House Speaker Race: Jim Jordan and the Myth of Sisyphus

The ancient Greeks were well-informed about eternal torments of the afterlife, as one would expect from a people whose mythical women were frequently ravished by gods in the guise of wild animals. Tantalus was forever fated to claw for fruit from branches that shrank from reach, or try and slake his thirst with water that drained away as he brought his mouth to it. (To be fair, he earned this fate by feeding his son, in a stew, to the gods of Olympus at a banquet — a party foul in any era.) The faithless Danaïdes, who slaughtered their husbands on their wedding night, were condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a sieve to fill a leaking amphora. The Titan Prometheus — he who gave humanity the forbidden gifts of fire and knowledge — wasn’t even allowed the dignity of death; the gods simply chained him to a mountainside and let a giant bird gorge itself agonizingly on his forever-regenerating liver. (In a true mafiosi move, they also set his good-natured dunce of a brother up as the patsy for humanity’s woes by gifting him with an irresponsible girlfriend and a box marked “DO NOT OPEN.”)

This discussion of shame and damnation naturally brings us to Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio — would-be Republican speaker of the House and certainly the cleverest man in any given room by his own estimation — who is currently living out the agonies of Sisyphus, forever pushing a boulder up a steep hill only to lose his grip just before reaching the crest and tumbling back down. For those not following along with the ongoing carnival of self-degradation in the House of Representatives, a brief primer will suffice: After Kevin McCarthy was toppled as speaker of the House by Matt Gaetz and similarly inclined malcontents, Steve Scalise mounted a bid to replace him. Scalise was told in conference by Jim Jordan, his losing intra-conference rival for the position, that “America wants me” — a charming moment sure to remind anyone in the room familiar with Jim Jordan’s personal affect of every other interaction they have ever had with the man. But then Scalise himself failed to close the deal for various reasons, which meant it was the turn of the Donald Trump–endorsed Jordan to try to garner 217 votes on the floor of the House in a bid for speaker.

JB

About the Author

Jeffrey Blehar

Jeffrey Blehar is a National Review staff writer living in Chicago. He is also the co-host of National Review’s Political Beats podcast, which explores the great music of the modern era with guests from the political world happy to find something non-political to talk about.

Featured Tags

Manage following

Republicans

House of Representatives

The ancient Greeks were well-informed about eternal torments of the afterlife, as one would expect from a people whose mythical women were frequently ravished by gods in the guise of wild animals. Tantalus was forever fated to claw for fruit from branches that shrank from reach, or try and slake his thirst with water that drained away as he brought his mouth to it. (To be fair, he earned this fate by feeding his son, in a stew, to the gods of Olympus at a banquet — a party foul in any era.) The faithless Danaïdes, who slaughtered their husbands on their wedding night, were condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a sieve to fill a leaking amphora. The Titan Prometheus — he who gave humanity the forbidden gifts of fire and knowledge — wasn’t even allowed the dignity of death; the gods simply chained him to a mountainside and let a giant bird gorge itself agonizingly on his forever-regenerating liver. (In a true mafiosi move, they also set his good-natured dunce of a brother up as the patsy for humanity’s woes by gifting him with an irresponsible girlfriend and a box marked “DO NOT OPEN.”)

This discussion of shame and damnation naturally brings us to Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio — would-be Republican speaker of the House and certainly the cleverest man in any given room by his own estimation — who is currently living out the agonies of Sisyphus, forever pushing a boulder up a steep hill only to lose his grip just before reaching the crest and tumbling back down. For those not following along with the ongoing carnival of self-degradation in the House of Representatives, a brief primer will suffice: After Kevin McCarthy was toppled as speaker of the House by Matt Gaetz and similarly inclined malcontents, Steve Scalise mounted a bid to replace him. Scalise was told in conference by Jim Jordan, his losing intra-conference rival for the position, that “America wants me” — a charming moment sure to remind anyone in the room familiar with Jim Jordan’s personal affect of every other interaction they have ever had with the man. But then Scalise himself failed to close the deal for various reasons, which meant it was the turn of the Donald Trump–endorsed Jordan to try to garner 217 votes on the floor of the House in a bid for speaker.

JB

About the Author

Jeffrey Blehar

Jeffrey Blehar is a National Review staff writer living in Chicago. He is also the co-host of National Review’s Political Beats podcast, which explores the great music of the modern era with guests from the political world happy to find something non-political to talk about.