Lucky Number “7”. As Long As Jordan Has It, He’s Toast

If you think your ass will age like wine, you’re right. It’ll turn into vinegar   Marcellus Wallace   Pulp Fiction

Congratulations to aspiring Kevin McCarthy wannabe Jim Jordan. You just put the first smile on McCarthy’s face in two weeks today when you lost by one more vote than he did in your first run at the wall. Sweet Jesus, Kloset Klansman Steve Scalise got more votes in the secret caucus vote than you did, but he had the brains to see what was sticking to the wall, and let friends beg him out of a ballot for health reasons, he’s battling blood cancer, and I wish him Godspeed and full recovery with that.

Jordan had 20 GOP defections in the balloting when he could afford only three. And as I predicted, he’s already boned. Sideways. McCarthy only had to run to one place to beg for votes after every round. Jordan has at least nine. On the first vote, there were seven votes for McCarthy, six votes for Scalise, and seven votes for other. And never one to learn from a whack in the head, Jordan is scheduling another floor vote for late this afternoon.

Now here’s something you won’t hear come out of my mouth very often, I’m in complete agreement with Teabagger caucus member Ken Buck, from Colorado. In an interview with MSNBC following the first ballot, Buck said that He expects Jordan to lose at least 8-10 votes in any second round. He’s right, because we’re both using the same logic.

One of the events of the weekend which I reported on previously, had Jordan and his ragtag mob of yellow shirts using the time honored Traitor Tot tactic of hitting the phones and texts with dire threats of facing the wrath of true conservatives if they didn’t straighten up and fly right. Mainly, either a far right primary, or threats of physical violence from Trump’s goon squad. true, he picked up about 40 votes over the weekend, but far short of what he needed. And it’s likely that quite a few of those were protest votes using anonymity for safety to show Jordan he had a rough road. But many of them might be willing to at least take a look at a Jordan candidacy.

So in true careful political fashion, they cut a deal. They pledged to support Jordan on the first round of balloting. That would give them a chance to see how close he could get, and what his chances were of converting the necessary votes in upcoming rounds. Now that they see how far down he is, and how fractured his opposition is, there’s no reason for them to continue throwing their support behind a flagging nag.

Here’s what happens next. McCarthy and Scalise both played their parts, endorsing Jordan to their voters, and voting for Jordan in the ballot. Jordan has already held a post ballot closed door meeting with Scalise, likely asking him to whip his caucus a bit harder, and will almost certainly do the same thing with McCarthy. But here’s the McGuffin. It doesn’t mean a bowl of piss Jack Daniels.

because here’s where Lucky Number 7 comes in. In the first ballot, seven GOP members voted for Other. Four of them voted for former NY congressman Lee Zeldin, the other three apparently just pulled a name out of the GOP congressional roster. But no matter what else he does, as long as he has that Lucky Number 7, he’s dead in the water. And he has to know it, too.

Because if it’s intransigent McCarthy or Scalise supporters, he can at least do what he’s trying to do right now, negotiate with them. But those other seven aren’t aligned with or loyal to any other potential opponent of Jordan, they flat out will not vote for Jordan. And the fact that they chose to use the caucus equivalent of writing in Mickey Mouse on a ballot, they’re making their positions crystal clear. Never Jordan! And their logic is rock solid. A Jordan Speakership would cause a 2024 Democratic landslide that would put the GOP in the minority in the House for a decade, gerrymandering or not. And Jordan can only afford to lose four of them under optimal conditions.

With a growing number of moderate GOP members already rumbling about dealing with Democrats to come up with a consensus Speaker, You just get the vibe that these seven members are looking down the bar at the Democrats, winking slyly, and mouthing, We’re not cheap, but we can be had. And that’s the major problem not just for Jordan, but for Gaetz and the rest of the Freedom caucus as well. The clock is ticking, clowns.