#1806: Jim Jordan

James Daniel “Jim” Jordan has been serving as the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 4th congressional district since 2007, and is co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus. As is common for people who claim to be concerned about “freedom”, Jordan takes a dim view of the freedoms of those who don’t share his race, gender, sexual orientation or views on religion and politics, and is a close ally of hate organizations like the Family Research Council and people like Tony Perkins. In 2009, for instance, when DC decided to recognize gay marriage, Jordan and Dan Boren introduced a bill to stop it, arguing that “[t]he family is truly the foundational institution of our nation, and marriage is its cornerstone,” which one would think is an argument for recognizing gay marriage; I suppose families of gay people aren’t real families. In 2012 Jordan said that the campaign to defeat Obama is just like previous generations who defeated Slavery and the Nazis (which is, in fact, not the most delusional element of this insane rant).

He is also a conspiracy theorist (or at least enabler of conspiracy theories); in 2013 he and Jason Chaffetz held a hearing “to examine the procurement of ammunition by the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General,” a rather striking example of the return and mainstreaming of John Birch-style craziness among wingnuts. According to this particular conspiracy theory, the government has been hoarding ammo to use against Christians and conservatives if they protest too loudly against the left’s attempts to revoke and undermine religious freedom and the second Amendment.

As so many of his ilk, Jordan is no friend of science. Back in his state senator days, for instance, Jordan became known for pushing Academic Freedom bills to promote the teaching of Intelligent Design and undermine the teaching of evolution in Ohio public schools.

Diagnosis: Bigot and conspiracy theorist. Evidently (and unsurprisingly) that’s no obstacle to being elected to Congress in Ohio’s fourth district, which reflects not particularly well on those constituents.