The Republicans have a Speaker, and his name is Mike Johnson!
After a three week public trainwreck, the GOP has finally got their guy. It’s only taken 21 days, 4 failed Speaker designees, an international crisis, and a partridge in a pear tree for Republicans to realize that our country actually needs a government to function.
So, while it was fun to get in my freebies and score some political points, I’m honestly just relieved that we have someone. Don’t get me wrong, they picked an awful guy for the job, even their own party thinks so. When asked her thoughts about Speaker designee Johnson, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she would “google him later”.
However, sometimes we need to take a step back and remember that government is meant to serve as a vehicle to make the lives of the American people better, not as the world’s highest stakes sitcom.
And let’s remember how long it took to even get here. It was the fault of the Republican Party, and only the Republican Party, that our federal government was closed for 22 days. In those 22 crucial days, no progress was made toward avoiding a shutdown, no foreign aid packages were passed to help resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and the lives of exactly zero (0) Americans were improved.
So while I’m glad the halls of government are back open and working for the American people, when talk of a government shutdown comes up in a week or two here, let’s not forget who is accountable.
The Man in the High Castle
Mike Johnson, our new Speaker of the House, hails from northwest Louisiana. Given the fact that he hasn’t served a single day as Speaker yet, I don’t want to rush to too many judgements, but my buddy Mike from Louisiana doesn’t have the best track record so far.
Since his election to Congress in 2016, Rep. Johnson has…
- Supported a nation-wide abortion ban
- Wants to raise the retirement age for Social Security
- Was one of only 57 Republicans to vote “no” on Ukraine aid
- Led the “Texas v. Pennsylvania” amicus brief, which sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election
- Sponsored the national version of Florida Gov. DeSantis’ “Don’t say Gay” bill
- Described homosexuality as “sinful” and “destructive” and wants to ban gay marriage
And for all his “good” deeds and ideas, Mike from Louisiana has been rewarded with the title of being the most powerful Republican in Congress!
Mike Johnson’s ascension to Speaker of the House shows every American who the Republican party is beholden to. It’s not the “moderates” or the “fiscal conservatives”, it’s the abortion-banning, election-denying, homophobic radicals.
Even Nebraska’s Congressional Caucus supports Mike– with Rep. Smith signing onto the amicus brief, and his buddies Rep. Flood and Rep. Bacon joining in their desire to ban abortion and raise the age of retirement.
I’m going to be honest, though, Mike Johnson just reminds me of every cynical, right-wing villain in an HBO political drama– he even looks the part too! With his lack of leadership experience and extremist agenda, it’ll be interesting, if nothing else, to see how Mike Pence with glasses and black hair leads the House of Representatives!
Hypocrisy at its Finest
Last week, I wrote this blog about how Don Bacon is actually not some pro-democracy hero, despite what he wants you to believe, and honestly, I got a lot of flack for that. However, a week later, and we see a much more revealing side of Bacon’s character.
Don Bacon is willing to stand for something until his extremist party tells him to shut up and fall in line. Omaha’s own was anti-Jim Jordan because Jordan was an extremist, yet folks in Congress describe Johnson as, “Jim Jordan with a jacket and a smile”, and Bacon had nothing but glowing reviews of Johnson– so let’s look into why!
After his vote against Rep. Jordan’s bid for Speaker, Rep. Bacon’s Twitter mentions were flooded with folks calling him a “RINO” and calls for a primary challenger from a “real patriot”. Bacon’s morals didn’t magically change in a week, it just happened that with the slightest amount of political pressure applied, Bacon forgot he had a spine.
With Don Bacon, policy positions are negotiable, political opportunism, however, is a constant. When he can make his little stand to gain political points, he’ll gladly take them, then fall back in line once the MAGA party bosses remind him who’s really calling the shots for the GOP.
It’s disappointing– I’m not going to lie– I was kind of hoping that Bacon and other moderates would make some change for the better. It’d be nice to have a consensus, bi-partisan Speaker as opposed to an election-denying extremist, but, that’s what happens when we elect Congressmen without a spine.
You get what you vote for, Nebraska. Let’s be better in 2024.
Around the Horn
As I write this on Thursday, law enforcement in Maine and New England are on a manhunt for a 40 year old gunman who has claimed the lives of 18 innocent victims.
The attack was carried out with a semi-automatic AR-15. It’s beyond infuriating that our country keeps losing innocent lives to a gun epidemic when many deaths are preventable with common sense gun control. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were lost. Hopefully, one of these days, there will be no more families who have to experience this loss at the hands of gun violence.
Honestly, it’s hard to feel anything but defeated with the gun epidemic these days. Days continue to go by, lives continue to get lost, but the NRA insists that the right to bear arms is worth it all. It just sucks that innocent lives are lost everyday because a political party is completely beholden to money from the gun lobby. It’s truly one of the most depressing and fixable issues that we, as a country, face today– this country needs to get it’s shit together.
And to end on a positive– Congrats to Nebraska Volleyball! The Huskers beat #1 ranked Wisconsin in a 5 set thriller last week, leading them to the top of the NCAA rankings! The two have a rematch in the cards next month in Madison, make sure to tune in and support the best thing Nebraska has to offer!
Thank you for reading,
Please consider donating to the NDP here. The fight for the soul of our nation is on the ballot in 2024– and we need help in order to keep up with the corporate mega-donors of the GOP.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out at jack@nebraskademocrats.org.
All the best,
Jack Schiewe
