“MAGA Mike” is in charge of the House. Time for us all to step up.
Mike Johnson is the House GOP’s “consensus pick” to take the gavel. No, that doesn’t mean he’s moderate. That doesn’t mean he’s going to stand up to the crazies that kicked McCarthy out of the speaker position in the first place. Far from it.
There’s a reason why Trump calls the new speaker “MAGA Mike.”
It’s because Mike Johnson was the “architect” (according to The New York Times) behind Trump’s plan to overturn the 2020 election results in the House of Representatives. And I can guarantee that he’ll be a loyal foot soldier for whatever Trump has planned in 2024.
Of course, McCarthy wasn’t any better. He knows how to kiss the MAGA ring as well as anyone in Washington. I’m just saying that we can’t let Mike Johnson’s quiet demeanor and aw-shucks personality fool us. He’s a MAGA extremist through and through.
Johnson’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election and incite an insurrection on our Capitol doesn’t even fully define his extremism. He’s staked out the most right-wing stance on basically every issue in U.S. politics.
He’s anti-Ukraine and pro-Putin. He’s called the LGBTQ community “dangerous.” He wants to implement draconian cuts on social security. And on abortion rights, he’s all but endorsed a full nationwide ban. All of that adds up to a firm anti-democracy platform. His extremism is what we’ve built this community to defeat.
This extremism is what the GOP chose as their speaker. And you know what that should tell the American people?
Every position Mike Johnson stands for is what the GOP wants to pass into law. And you better believe that myself and the rest of the team at The Lincoln Project are going to drill that message into the mind of every swing voter this election season.
Remember when everyone predicted the massive red wave in 2022? I never thought it was going to happen. I was proven right because swing voters are rightly repulsed by the positions that define the modern GOP. Now they’re doubling down, opposing women’s rights and democracy. It didn’t work in 2022 and it’s going to be an anchor around their necks in 2024.
-Joe