It dawned on me that the Pleasure Island scene in Walt Disney’s 1940 version of Pinocchio is a perfect description of the GOP Congressional leadership. A major star of that scene is bad boy, Lampwick, who uncannily foreshadowed Jim Jordan almost 75 years ago.
The scene starts when the little naïve wooden puppet, Pinocchio, is easily thrown off his agenda by the Fox and the Cat. They easily persuade him to take a vacation on Pleasure Island instead of staying on the proper track by returning home. In the coach on the way there he falls in with this boy named Lampwick, who is already a hardcore mean kid, using a sling shot to hit the horses.
At Pleasure Island, Lampwick champions outrageous acts and Pinocchio follows his lead. When Lampwick announces he’s setting off to poke somebody in the nose, Pinocchio asks why. “Oh, just for the fun of it.” Pinocchio throws away his food and makes his hands into fists and they head out. Later, Lampwick delights in breaking things (as do many of the others). He points at a beautiful stained glass window and throws a brick through it.
Eventually, the dark secret of Pleasure Island starts unfolding as Lampwick begins to turn into a donkey (as will every other boy on the island). When Pinocchio’s head suddenly bears drooping donkey ears, he realizes he’s lost his way again and is now in real trouble. Jiminy Cricket rescues him by leading him away. As he escapes, Lampwick, who is now on all fours and speechless, is racing running around frantically, bucking and braying loudly. Exactly like Jim Jordan.
We should bestow this name upon Mr. Jordan because, like his namesake, he only knows how to disrupt and destroy and his words really make less sense than a donkey’s bray. The only difference is that I don’t think donkeys lie. Oh, in keeping with the times, the GOP’s Pleasure Island now includes women as well.