Democratic strategist James Carville laid out a plan to back Republicans into a corner, pointing to Rep. Jim Jordan's new job as the trigger.
In a Politicon video posted Tuesday, Carville urged Democrats to introduce child protection legislation, hold hearings for abuse survivors and create a fund to compensate them, then make Republicans vote on it or veto it. He made the pitch the same day House Republicans chose Jordan (R-OH) as their leader in the minority over House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).
Carville opened by promising to rein in his usual profanity. "I'm going to try to refrain from using profanity, which is not the natural state for me," he said. "But I think that is a real, real, real thing to talk about."
"Jim Jordan is now the most powerful Republican in the United States House of Representatives," Carville said.
Former Ohio State University wrestlers have said Jordan knew about the abuse of athletes when he was an assistant coach there, which he has denied. "There are credible allegations that are still to be resolved," Carville said. "Jim Jordan has a real pedophilia problem, and it's not over."
Carville argued Jordan fits a broader pattern. He said former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) went to prison over payments tied to a boy he abused while working as a coach.
He then turned to Paul Pressler, a late Texas religious-right leader accused of abusing young men, and noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was slated to be dean of a law school bearing Pressler's name.
Carville's fix is legislation. He suggested Democrats rally behind Ohio Gov.-elect Amy Acton (D) on what he called a "2026 child safety and protection act," complete with hearings for victims.
"We need to bring people up and say, what happened to the children that were molested by Paul Pressler?" he said. "We have to go back 25, 30, 40 years to see how lives were ruined by people's inability... willingness to look the other way in very obvious situations."
He also pitched a fund "to help compensate the victims of this horrific right-wing pedophilia," and said the bill should move even with Democrats juggling investigations and a broader agenda.
"You can pass the act. And you can make them vote on it, and make them veto it if they want to," Carville said. "They have a history of pedophilia protection. Well, let them demonstrate it again."
