"It put a socially conservative lawyer who opposes abortion rights and same-sex marriage, and who played a leading role in congressional efforts to overturn the 2020 election, second in line to the presidency." NYT, 10/25/23
The little-known Louisianan, who won on the first ballot, rallied objections to 2020 election certification, won Trump’s hedged support and has a solidly conservative voting record.
Mike Johnson, a little-known social conservative from Louisiana, did what three nominees before him could not: win over support from mainstream Republicans and the far right.
"Moments from now Mike Johnson of Louisiana will become Speaker of the House and I just found out that Johnson and his wife have a podcast about ‘religious conservatism’, basically a heavy focus on abortion bans, opposing gay marriage and the like. Before entering Congress Johnson was a ‘religious liberty’ activist. … Johnson supports an absolute national ban on abortions."
People who keep holding out hope for some "normal" bevy of Republicans to moderate the white Christian nationalist agenda now totally controlling the party do not have a clue about what's afoot with Republicans — and those same people badly underestimate how many Americans buy into this nonsense. Meanwhile, Democrats continue to excel at tearing away at each other's entrails, paving the way for Trump to regain the White House.
That possibility — a Trump victory in 2024 — becomes more and more possible because the horrors unfolding in the Middle East now have Democratic voters pitted against each other, doing what we Democrats do best of all — tearing away at the solidarity we desperately need to resist a political party that is pushing fascism on steroids and promising to usher in an authoritarian theocratic state if it gains total control of the federal government.
The U.S. House elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) to be the 56th Speaker on Wednesday, capping off a chaotic three weeks that paralyzed the lower chamber in a stunning fashion.
The Hill reports the new speaker will confront a Nov. 17 deadline to fund the government or risk a shutdown.
I asked Rep Don Bacon (R-NE) if the House GOP requires any #Speaker to be a 2020 election denier. He said no… but then acknowledged it remains a divisive issue that is splintering the House GOP.
Bacon says he believes the results of the 2020 election
Yes, Rep Bacon says he’ll vote for Rep Johnson to be speaker. Other House Republicans, including Rep Ralph Norman (R-SC) predict overwhelming, if not unanimous, GOP vote for Johnson
Finally, #MikeJohnson is now second in line to the US presidency. #Biden and #Harris should not be seen in the same place at the same time anymore. Can't believe I had to say that, sorry everybody!
#Emmer (MN), the #House maj whip, was elected as the #GOP pick on a 5th ballot in an internal race that drew 9 #Republicans. It’s not clear, however, that he has enough support to be elected on the House floor. To prevail, Emmer would need a majority of the full chamber.
Emmer, who has been in #Congress since 2015, previously chaired the #National Republican Congressional Cmte — the House campaign arm — for 4 yrs.
For ~18 months, #Speaker#MikeJohnson, along w/his wife, Kelly Johnson, have hosted a podcast that explores their #faith & #politics, touching on a wide range of subjects incl’g the congressional effort to overturn the #2020election results, #SCOTUS’s decision overturning the right to #abortion & #Trump’s #legal woes.
“You have a Democrat county prosecutor there who is engaging in, just, stagecraft,” #Johnson said on the podcast in Aug, after Trump was criminally charged in #FultonCounty, #Georgia.
In the episode, #MikeJohnson said it was an “outrageous development” & complained that #Trump had to surrender to the county jail on “completely bogus charges.”
The first episode of the program, published in March 2022, was titled, “Can America be Saved?” (Presumably by Jesus)
“We call this show ‘Truth Be Told’ because that’s what we are going to do on this program,” #Johnson said in the opening episode.
Who is Mike Johnson? Five things to know about the new Republican House speaker (www.nbcnews.com)
The little-known Louisianan, who won on the first ballot, rallied objections to 2020 election certification, won Trump’s hedged support and has a solidly conservative voting record.
Johnson Elected Speaker of the House, Ending Weeks of Chaos (www.nytimes.com)
Mike Johnson, a little-known social conservative from Louisiana, did what three nominees before him could not: win over support from mainstream Republicans and the far right.