We begin today with Keith Naughton writing for The Hill that there is only one Donald Trump and his name is not Jim Jordan.
Intimidation, backstabbing and flaunting the will of the majority are all tactics that Donald Trump has used expertly to dominate the Republican Party. Wannabe House Speaker Jim Jordan has tried the same gameplan, only to find out that he’s no Trump. It took three failed ballots for that reality to sink in for Jordan and his fuming, fumbling allies. [...]
It’s the Trump playbook: do whatever it takes to undermine your opponent and then play a game of chicken, forcing the other guy to duck. But Jordan is not Trump. Jordan does not have the charisma and feel for the room Trump has. Worse, Jordan does not have Trump’s power — which means his game of chicken simply won’t work.
Enough Jordan opponents realized that caving to Jordan’s tactics would give a small minority a de facto veto over anything that happens in the Republican caucus. In short, letting Jordan win would neuter the majority and this small minority would only become more aggressive and demanding. The whole dynamic is less about ideology and more about game theory.
