Even Right Wing Media Shocked by GOP Chaos Over Speaker Fight
By Kevin Howley, October 15, 2023
Last Friday afternoon, Georgia Representative Austin Scott announced that he was challenging House Judiciary Chairman and ranking member of the Sedition Caucus, Jim Jordan, for the House Speakership.
In a post to the social platform formerly known as Twitter, Scott wrote: “We are in Washington to legislate, and I want to lead a House that functions in the best interest of the American people.” Good night, and good luck, Mr. Scott.
By late Friday afternoon, Jordan defeated Scott’s challenge – but a second tally asking members if they would support the Trump-backed candidate in a floor vote revealed that Jordan is far short of the 217 votes he’ll need to secure the speakership.
Following a bruising couple of weeks, Republicans took a break over the weekend, and it remains to be seen when the chaos caucus will schedule a floor vote. It’s the latest plot twist in a seemingly unending drama unfolding in the nation’s capital this month.
The world’s attention is, of course, focused on the conflagration engulfing the Middle East. Nonetheless, we ignore the nihilism of House Republicans at our own risk. Despite their best efforts to do just that, right wing media can’t help but mirror the politics of dysfunction and distraction that defines today’s GOP.
“Train Wreck”
Earlier in the week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana bested Jim Jordan in a 113-99 vote for the Speakership. And before you could say, “David Duke without the baggage” House watchers were wondering aloud if Scalise could win over the Jordanaires in the Republican caucus.
According to 100% Fed Up, Lou Dobbs saw the writing on the wall: “Scalise is a nice guy but let’s remember, Scalise is a descendant of Kevin McCarthy, a descendant of Paul Ryan, a descendant of John Boehner. Republicans: This is your chance to end the Swamp’s business as usual – it’s time for real change!”
Meanwhile, over at Gateway Pundit, “political commentator and influencer” Catturd’s post to X summed up the current state of affairs in the litterbox that is the Republican caucus, calling out party leadership for the closed door meeting that gave Scalise the advantage, albeit briefly, before wryly noting: “And now they still don’t have the votes to even take it to the floor and vote … Train wreck.”
How’s that for a mic drop from a catturd?
Within 24 hours, Scalise announced he was bowing out of the speaker’s race. Demonstrating the gravitas of a good sport, and a grifter’s gift for understatement, he noted, “There are still schisms that have to be resolved.”
“S**t Gets Crazier”
By Friday morning, PJ Media’s Stephen Kruiser asked: “Scalise is Out, So the GOP Drama in the House is Over, Right?” Kruiser then goes out of his way to alert readers that he’s being flippant. Who says irony is dead?
To his credit, he gets one thing right: “The office of the Speaker of the United States of Representatives is, in theory, one of the greatest prizes in American politics. By the time the GOP is done with all of this, there might not be anyone who wants the job.” Going out on a limb here, but I’m guessing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries doesn’t subscribe to Kruiser’s Morning Brief. And neither should you.
All the same, nihilism isn’t a bug in Republican politics, it’s a feature. But don’t take my word for it. Consider this headline from Gateway Pundit: “Joe Rogan: It Seems Like As S**t Gets Crazier, the More Trump Is A ‘Shoo-in’ for 2024 (VIDEO).” I’ll spare you the details, but for the masochists out there, apparently you can get the transcript of Rogan’s podcast at Real Clear Politics. And no, you can’t make this stuff up. For good measure, Gateway Pundit adds this commentary: “Rogan is certainly right about the crazy part. Wars are breaking out all over, inflation is still through the roof and we basically have no border at this point.”
So it goes in the right wing echo chamber: there’s no rest for the weary but there’s plenty of misdirection to go around. Rather than come to terms with their own dysfunction, today’s GOP doubles down on the crazy s**t.
Kevin Howley is a writer and educator whose work has appeared in “Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism,” “Social Movement Studies,” and “Interactions: Studies in Communication and Culture.” He is the author and editor of several books including “Media Interventions” and “Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination.”
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We ignore the nihilism of House Republicans at our own risk. Despite their best efforts to do just that, right wing media can’t help but mirror the politics of dysfunction and distraction that defines today’s GOP. (Image: Flickr)
