CNN State of the Union substitute host Dana Bash certainly lived up to her last name when it came to grilling Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) over the Department of Homeland Security funding and asking if the “conservative wing” of the Republican Party was too centered on principle and “chaos” instead of the “reality” of governance.
Bash started the interview off by insinuating that everyone is disgusted. “I want to ask the first question that everybody out there is probably asking, probably in disgust, saying, really? What is wrong with Congress? Why can’t you govern? And why can’t you fund a government agency that keeps us safe?”
Last Friday Congress passed a bill that would fund DHS for one week. Democrats want to pass a “clean” bill, while Jordan and other conservatives like him want to include measures that block funding for Obama’s executive orders on immigration reform. In CNN's eyes, Democrats refusing to compromise are civil, but Republicans refusing to compromise bring "chaos" and ignore "reality."
Jordan responded:
“We passed a bill at the levels that the Democrat[s] wanted. What we did say was ‘we don’t want to fund something that everyone knows is unconstitutional. Legal scholars on the right and left have said it’s unconstitutional and a federal judge, a federal judge has said is unlawful.’ That’s the bill we sent there, fund it at the levels the Democrats want, but don’t do something that’s unconstitutional.”
Bash kept lecturing:
But you know basic civics, because you are a member of Congress. The Senate can't pass that. It can't get past the Senate.... in the reality that you are dealing with right now, there still are not enough votes in the Senate, filibuster-approved votes. OK? You know this. You have heard this from your leadership. I don't want to get too far in the weeds before we move on from this.
But there is no plan to get over that hump, that very important hump, which is why there is such a stalemate. This is why your fellow conservatives in the Senate, Ted Cruz, Jeff Sessions, they allowed a bill to pass, a clean bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, no strings, because they know the political reality. Why don't you?”
She also read insults from other Republicans to him: “Let me read something that your fellow Republican in the House Congressman Devin Nunes of California said in a statement that they put out yesterday. He said: 'I prefer to be in an arena voting than trying to placate a small group of phony conservative members who have no credible policy proposals and no political strategy to stop Obama's lawlessness.' He's talking about you, calling you a phony conservative.”
She added “I understand that you obviously feel very passionately about this. But this is also about passion and principle vs. governing. And it just -- Your fellow Republican colleagues think that you are more interested in chaos and sticking to principle than your responsibility of governing.”
Jordan replied that while some believe there are those seeking to oust House Speaker John Boehner, there is no effort to do so, nor to impeach Obama. He said that conservatives “must clearly make the case that President Obama’s actions are wrong and unconstitutional.”
“Why do the Democrats insist — now this is amazing to me — why do they insist on being able to fund something that we know is unconstitutional and a federal judge has ruled against?," Jordan said. “That’s the fundamental question … That’s why our bill makes so much common sense.”
Bash told Jordan that during her many years of covering Congress, this congress feels “more chaotic."
“I’ve covered Congress for a very long time, and it feels more chaotic. It is impossible at this point for the House Speaker and the leadership team to govern and they feel like it is because you all don’t take yes for an answer.”
When it was over, Bash thanked Jordan by saying “Thank you very much for the spirited discussion.” Bash isn’t as likely to get into “spirited discussions” with Democratic members of Congress.
