One Slim Hope To Keep Gym Jordan From Becoming Chair Of The House Judiciary Committee

I think there's one thing we can all agree on. America does not want-- and will suffer greatly from-- a Gym Jordan chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee. And, yet, if American voters don't wake up and stop sleepwalking towards a cliff of a GOP landslide in November, that is exactly what will happen. It is unlikely that his deep red district (R+20), where neither Hillary nor Biden could even score a third of the vote, will become significantly less likely to vote for far right conservatives. Right now the district consists of all or part of 14 counties, only one of which, Lorain, votes for Democrats. None of the others are even swing counties and are generally among the most backward in the Midwest. How do you measure backwardness in a county? Well, this shows the correlation between voting for Trump and reluctance to get vaccinated. The state is 57% fully vaccinated. Jordan's district is certainly not and, as you can see, the Trumpier the district, the less intelligent enough the residents to get vaccinated. Look at the 3 counties that voted over 80% Trump and then note their pathetic vaccination rates. That's what I mean by "backward."

• Mercer- 81.8% Trump (38% fully vaccinated)

• Shelby- 80.7% Trump (36% fully vaccinated)

• Auglaize- 80.5% Trump (39% fully vaccinated)

• Logan- 76.7% Trump (42% fully vaccinated)

• Crawford- 74.5% Trump (45% fully vaccinated)

• Champaign- 72.9% Trump (45% fully vaccinated)

• Huron- 69.7% Trump (47% fully vaccinated)

• Allen- 68.8% Trump (43% fully vaccinated)

• Marion- 68.2% Trump (47% fully vaccinated)

• Seneca- 66.1% Trump (48% fully vaccinated)

• Union- 64.2% Trump (61% fully vaccinated)

• Sandusky- 62.7% Trump (52% fully vaccinated)

• Erie- 54.8% Trump (59% fully vaccinated)

• Lorain- 50.4% Trump (63% fully vaccinated)

Point: Gym Jordan will be back in Congress and, if the Republicans triumph at the polls, which looks increasingly likely, Jordan will be chairman of the crucial committee. he has no primary opponent and no serious Democratic opposition, Jeff Sites, who lost the primary last time and who has raised $881,760 so far and Tamie Wilson (Republican-lite) who hasn't reported raising any money yet. Jordan had raised close to $7 million as of the end of December.

There is one slim, slim hope to keep Jordan out of Congress and away from that committee chair-- removing him from the ballot because of his role in the 1/6 insurrection. Yesterday, Jason Lemon, reporting for Newsweek, explained how it could be done. Remember, Jordan spoke with Trump several times while the Capitol was being overrun by the Trumpist mob and just before the attack began.

Lemon write that "Although Jordan previously suggested that he only spoke to Trump after the riot began, phone records first reported by CNN in early February showed that the congressman talked to Trump for about 10 minutes on the morning of January 6 before the assault against the federal legislative building. He also forwarded a controversial text message before that day, which laid out a strategy to overturn President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

WLIO in Lima, Ohio, reported on Saturday that Democratic demonstrators gathered outside Jordan's office and demanded he be removed from the ballot over his actions related to January 6. They argued that Ohio's Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, can remove the GOP congressman from the ballot-- citing the 14th Amendment, Section 3.

"Frank LaRose can disqualify him from being on the ballot," Taft Mangas, an organizer of the anti-Jordan rally, told the local news channel. "He needs to take a look at this and do what is right and make sure that the people that are running for office are actually qualified to run for office. That they are legitimately allowed to run for office."

A spokesperson for Jordan responded sarcastically to the protesters demands. "Nothing says Democracy like keeping someone's name off the ballot," he told Newsweek.

The protestors held signs with messages including, "Stop the Big Lie" and "Never Forget Jan. 6." Some also held posters laying out the 14th Amendment and their argument that Jordan should be blocked from running for office again.

The 14th Amendment, Section 3 states:

"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

Trump and Jordan critics routinely refer to the events of January 6 as an "insurrection." Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, used that term in recent remarks about the Capitol attack as well.

"We all were here. We saw what happened. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That's what it was," the top Senate Republican told reporters earlier this month.

After news broke of Jordan's 10-minute phone call with Trump ahead of the violent Capitol assault, some Democrats quickly suggested he was hiding something. They pointed out that he previously suggested he spoke with the then president after the attack.

".@Jim_Jordan, this report directly contradicts what you said before the Rules Committee. What are you trying to hide? It's past time for you to go before the @January6thCmte and speak honestly about what happened that awful day," Representative Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, tweeted on February 4.