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U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) talk during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. on June 30, 2021
(Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
House Speaker Jim Jordan Would Be Victory for MAGA Coup Plotters
If the far-right GOP firebrand wins the gavel, Congress will be at the mercy of a “legislative terrorist” who actively colluded with the Trump to overturn the 2020 election and a cadre of extremists willing to blow up the government to achieve their goals.
Oct 17, 2023
Our first branch of government in the United States has been paralyzed and thrown into chaos—again—by a small cadre of far-right MAGA members of the House Freedom Caucus. It’s not by fluke or flaw, but rather the disciplined execution of a plan. And both the Democrats and Republicans had better wake up to the new reality if they want to preserve a government capable of responding to international crises and the needs of the American people.
The writing was on the wall less than a week after the November 2022 elections gave Republicans a razor-thin majority in the House. On Nov. 14, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) convened a forum on House Rules with leaders of the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) that laid out the Freedom Caucus plan for wielding unprecedented power over Congress.
“In light of the narrow majority, activist members of the House Freedom Caucus should recognize and embrace what we have today, which is de facto European-style coalition government,” noted lead panelist and CPI President and CEO Ed Corrigan. “In a sense, we have three political parties in the House: the Democrats, the Republicans, and the Freedom Caucus. More than [at] any time in history, the HFC has extraordinary power to negotiate a leadership arrangement that empowers all members, especially conservatives.”
By the end of the day, Biggs had announced on Newsmax that he would challenge Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for the speaker position, saying, “We have a new paradigm here.” A few weeks later, seven Freedom Caucus members sent a letter to their House colleagues laying out their demands for supporting any speaker candidate—the same list of rule changes and appointments that CPI leaders Corrigan, Mark Meadows, and Rachel Bovard had outlined at the Nov. 14 forum.
After a 15-ballot floor fight in January, McCarthy finally caved to the caucus and gave them pretty much everything they wanted in exchange for their support of him as speaker. In addition to gaining three coveted seats on the Rules Committee, the Freedom Caucus won a rule change allowing a single member to trigger the equivalent of a no-confidence vote that ousts the speaker and requires a majority vote to elect a new one.
The hard fact of the matter is that the House Freedom Caucus views itself as a third party.
The price of this deal has proven to be extraordinarily steep. The House Freedom Caucus’ leverage over McCarthy enabled them to bring the nation to the brink of default in May over increasing the debt ceiling and repeat their brinkmanship on the pending government shutdown on October 1. And, ultimately, it enabled Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)—who participated in the forum last November—and seven other hard-right members to bring down McCarthy for avoiding the government shutdown and grind the House to a halt two days later.
The hard fact of the matter is that the House Freedom Caucus views itself as a third party. Their loyalty lies not with the Republican Party, but with a far-right ideology and CPI, the dark-money group led by former Trump insiders and insurrectionists that scripts, staffs, and trains caucus members.
Now Jordan, who helped found the caucus and serves as its vice chair, has made his move, and is working doggedly to flip the GOP members he needs to win a floor vote for speaker on Tuesday. If he wins, it will be a MAGA coup, and Congress will be at the mercy of a “legislative terrorist” who actively colluded with the Trump White House to overturn the 2020 election results and a cadre of extremists willing to blow up the government to achieve their goals.
The far more sensible path would be for the two major parties that actually care about responsible governance to strike a deal for the sake of the nation.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Exposed by CMD
Arn Pearson
Arn Pearson is the Executive Director of the Center for Media and Democracy. He previously served as the Vice President for Policy and Litigation at Common Cause.
Our first branch of government in the United States has been paralyzed and thrown into chaos—again—by a small cadre of far-right MAGA members of the House Freedom Caucus. It’s not by fluke or flaw, but rather the disciplined execution of a plan. And both the Democrats and Republicans had better wake up to the new reality if they want to preserve a government capable of responding to international crises and the needs of the American people.
The writing was on the wall less than a week after the November 2022 elections gave Republicans a razor-thin majority in the House. On Nov. 14, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) convened a forum on House Rules with leaders of the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) that laid out the Freedom Caucus plan for wielding unprecedented power over Congress.
“In light of the narrow majority, activist members of the House Freedom Caucus should recognize and embrace what we have today, which is de facto European-style coalition government,” noted lead panelist and CPI President and CEO Ed Corrigan. “In a sense, we have three political parties in the House: the Democrats, the Republicans, and the Freedom Caucus. More than [at] any time in history, the HFC has extraordinary power to negotiate a leadership arrangement that empowers all members, especially conservatives.”
By the end of the day, Biggs had announced on Newsmax that he would challenge Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for the speaker position, saying, “We have a new paradigm here.” A few weeks later, seven Freedom Caucus members sent a letter to their House colleagues laying out their demands for supporting any speaker candidate—the same list of rule changes and appointments that CPI leaders Corrigan, Mark Meadows, and Rachel Bovard had outlined at the Nov. 14 forum.
After a 15-ballot floor fight in January, McCarthy finally caved to the caucus and gave them pretty much everything they wanted in exchange for their support of him as speaker. In addition to gaining three coveted seats on the Rules Committee, the Freedom Caucus won a rule change allowing a single member to trigger the equivalent of a no-confidence vote that ousts the speaker and requires a majority vote to elect a new one.
The hard fact of the matter is that the House Freedom Caucus views itself as a third party.
The price of this deal has proven to be extraordinarily steep. The House Freedom Caucus’ leverage over McCarthy enabled them to bring the nation to the brink of default in May over increasing the debt ceiling and repeat their brinkmanship on the pending government shutdown on October 1. And, ultimately, it enabled Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)—who participated in the forum last November—and seven other hard-right members to bring down McCarthy for avoiding the government shutdown and grind the House to a halt two days later.
The hard fact of the matter is that the House Freedom Caucus views itself as a third party. Their loyalty lies not with the Republican Party, but with a far-right ideology and CPI, the dark-money group led by former Trump insiders and insurrectionists that scripts, staffs, and trains caucus members.
Now Jordan, who helped found the caucus and serves as its vice chair, has made his move, and is working doggedly to flip the GOP members he needs to win a floor vote for speaker on Tuesday. If he wins, it will be a MAGA coup, and Congress will be at the mercy of a “legislative terrorist” who actively colluded with the Trump White House to overturn the 2020 election results and a cadre of extremists willing to blow up the government to achieve their goals.
The far more sensible path would be for the two major parties that actually care about responsible governance to strike a deal for the sake of the nation.
Arn Pearson
Arn Pearson is the Executive Director of the Center for Media and Democracy. He previously served as the Vice President for Policy and Litigation at Common Cause.
Our first branch of government in the United States has been paralyzed and thrown into chaos—again—by a small cadre of far-right MAGA members of the House Freedom Caucus. It’s not by fluke or flaw, but rather the disciplined execution of a plan. And both the Democrats and Republicans had better wake up to the new reality if they want to preserve a government capable of responding to international crises and the needs of the American people.
The writing was on the wall less than a week after the November 2022 elections gave Republicans a razor-thin majority in the House. On Nov. 14, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) convened a forum on House Rules with leaders of the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) that laid out the Freedom Caucus plan for wielding unprecedented power over Congress.
“In light of the narrow majority, activist members of the House Freedom Caucus should recognize and embrace what we have today, which is de facto European-style coalition government,” noted lead panelist and CPI President and CEO Ed Corrigan. “In a sense, we have three political parties in the House: the Democrats, the Republicans, and the Freedom Caucus. More than [at] any time in history, the HFC has extraordinary power to negotiate a leadership arrangement that empowers all members, especially conservatives.”
By the end of the day, Biggs had announced on Newsmax that he would challenge Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for the speaker position, saying, “We have a new paradigm here.” A few weeks later, seven Freedom Caucus members sent a letter to their House colleagues laying out their demands for supporting any speaker candidate—the same list of rule changes and appointments that CPI leaders Corrigan, Mark Meadows, and Rachel Bovard had outlined at the Nov. 14 forum.
After a 15-ballot floor fight in January, McCarthy finally caved to the caucus and gave them pretty much everything they wanted in exchange for their support of him as speaker. In addition to gaining three coveted seats on the Rules Committee, the Freedom Caucus won a rule change allowing a single member to trigger the equivalent of a no-confidence vote that ousts the speaker and requires a majority vote to elect a new one.
The hard fact of the matter is that the House Freedom Caucus views itself as a third party.
The price of this deal has proven to be extraordinarily steep. The House Freedom Caucus’ leverage over McCarthy enabled them to bring the nation to the brink of default in May over increasing the debt ceiling and repeat their brinkmanship on the pending government shutdown on October 1. And, ultimately, it enabled Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)—who participated in the forum last November—and seven other hard-right members to bring down McCarthy for avoiding the government shutdown and grind the House to a halt two days later.
The hard fact of the matter is that the House Freedom Caucus views itself as a third party. Their loyalty lies not with the Republican Party, but with a far-right ideology and CPI, the dark-money group led by former Trump insiders and insurrectionists that scripts, staffs, and trains caucus members.
Now Jordan, who helped found the caucus and serves as its vice chair, has made his move, and is working doggedly to flip the GOP members he needs to win a floor vote for speaker on Tuesday. If he wins, it will be a MAGA coup, and Congress will be at the mercy of a “legislative terrorist” who actively colluded with the Trump White House to overturn the 2020 election results and a cadre of extremists willing to blow up the government to achieve their goals.
The far more sensible path would be for the two major parties that actually care about responsible governance to strike a deal for the sake of the nation.
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