Republican representatives who voted against Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House have found themselves on the wrong side of an online harassment campaign. Following his second-ballot defeat, Jordan took to Twitter on Wednesday night to denounce such behavior. “No American should accost another for their beliefs. We condemn all threats against our colleagues and it is imperative that we come together. Stop. It’s abhorrent.” Through his emphatic condemnation, Jordan seeks to distance himself from the reality that this was a campaign spurred on by his tightest supporters; for Matt Gaetz riling the mob is an essential political tool.
Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas touches on the inner-party strife. “All I can tell you is that the tactics that they have employed against me, the publishing of my office phone number, and the messages, whether it’s conservative media or anybody else, this is all a result of going after people who do not basically represent the viewpoint of a whole lot of hardcore right-wing conservatives.” He says he and his staff have been “cussed out, they’ve been threatened… it’s been nonstop. Most of them are out-of-state calls.”
Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks of Iowa voted in favor of Jordan on Tuesday but withdrew her support on Wednesday when she saw there was little hope of a successful vote. Miller-Meeks issued a statement that corroborates Womack’s narrative. “Since my vote… I have received credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls. One thing I cannot stomach, or support is a Bully.”
Rep. Pete Stauber was another GOP member who switched his vote between Tuesday and Wednesday’s ballots; his office is also reporting a deluge of calls coming in. Notably, Stauber’s staffer highlights that a large percentage of incoming communication was being sent from out-of-state.
The function of the public’s capacity to complain to elected officials is a fundamental American tradition and picking up the phone to petition your representative was a key element of grass-roots political mobilization. Social media and the communication landscape of the 21st century threaten to tarnish that practice completely.
Rep. John Rutherford of Florida squares the blame directly on Jordan’s shoulders for facilitating a culture of aggressive and extremist rhetoric.
After the vote, Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) elaborated on some of the threats that have been leveled at his staff and placed the blame squarely on Jordan for facilitating a culture of aggressive and extremist rhetoric.“He is absolutely responsible for it. And look, it doesn’t work — especially against people like Steven [Scalise] and others. Nobody likes to have their arm twisted. Talking about individuals’ wives and those sorts of things? That’s just not acceptable.”
Rutherford is referring to anonymous texts sent to Rep. Don Bacon’s wife, urging her to talk to her husband into supporting Jordan. One text urged her to tell the congressman to “step up and be a leader,” while another asked her why her “husband [is] causing chaos by not supporting Jim Jordan.”
“It’s wrong that folks have no boundaries anymore,” Bacon said Wednesday. “We don’t live in fear, but holding people accountable is needed.”
The Idaho Republican Party issued a press release on Wednesday stating that it had also been “inundated with emails and phone calls. They go on to write that, “The people of Idaho expect Mike Simpson to represent their concerns and prioritize their needs above political games and partisan divisions. The true measure of his success will be in his steadfast defense of the Constitution and the tangible benefits he delivers to the hardworking families of Idaho. We will be watching.”
Almost all of the twenty or so Republicans in opposition to Jordan have issued comments on the ongoing harassment.
Rep. Kay Granger:
“Steve Scalise is an honorable man and has earned my vote for Speaker. This was a vote of conscience and I stayed true to my principles. Intimidation and threats will not change my position”
Rep. Jen Kiggan (VA):
“I will never regret standing up for the military and for doing what’s right for Virginia’s Second District. I was a helicopter pilot in the United States Navy… threats and intimidation tactics will not change my principles and values.
Rep. Rafael Diaz-Balart (FL):
“If anybody is trying to get my vote, the last thing you want to do is try to intimidate or pressure me, because then I close out entirely.”
Rep. Carlos Giménez (FL)
“(Jordan’s) tactics certainly didn’t work on me. Actually, I became more cemented in my position. He should have left me to my own devices. Now by being threatened, by being pushed — I’m Hispanic. I’m a Cuban. You just don’t do that to us.”
