Quick intro and 4 key policy points about the new GOP House Speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA):
He is in short a MAGA extremis who is a threat to our freedoms and democracy. In his short time in Congress, Johnson:
1. Tried to overturn the 2020 election to favor Trump.
2. Co-sponsored a near-total ban on abortions with no exception.
3. Argued in favor of gutting Social Security and Medicare.
4. Voted against protections for same-sex and intrracial marriage (USSC approved same-sex marriage in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015).
Two sources for the latest news on newly-elected GOP Speaker
Mike Johnson (R-LA) on the latest mass shooting in Maine from the Daily Beast and from Politico addressing Johnson’s other
pending woes (I combined the two stories below into one headline and yes, this
post is rather long – but needs to be posted – enjoy):
“Spending, Gaetz, Santos: House GOP's grievances bleed into Mike Johnson's
speakership (plus the ME mass shooting)”
The relationship between
the Biden White House and the newly minted highest-ranking Republican in the
country, House Speaker Rep. Mike
Johnson (R-LA), is already off to a testy start.
The White House rebuked comments Johnson made to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night, a day after 18 people were killed in two mass shootings in Maine, in which Johnson said that guns are not the cause of America’s unique mass shooting crises.
Quick update: The Maine shooter took his own life as reported by the police who found his body
Speakder Johnson said: “America’s problem is not guns. America’s
problem is a heart problem. This is a dark time in America. We have a lot of
problems, and we are hopeful and prayerful. Prayer is appropriate at a time
like this – that this senseless violence can stop.”
He then added: “It’s not guns, it’s not the weapons. At the end of
the day, we have to protect the right of the citizens to protect themselves,
and that’s the Second Amendment, and that’s why our party stands so strongly
for that.”
I wonder: Why do hardcore far right GOP conservatives feel so at
home on FOX News than on any other major network to discuss critical public
issues like guns and mass shootings, etc. A logical question with a simple answer:
Those Republicans know that FOX News will allow them to spew garbage, misinformation,
and their disinformation about any event, issue, or public subject and at any time
they choose. I note some below at least in my opinion
White House deputy
press secretary Andrew Bates issued a blistering response to those statements
from Johnson saying: “We absolutely reject the offensive accusation that
gun crime is uniquely high in the United States because of Americans’ hearts. Gun
crime is uniquely high in the United States because congressional Republicans
have spent decades choosing the gun industry’s lobbyists over the lives of
innocent Americans.”
Fact: The recent Maine mass
shooting is the 36th mass shooting this year to date – that according to
a database set up by the AP, USA Today, and Northeastern
University. At least 190 people have died in those massacres. Johnson
offered prayer as response to a mass shooter who killed 18 and injured 13
others in Maine, while any legislation to address gun violence faces an uphill
climb under his tenure.
Speaker Johnson called for:
“Prayer that senseless violence can stop.”
BTW: Johnson has
opposed any kind of gun control measures for years, and opined about the role of
faith in response to gun violence.
Johnson has opposed gun
control measures for years, including a
measure passed into law last year that (1) beefed up criminal background
checks for those under age 21 for the next decade, (2) created grants for state
crisis intervention laws, and (3) provided several billion dollars in mental health
and school security funding.
During floor debate on
that measure, Johnson criticized the legislation as unconstitutional and
reiterated many statements he made on a podcast with his wife that blamed
America’s violent crime problem on a lack of faith.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the architect of ousting Kevin McCarthy from the
speakership, is openly sparring with multiple members, including taking aim at
a key committee chairs. NY Republicans want to expel Rep. George
Santos (R-NY) from the House, a vote with consequences for their thin
majority.
Even as Johnson settles into his new role atop the House, his fires don’t end there. A handful of conservatives are already signaling that they’re going to spur part two of a centrist vs. hardliner shutdown fight.
Johnson will now have to deal with the kind of nasty infighting that McCarthy couldn’t control, as well as the looming November 17 shutdown deadline will test how he navigates a longstanding fight between those two factions.
Johnson wants to pass a short-term spending patch until
January or April to buy more time for Republicans to pass each of their
full-year funding bills, but he’s already getting hard resistance from a
handful of right flank members. To date, Speaker Johnson hasn’t detailed
how he will try to advance a months-long funding bill, though he's signaled “it
will include conditions.”
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), a member of the Freedom Caucus, said there are
likely at least five Republicans who couldn’t support a short-term spending
bill into January. With Republicans’ four-seat majority, that would be enough
to require Johnson to get support from Democrats — a complaint that doomed
McCarthy.
Biggs further said:
“I don’t even want to think about something lasting until January or April.” He
said that would be folly and added that based on talks he’s had with colleagues
he added: “I don’t believe I’m the only one who thinks that.”
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) warned: “There will need to be some conservative
victories in there to make it palatable. The border. Some sort of cuts.”
The sniping between GOP conservative and centrist factions
hasn’t begun in earnest. But there are plenty of other signs of strain within
the conference that suggests the drawn-out spectacle that saw career-long
ambitions crushed in a matter of days and sometimes hours.
All that was on embarrassing display before a national
audience — and it isn't over yet. That self-inflicted drama included intra-GOP
rivalries bursting into the open, with finger pointing, shouting and, at one
point, death threats from supporters of one speaker candidate.
Now, the House will have
to consider a resolution to expel Santos next week, brought from his own party
over the litany of charges against him. It’s unlikely to pass, given it
requires a two-thirds majority, but many New York Republicans intend to back it.
And while Johnson told the GOP lawmakers sponsoring the resolution to “do what’s right for New York,” according to the group.
He also appeared
to signal that to Hannity on FOX that he didn’t support the effort given that
Santos hasn’t been convicted, saying: “He’s not convicted. He’s charged. If
we’re going to expel people from Congress, just because they’re charged with a
crime or accused, that’s a problem.”
Then there’s the typically affable Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC),
now free of the trappings of the gavel, who is no longer holding back his comments
to reporters as he called the decision
to oust McCarthy and the following three weeks: “Perhaps the dumbest set of
politics or decision-making a majority party in this institution could make.”
Then throw in the mix Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has drawn attacks from across the conference. During a closed-door GOP meeting earlier this month,
McCarthy yelled at Gaetz: “Sit down,” as he stepped
up to the microphones. When Gaetz refused, one
Republican recalled Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) hollering his command to Gaetz: “If you don’t sit down, I’ll
put you down.”
That didn’t stop Gaetz as he has openly feuded with other members via his podcast and on social media. That includes accusing McCarthy of trying to meddle in the fight to replace himself — an accusation that has been echoed by others in the conference.
Gaetz also took aim at Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) in during his podcast saying: “Anybody with eyes can observe how the corrupt power centers of this town compromise people like Jason Smith and then flip them to do their bidding.” (FYI: Smith did not respond to a request for comment).
More on the policy front, and
not just the critical stopgap spending bill that could serve to deepen
animosity, Republicans are predicting intra-party headaches on passing some of
the full-year funding bills including legislation to fund the DOJ and the FBI. Johnson will also face an early test on abortion (note: He
favors no exceptions – none at all including rape and incest) all the while Republicans
try to revive a funding bill that includes provisions on the topic.
Regarding that, Rules Chair Tom Cole (R-OK)
said that for his colleagues: “They will be difficult, and that’s when
people have to decide are they going to make perfect the enemy of the good, Have
got to be real politicians and real legislators again.”
And while Republicans were
able to quickly pass an energy and water funding bill this week, some on the
right-flank are warning Johnson that he shouldn’t presume he has their support
on other bills going forward, as Biggs noted: “I don’t know how many more stinkers I can vote for.”
While some in that same group clearly communicated that they
trust Johnson more than McCarthy, it doesn’t mean they’re done pushing their
priorities as Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) said: “Mike Johnson will have to be held accountable. He’ll
have to hear from the right voices.”
Finally this added from NEWSWEEK: Two critics have raised questions about Johnson's religious beliefs. In an opinion piece for MSNBC, Columnist Sarah Posner called Johnson the “most unabashedly Christian nationalist Speaker in history” writing in part: “Between the Bible talk and Johnson's record, Republicans have made abundantly clear that they have emerged from the uncertainty and chaos of the last few weeks with one clear mission: to run a Christian nationalist House.”
During his first speech as Speaker, Johnson said: “There are no coincidences and that he got elected because the Bible teaches God raises up those in authority and God allowed and ordained each and every one of us to be here at this specific moment.”
Johnson has also expressed anti-LGBTQ views, including describing homosexuality as: “Inherently unnatural and a dangerous lifestyle” (in a 2004 opinion piece for The Times in Shreveport, LA).
My 2 Cents: A long post
for sure – but sorely needed at this point in time. The new speaker has
his work cut out for him.
It will not be an easy task
for him to reach any consensus or compromise on most issues and especially since
he is a hard right religious zealot leading a horribly mixed body of government
in near chaos.
So as usual stay tuned.
Thanks for stopping by.
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