of, but I tend to skim them if the name Kuo isn't attached, hence my poor recall of it. Possibly Semafor.

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trump asks so often that I think some of his small donors are getting tapped out. They seem to send out at least 3 emails a day begging for cash for the "billionaire."

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It's the Trump Begging Industrial Complex!

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It's all about the grift!

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Thanks for bringing this up. I'm intrigued now. I hope the smaller trump donations are a sign that the general public is getting tired of his antics.

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First of all a great big old LAUGH OUT LOUD for the sweet little detail concluding the following observation, "the howls of members like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA). "

Now I have to comment and remind everyone of the seriousness of a Jordan speaker-ship and the reality of it meaning the little discussed possibility of his becoming next in the line of Presidential succession. What if, and I absolutely have no wish to say this out loud, either President Biden or I repeat or Vice President Harris become unable to continue their duties necessitating a succession event. The very image of a thought of Jordan assuming a seat in the White House, and consequently assuming the additional duties of the Vice Presidency as the president of the Senate should red-flag alarm every intelligent, clear thinking individual.

I think of the shenanigans of the Neo-Republican-Fascist Party especially with Jordan in mind with his extremist devotion focused on grabbing power by way of the speaker-ship as being what I think of as the Gamblers pathway to the White House, wherein he is casting his dice in hopes that cards will fall on the table turning up with a full house just like the ball falling into the wheel well right on his number for the 35-1 payout.

And last but not least, why should anyone think that Jordan can actually be trusted to keep his so-called word to anyone whom he might pay lip service to regarding any concessions? In all seriousness would anyone reading my comment right now actually be surprised if Jordan upon succeeding in his attempt to gain power, regardless of how limited it might be, quite simply ignore any promised concessions and simply lean right into his agenda and attempt to operate in a Trumpian fashion, and become even more of a bully than ever before?

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author

I worry about that and the electoral college count in Congress in 2025

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Indeed I am sure that you do worry about it. I sometimes actually find myself having trouble sleeping at night because of the seriousness of the multiple situations we face as a country.

If I was not so familiar with the history of the Nazi era I would probably not realize how grave is the darkness we are all facing now.

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The elephant in the room- and that party will stop at nothing. Hope Biden and Harris are safe and remain so.

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"he’s not mature enough to lead the conference". Ya think? He's also doesn't possess the character or intellect. Gym's past record of nothingness says it all and, should he pull this off, we can expect continued chaos until the 2024 elections. What a waste of time and money. And you are so right... the ads really will write themselves. 🙄

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Speaking of money, like toxic Karamos in Michigan, Jordan is a terrible fundraiser and a liability to the GOP on that front.

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Who would benefit from continued chaos up until the election?

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You have 3 guesses and the first two don't count. 🇷🇺

😉

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Who, then? And why would they benefit?

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DJT. And you know perfectly well why. His cult is crazy AF - AND WILL ACT LIKE IT. Seriously - ultra-violence is a real likelihood under those conditions.

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Underneath the cover of chaos several things are happening. Probably the one we hear least about is their intention to create the election results they want. Then there is kneecapping the military, controlling women’s child bearing, removing care and rights for the LGBTQ population, making it hard to vote, making it hard to get your vote counted, bringing important cases to SCOTUS. Not protecting democracy by not supporting Ukraine. And now the Middle East has entered the dysfunction. That horror show. All while the loud noise of chaos drowns out all the dangers.

...or something like that.

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Perhaps you do not recognize the Russian flag. Putin benefits from the chaos, his weak attempt to conquer his neighbor benefits, and his allies in the Middle East and Asia benefit if the US doesn't stand as a unifying force for the West. If we are hobbled by an ineffective legislature and consumed with internecine squabbles, we cannot be a counterweight to authoritarian leaders who want more vassal states.

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So the guy who nearly broke the gavel may be our next Speaker of the House? Life comes at you fast, little man!

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That just made me laugh out loud. Thank you!

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All one needs to comprehend the sad state of affairs in the GOP is realize - THESE TWO (Jordan and Scalise) are the best they could come up with for Speaker. This is their best choice. The mind reels.

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I just have two comments - well, really questions.

If Jordan says he’ll do something - anything - what’s to keep him from lying that he’ll do it and then doesn’t?

Also, without a “confirmed” Speaker, who is next in line for the presidency after Kamala Harris? Is it the Speaker Pro Tempore? Or someone else? Who is next in line after the Speaker anyway? Is that who would get it?

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author

If he breaks promises they can move again for his ouster I suppose…

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I am glad to see someone else thinking along the same lines as me.

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After Speaker comes Senate President Pro Tem, then SecState. Gets really bonkers after that...

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The plot of Designated Survivor? Can we get Keifer Sutherland?

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Thank you for the detailed explanation.

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Newt started the GOP down this path in 1994, so his opinion means less than nothing to me. The overwhelming problem with Jordan is he cannot be trusted, and if the "moderates" don't know this they have not been paying attention. He takes his orders from trump, and for him that's the bottom line. Finally Jordan will need to leave the Motion to Vacate in place to keep the Ultra Maggots in his corner. If he allows aid to Ukraine or the economic deal made by McCarthy to pass, how long before Gaetz or someone like him uses the motion to get rid of him?

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Newt’s opinion only Carrie’s weight within the GOP conference as a kind of internal barometer. No relevance to much else.

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Very helpful analysis of what a Jordan speakership would entail. It re-assured me re the two key things I was worried about: keeping the gov't funded and aid for Ukraine and Israel.

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Although I hesitate to say this out loud, considering the thugs who currently control the Republican Party, my fear is they get him in as speaker and some deranged MAGAt assassinates Biden and Harris. Our democracy is then done.

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Many think these things. Few speak. I didn’t know they would allow such thoughts on this newsletter and maybe they would not have just a couple of weeks ago.

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Why would Republicans choose a pro-Russia speaker when Russia is backing Iran? And Iran is threatening Israel?

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Politics makes interesting bedfellows, doesn't it? In this case, people were aware of the Iran-Israel issue, but the Russia-Iran connection has been mostly under the radar screen.

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What happens if a speaker doesn't keep their promises? Could they potentially rule like a Trump, creating rules as they go, ignoring rules, laws, promises, and duties? Could they readily discharge him if he did?

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author

They could oust him just like McCarthy…

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