Mornin’ Politocadoes!
The US House of Representatives finally has a new Speaker of the House. After 3 weeks of embarrassment, Speaker-delegate after Speaker-delegate, the House Republicans got their act together. And who is this new Speaker? This man who would be second in line to the Presidency? This hotshot young gun that the collective Republican caucus tilted their heads at, shrugged their shoulders, and said “Sure, fine.” ?
Why, it’s Mike Johnson! Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson. First elected to the House in 2017, Johnson is extremely conservative and part of the Christian Right, having served as a professor at Liberty University, at the Alliance Defending Freedom as lawyer, an advocacy group working to put religion in classrooms and curtail the rights of the LGBT+ community, and contested the results of the 2020 Presidential Election.
So with all that said, Trump thought he was a great choice.
What does he bring to the table? Not a whole lot, honestly. Unlike some of the other candidates, Johnson is still fairly new to Congress. Jim Jordan, for whatever else he is, has been in Congress for fifteen years, Johnson’s only been in for six. He has never chaired a committee, he has a small staff, and has no notable connections with the Senate or the White House. He’s also not well-known for fundraising, something that even Kevin McCarthy was known to be able to do and is key for maintaining and expanding the House majority.
His work also shows him to be unwilling or unable to work across the aisle, advocating for deep spending cuts and cutting off aid to Ukraine. He also voted against raising the debt ceiling and the short term funding bill.
One of the main problems for the House GOP these past weeks has been the tension between their hard right factions and the moderates. Every nominee offered up had the same problem: they would not be able to work with the moderates or the Democrats. Mike Johnson does not solve that issue in any way, shape or form. He isn’t a dealmaker, he’s not a glad hander, he isn’t some savvy operator. He’s an ideologue. So why him?
And I think the answer is that they’re tired. They were locked in a room and someone, probably Matt Gaetz that putz, told them to make a choice but it couldn’t be a moderate and it couldn’t be a Democrat. There’s no functional difference between him and Jim Jordan, really. It’s just that people hate Jim Jordan and this fellow has so far managed to not directly offend any of his colleagues, apparently. I mean, apart from supporting the insurrection. Like, it’s pretty disgusting sane people let guys like him still legislate. But hey, it’s Congress, we have to grade these people on a curve.
Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect. Something to keep in mind! Police are using digital data to prosecute abortion seekers, and Facebook and Google are helping them! Even if they are not legally required to do so, the tech giants will aid them in this since it’s technically *against the law*. Please be careful when looking for abortion providers or helping someone who is looking for that assistance.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues even if the emergencies end, continue to vaccinate using the latest version of the FDA approved vaccines by Phizer and Moderna. Even if you are vaccinated, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas in accordance with CDC guidelines in regard to your own vaccination status.