Playbook: “As the GOP has drifted steadily right, their ranks have steadily thinned and their crucial role in making Congress work has become increasingly threatened. Being called a ‘moderate’ these days isn’t even really ideological — it’s about keeping your head down, building the relationships and making the compromises that have kept American democracy on track for 247 years.”
“For that flexibility — and their willingness to fall in line behind party leaders — they’ve earned themselves a sneering nickname from their own colleagues: ‘Squishes.’”
“So when Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), godfather of the conservative hard-liners, won the Republican nomination to be elected speaker last week, you’d be forgiven for expecting them to, y’know, squish once again.”
“Turns out the moderates are vertebrates, after all.”
