The conservative radio host Mark Levin called on all 22 Republicans voting against Jim Jordan (R-OH) as Speaker to face primaries.
Jordan lost his bid to succeed Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in a second vote held on Wednesday, with some GOP members casting protest votes for those not even running for the Speakership.
The move helps ensure that Democrats are able to point the finger of blame for inaction in the House at Republicans.
Levin is seemingly fed up with the games, not only calling for the 22 Republicans to face a strong conservative primary opponent, but also the eight hardliners who voted to oust McCarthy in the first place.
“Enough: I would encourage conservatives who reside in the districts where the latest GOP kamikazes live to find a strong candidate to primary them, as well as the original 8,” he wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I have nothing but contempt for the original 8 boneheads, and I have nothing but contempt for the 22 boneheads who are working with the Democrats in the latest sabotage,” added Levin.
PRIMARY THEM!
Enough: I would encourage conservatives who reside in the districts where the latest GOP kamikazes live to find a strong candidate to primary them, as well as the original 8. I have nothing but contempt for the original 8 boneheads, and I have nothing but…
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) October 18, 2023
Will They Face Republican Primaries?
Levin believes that the only way to solve the Republican civil war is by forcing primaries against those causing the problem by running candidates from the right, saying that it is incumbent upon the people “to clean this up and fix it.”
Eight conservative GOP lawmakers voted to remove McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker after he exhibited a pattern of working with Democrats and failing to live up to promises he made in order to secure the bid in the first place.
They did so without any true backup plan, however. Former President Donald Trump was floated as an option. Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) was later nominated behind closed doors, but dropped out when it became clear that he didn’t have enough votes.
Rep. Jordan continued his candidacy despite also clearly not having the votes.
Rather than support Jordan, first 20 GOP lawmakers, then 22, sided with Democrats to prevent him from taking the gavel.
You wanted the 8 to voluntarily walk off the fiscal cliff with McCarthy nem? Na we good. Some of us are HAPPY for what they did.
— Monique Worthy (@MoniqueWorthy) October 18, 2023
RELATED: Interim House Speaker Promptly Evicts Pelosi From Her Office, Warns It Will Be ‘Re-Keyed’
They’re Willing To Work With Democrats
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who voted both times for McCarthy, taunted Jordan, and said that any future votes would lead to his tally going “backwards.”
“We’re confident next vote he’s gonna lose five or six more votes,” Bacon said in a Fox News interview. “He’s gonna be going backwards.”
Bacon is bragging and chiding Jordan in the exact manner some Democrats might. It’s more evidence that Fox News host Brian Kilmeade was spot on when he was caught on a hot mic calling Bacon a “dumba**.”
Brian Kilmeade caught on hot mic live on-air after Don Bacon votes for Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker: “DUMBASS!”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 17, 2023
The evidence supports those comments. McCarthy is not running and has himself voted for Jordan both times.
Several commenters pushed back on Levin’s suggestion that the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy should face the same fate as those sinking Jordan’s effort.
“Wrong. The 8 are great. The 22 must lose,” one X user wrote.
Wrong. The 8 are great. The 22 must lose.
— Adam Tomblin (@adamtomblin) October 18, 2023
“The original 8 did the right thing, it’s the 22 that need to be fired!” another replied.
The original 8 did the right thing, it’s the 22 that need to be fired!
— TJ Sharp (@TJSharp17) October 18, 2023
Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL) went on a similar tirade to Levin’s, reportedly calling the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy “traitors” several times.
Worse, he suggested that the only way out of this mess was to work with Democrats and submit to their demands.
Forbes reported that Rogers asked Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to tell Republicans “what concessions they’ll have to make for Democrats to help them elect a speaker.”
Rogers eventually flipped and voted for Jordan both times, but it’s clear that there is a contingent amongst these other 22 Republicans who could waffle and work with Democrats to get a less conservative Speaker elected.
They are the only ones who should face a primary from the right.
Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”
