The more I read about the extreme views of Mike Johnson (and of his wife) the more I am glad that in the infinite ignorance the Republican members of the House went along with Stupido-Supreme Donald Trump and made Mike Johnson the Speaker of the House.
Can it get anymore delicious for Democrats to read You’ll Want To Hear About Speaker Mike Johnson’s Record On Obamacare (HuffPost) or Mike Johnson’s Wife Runs Counseling Service That Compares Being Gay To Bestiality, Incest (also in HuffPost)?
I doubt that Johnson ever thought that he’d be under the kind of scrutiny he’s under now when he agreed to speak at ‘Kill the Gays’ pastor’s conference. Not a good look, Mike!
Democrats ought to relish the thought of Mike Johnson who wants to continue with the effort to impeach Joe Biden being pitted against the impeachment hearing committee chair, James Comer who doesn’t.
The new House speaker wants to pursue impeachment charges based on baseless corruption claims against President Joe Biden but there’s just one problem: U.S. Rep James Comer (R-KY) wants to be done with the hearings:
“I don’t know that I want to hold any more hearings, to be honest with you,” said Comer, Chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee leading the impeachment charge. He said he preferred depositions, which “you can do more with.
RawStory
Here’s another tidbit of reporting which is from The Hill:
Reporters have unearthed past comments in which Johnson threatened “hard labor” for doctors who perform abortions; blamed a combination of “radical feminism,” the sexual revolution and abortion rights for school shootings; and referred to homosexuality as “inherently unnatural” and “dangerous.”
Not only does Johnson have to deal with the House members who thrive on creating chaos whenever they can, there’s no way for him to put off handling their wanting to shut down the government. I haven’t heard where Johnson stands on this but if he has any sense he won’t want to give the Democrats ammunition to use against the Republicans considering what happens when the House refuses to authorize federal funding to a wide variety of programs.
It isn’t just that Johnson is a creationist who believes Noah’s Ark was real. Heavens to Betsy (whoever Betsy referred to is open to speculation), polls show about 25% of all Americans believe in some version of creationism (how many GOP members of the House believe this hasn’t been surveyed as far as know). It’s that he seems intent on proselytizing his views and this won’t go over well with his colleagues, let alone the majority of voters.
They also must be reveling in the sideshow of George Santos who is now facing 10 more criminal charges considering that New York Republicans are pushing ahead with resolution to expel Santos from House (CBS News).
He also has to be very careful of who he grants interviews with. So far he gave one the Sean Hannity but there’s no telling whether another interviewer even on Fox News decides to blindside him with a question about, say, what he thinks of Lauren Boebert’s theater groping.
It’s conceivable that Johnson thinks God was sending him a message about breaking with the Republican othodoxy on being against any form of gun control in the form of Robert Card but I doubt it considering this:
“At the end of the day, the problem is the human heart,” Johnson told Fox News host Sean Hannity one day after a gunman killed at least 18 people and injured dozens more in Maine. “It’s not guns, it’s not the weapons.” (HuffPost)
Of course gun control isn’t the only major issue the Republicans are out of step with a significant majority of the public. Most notably his stance on abortion which is based on a deeply held belief which is not going to change.
- Measure would end rebates for energy-efficient appliances
- Slashes funds for other programs to counter climate change
As reported in this CNN article Mike Johnson is well within the mainstream of today’s GOP. Fortunately the majority of Americans don’t agree.
This week he “made one of his first big decisions as the new head of the House GOP, joining with Republicans who want to withhold aid for Ukraine to defend itself from a Russian army accused of war crimes so they can use it as a bargaining chip for more U.S. border security.” (Artile) This means that he is using Ukranian lives, and doing something Russia will cheer, to make political points with the GOP anti-immigant base.
These positions, among others, make it likely that the Rupublicans will lose control of the House in the next election.
Johnson will also be subject to reporters questions and won’t be able to get away unscathed with blowing them off (above) with an 80 GOP white haired repsentative screaming and providing Democrats with an ad showing how they booed ABC reported Rachel Scott for asking about his role in trying to overturn the election.
During the presser, ABC News reporter Rachel Scott asked Johnson about what she called his effort to “overturn” the 2020 presidential election results, eliciting a torrent of boos and one “Shut up!” from the GOP lawmakers assembled around the nominee. She also asked if Johnson would support more aid for Israel and Ukraine if elected speaker, which prompted another stiff rebuke from the lawmakers, who dismissed her, stating she had already asked another question.
I can think of no better Christmas present for Democrats which could be under the Capitol Christmas Tree than Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. In fact the tree is traditionally lit by the Speaker of the House so you know he’ll be, if not under it, at least next to the tree.
Addendum:
I don’t want to speculate about Johnson’s mental health or whether he actually hears the voice of God telling him what to do and if he does what this means clinically as this has been extensively studied. I will go out on a limb to say that if he really has amnesia for the homophobic remarks he made (see article) amnesia is a psychiatric condition.
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