It’s a bit of an understatement to say Jim Jordan comes to the Speakership with baggage. (Yes, I think it’s almost a given at this point.) But there’s baggage and then there’s baggage. There’s been very, very little discussion of the fact that Jordan is deeply entwined in a college wrestling molestation scandal from his days as the assistant coach of the Ohio State University wrestling team in the 80s and early 90s. It’s been mostly ignored because reporters see it as old news. There was a scandal but it didn’t really go anywhere, the thinking goes. Old news, nothing to see here. But that doesn’t make any sense if you know the details.

First, here’s the short version.

Yesterday we noted that the latest GOP Speaker wannabe, Jim Jordan and his allies have shifted to mobilizing base MAGA supporters against the substantial number of holdouts who have either claimed they won’t vote for Jordan on the floor of the House or claim they will never vote for him. This morning Jordan seems to be making substantial headway. One key Republican holdout, Mike Rogers of Alabama, now says he’s on board. So does Ken Calvert, who represents a swing district in California.

1 … The US House

In the House GOP battle to seat a new Speaker we have a critical development, which captures or perhaps recapitulates the nature of the battle itself. About 5% of the caucus unseated Kevin McCarthy. Then Steve Scalise won the caucus vote to be Speaker. But a good couple dozen members still wouldn’t vote for him and he quickly dropped out. Then Jim Jordan won the vote and faced the identical problem. But Jordan, his recent establishment turn notwithstanding, is of the Trumpist right. So his supporters are taking a different tack. As the Times reports they’re mobilizing a base-focused press campaign, enlisting right wing media and activists, publishing ‘hit lists’ of recalcitrant members’ phone numbers, threatening primary campaigns. As Trumpist capo Russell T. Vought puts it to the Times, with a lot of history to back him up, the ‘moderates’ will fold because they’re soft. They simply don’t have it in them to deny Jordan on the floor of the House the way Jordan’s strongest allies were ready to do it with McCarthy and Scalise.

You’re starting to have pretty key members of the House saying the Republicans can’t elect a Speaker. Period. Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas said last night that the effort is “hopeless” and that they’ll need Democrats help to end the “fiasco.”

“There’s not a person in our conference, not a person in American that can get 217 votes out of this group.”