Jim Jordan, GOP fight “cancel culture” (on Capitol’s TV system) while Democrats fight pandemic – By Ramsey Touchberry (Salon) / Mar 9 2021
Jacket-less conservative firebrand strikes a blow for freedom — or at least Newsmax — as Dems ready huge aid bill
Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rodney Davis, R-Ill., have demanded that House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., ensure that Fox News and One America News Network will remain available to members and staff via Congress’ internal television system. The demand, which came in the form of a letter on Tuesday, was in response to a push by two Democrats for cable, satellite and streaming companies to combat misinformation and conspiracies by dropping outlets like Fox News, OANN and Newsmax.
Jordan — the hardcore Trump loyalist and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, known for rarely wearing a jacket — and Davis also demanded that Newsmax, a far-right media outlet that has seen its popularity grow among disgruntled Fox News viewers, be added to the list of channels. A press release from Jordan’s office stated that such a decision would “demonstrate the House’s commitment to rejecting cancel culture.”
The GOP duo’s focus on which channels Capitol Hill viewers can access is emblematic of the much larger Republican strategy — or reflexive impulse — to focus on hot-button culture issues. Their Democratic colleagues, meanwhile, were busy reassuring reporters that they would emerge united ahead of a forthcoming vote on more coronavirus relief that is expected to pass on party lines.
Just weeks into President Joe Biden’s tenure and their hard-won majority in both houses of Congress, Democrats are aware they’re gambling by proceeding with a nearly $2 trillion package without the backing of a single Republican lawmaker.
