THE CONFEDERATE TRAITOR IN THE SPEAKER'S CHAIR - NOW UPDATED

Who is Mike Johnson?

Axios answers that question (from their subscription-only newsletter):

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), a four-term congressman who has never chaired a committee, was elected Speaker with unanimous Republican support — achieving a feat that few thought possible.

Politics is personal. After 22 days of paralysis and three failed nominees, the only candidate capable of uniting House Republicans was one who apparently hasn't served long enough to make any enemies.

Johnson is a Trump ally with a remarkably similar voting record to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), yet he managed to win over all 25 Republicans who voted against Jordan for speaker last week.

That includes moderate Republicans and members who represent districts President Biden won in 2020 — but who still felt comfortable voting for the most conservative House speaker in at least 80 years.

As Johnson accepted the gavel and addressed the House floor for the first time as speaker, it was easy to see how the folksy, mild-mannered Louisiana Republican could command trust from every faction of the GOP conference.

"Let the enemies of freedom around the world hear us loud and clear: The People's House is back in business," Johnson declared to raucous applause from Republicans — and even some Democrats.

But make no mistake: Johnson is a staunch conservative whose election denialism, support for a national abortion ban, and opposition to Ukraine aid will move the House's center of gravity firmly to the right.

In December 2020, Johnson led an amicus brief signed by more than 100 House Republicans in support of a failed Texas lawsuit that sought to invalidate Biden's election victory in four swing states.

Johnson also trafficked in a baseless conspiracy theory in November 2020 about "rigged" Dominion voting machines allegedly having ties to deceased Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.

The election of a new conservative speaker is being celebrated by the GOP hardliners who triggered the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Oct 3.

"If you don't think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you're not paying attention," Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) argued on Steve Bannon's podcast.

There is a new level of trust with Speaker Johnson that did not exist previously. That's why we have a new speaker. He is a conservative partner," Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) told reporters.

"We've been called a lot of names through this entire process. One of them was 'The Crazy Eight,'" said Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.). "I'm crazy enough to believe that this town could actually change."

Democrats believe Republicans just handed them a treasure trove of campaign material by unanimously electing Johnson, bolstering an anti-MAGA message they've been hammering for the last two years:

This has been about one thing: Who can appease Donald Trump?" Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said in his nominating speech for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

"House Republicans have put their names behind someone who has been called 'the most important architect' of the Electoral College objections," Aguilar continued.

"Damn right!" Rep. Anna Paulina Lunatic (R-Fla.) interjected from the Republican side of the chamber.

Democrats are looking to define Johnson early — viewing his right-wing record as a potential asset in the swing districts crucial to taking back the majority in 2024.

"Bye-bye," one Democrat called out as Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a Biden-district Republican, voted for Johnson.

"Mike Johnson is Jim Jordan in a sports coat," said DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton.

"Because he's been so unvetted, there's going to be like a pop-up cottage industry" to define him, one Democratic strategist working on House races told Axios.

"He is a rare and volatile combination of unvetted and conservative talk show host. He actually has years of material, freestyle right-wing rhetoric, that nobody has looked under the hood on," the strategist said.

"He is a rare and volatile combination of unvetted [and] conservative talk show host. He actually has years of material, freestyle right-wing rhetoric, that nobody has looked under the hood on," the strategist said — even spitballing a possible nickname: "Talkshow Mikey."

His right-wing positions on abortion and gay marriage have also been the source of early criticism from Democrats.

Another area where Johnson may prove a liability for Republicans on the campaign trail is fundraising.

His campaign committee has raised just over half a million dollars so far this cycle and has $1.1 million in cash on hand, according to OpenSecrets — a fraction of the fundraising of other House leaders. By contrast, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Johnson's predecessor, has raised $13.7 million this cycle for his campaign committee alone.

Ascending to the House speakership could boost Johnson's fundraising, but he "doesn't have any real record of an ability to crisscross the country fundraising for members," said the Democratic strategist. "I think it'll be interesting to see how he picks the pieces up."

22 days of GOP infighting has left Congress with 22 days to fund the government — giving new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a narrow runway to manage the sequel to September's shutdown standoff.

Johnson, who has never chaired a committee and has a relatively small staff, will face a significant learning curve when it comes to member management.

That's not to mention the relationships he'll be forced to build from scratch with both the Senate and the White House: Most senators could not pick Johnson out of a lineup, and his votes against the debt ceiling bill and short-term government funding have not earned him a reputation for bipartisan deal-making.

Even if Republicans manage to stay united through the government funding process, Johnson's support for deep spending cuts — and opposition to sending aid to Ukraine — will set the stage for a tense standoff when it comes time for bipartisan negotiations.

Brendan Buck, a former aide to Speakers John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), predicted Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) will become one of the most powerful majority leaders in decades as a result of Johnson's inexperience.

What I get from all of the above is that the feral children have elected a preschooler to lead them. These are the people who decry and oppose expertise - because being around people who actually know what they are doing and how things work only makes the ignorance and stupidity of these professionally-unserious kooks more obvious. The entire House Republican caucus is composed of the people “real” Republicans used to laugh at 40 years ago.

As was pointed out by Heather Cox Richardson in her new book “Democracy Awakening” (which all of you should get and read), Donald Trump took power exactly because he came along and promised the people Republican leaders had made promises to for 50 years that they never planned to keep, that he would deliver on those promises. And now these are the people who control the Republican Party.

The good news is, they are stupid and ignorant. They will make stupid and ignorant mistakes. They do not have the knowledge to deliver the things they promise. There is no bill any of them will pass in the House that will ever survive in the Senate or get to the president’s desk. In the next 12 months, they will accomplish nothing but to publicly demonstrate the stupidity and ignorance. Even the morons who put them in office will get pissed off at them when they fail to deliver on their promises.

The next 12 months will be hell to anyone with a brain forced to watch this clown car circle the ring as it tips over on itself. The crises that present themselves internationally and domestically will not be effectively dealt with. Hopefully, that part of the American electorate that can tie its own shoelaces and count beyond 10 without having to untie those shoes and take them and the socks off will get an education that These Things Matter and finally prove that a 5-minute conversation with any of them is not the best argument against democracy.

UPDATE:

In case there was any doubt of where things are headed, three weeks before the next deadline to avoid a government shutdown, the hard-liners have already started threatening him. Minutes after Johnson won the speakership, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.), a leader of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, said that any bill avoiding a shutdown on Nov. 17 would need to impose something like the 30 percent slashing of government spending that House Republicans attempted last month.

Let’s bear in mind that such a bill, if passed, would be DOA in the Senate and the only place it would go would be the nearest toilet bowl.

“Because of the absolute nonsense of the last four weeks, I think the chance of a shutdown went from 10 percent four or five weeks ago to probably something more like a coin flip,” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) allowed that “the last four weeks have not provided me with a lot of reason to be optimistic that Republicans are going to have our act together. … We need to be aware that, any given day, eight or 10 people can decide they want to blow the whole thing up.”

When Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) voted for Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries as “the only candidate that protects the integrity of this House,” the Republican side erupted in boos and a shout of “bulls---!”

And when Jeffries, who had the task of handing the gavel to Johnson, preceded it with a speech, he was treated to heckling from Greene, jeering and booing when he mentioned the Jan. 6 insurrection, shouts of “regular order” to cut him off, and finally a chant of “We want Mike!”

As Marjorie Traitor Goon put it, “The GOP conference has changed and it’s changing to reflect America First.”

I have actually found something on which Congresswoman Potatoface and I agree.

Please consider supporting That’s Another Fine Mess as a paid subscriber for only $7/month or $70/year.

Comments are for paid subscribers.