On Wednesday, after weeks of chaos, House Republicans unanimously selected Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the new Speaker. Compared to the previous Republican candidates for Speaker, Johnson has kept a relatively low profile in Congress. He was first elected to the House in 2016, and previously served as GOP deputy whip, a relatively junior leadership position. Johnson, 51, spent most of his career working as an attorney for far-right religious advocacy groups. Before joining Congress, he had a brief but eventful tenure as a member of the Louisiana legislature.
In my 70 years, I cannot recall feeling so frightened for my country and my family's future. And now an anti-democracy Christian-sharia-law promoter has the power of the Speaker. I know it's vital to keep shining the light (thank you Judd!) on these issues, but I'm feeling that 1 step forward/2 steps backward sense of impotence to effect change in our trajectory. I give money, support candidates of integrity, but between the GOP gerrymandering and continued (and unbelievably insane) support for Trump and MAGA's, I fear we are losing the fight. I live on Social Security (which Johnson wants to kill); what's a reasonable person to do?
I know exactly how you feel. I’m the same age and worry for my kids and grandkids. I write letters to get people to vote. Check out Vote Forward and join in!
I took some time off too, but I’m getting ready to start again. Plus I volunteered as a independent polling observer and learned a lot about how the ballot counting process works. I was impressed by the professionalism of the staff and the security of it all. I live in a mail only state which is great.
Joyce, send this article to everyone you know and spread the word.
Everything about the creep makes me terrified for all of us. I particularly resent a man(?) telling me how my body will be abused or used! Same with religion(?) if he is actually a lawyer(?) then he may have come across separation of church and state!
What he is is a feeble minded male who doubts his own sexuality and therefore needs to make anyone else wrong. These predators have to eat to stay alive.... they live on garbage. They insult the entire law society, and the entire male population. What we need to do is let Americans of all beliefs be very aware of what his “ so called beliefs” are. Mostly as I said, he has none of his own. He id rudderless and as dangerous as a boat motor without the boat or the water!
Get it out there!!!! And hang on . We need each other!🎂👏🏻🤗💕
While I have a few extra years on you, my concerns are the same and have been since I first heard Rush Limbaugh in the late 1980's. Educated as a journalist and involved in the industry for awhile thereafter, it troubled me that a broadcaster could so casually lie and insult without repercussions. Soon he had many imitators, across the country, entertaining voters with lies, innuendos, conspiracy theories and assassinating the character of many democratic leaders. Rupert Murdoch's entire media empire is built on the same red meat model. For over three decades we allowed this disinformation industry to thrive and hide behind the First Amendment. Now, I fear, it's too late. Tens of millions of voters are untethered from reality and form the base of voters who scare the bejesus out of once normal republicans. Trump simply got in front of these voters and convinced them that only he could address their supposed grievances, ones that were mostly created by the disinformation industry. I don't believe that our founders intended for the First Amendment to be an eventual poison pill for the democracy. The media landscape of today bears little resemblance to that of 1787 but we have ignored the damage that an unregulated approach to freedom of the press has caused. In 1930's Germany, Joseph Goebbels, a second rate PR flack, convinced about 30% of the voters that Adolph Hitler was the only one who could "fix" the Jewish problem, the people behind all of the country's ills. With that minority voting block, Hitler came to power legally. Worry you should.
I’m 61 and have kids at 20 and 22 - I’m terrified for their future!!! I’m seeing failure of Garland for not indicting these insurrectionists - they should be in jail not sitting in Congress. They failed their oath and Garland failed the American people. Shameful
Here's my advice for what a "reasonable person" should do -
1) Speak to all of your family members and all of your friends and urge them to vote only for Democrats in 2024 - - and ask them to spread that same word to all of their friends. We need to do everything we can to ensure that there is a huge voter turnout in Nov 2024!
2) Affix signs to the doors of your car that say "Vote Only for Democrats in 2024!"
Sad to hear that, Brian. But, to me, the price we have to pay to preserve Democracy in the United States is worth it. I live in a "RED" area in CA. I did (what I suggested) during the months of Aug, Sep and Oct 2020. While I did not draw any gunfire, I did draw lots of angry stares. (And, a lot of "driving finger" gestures, if you know what that is.)
Well, I should probably add that since the first of 2023, Alabama is a no-license-required-open-carry state with 2 or more MAGAt voters to every Democrat and a gun ownership rate of 52.3%. A different strategy should be given thoughtful consideration. A mess of dead Democrats will not be mourned here. We don’t have a gun problem here, just a people problem so say the bumper stickers.
Yes, hostile people who have made up their minds are only antagonized by the opinions of others. A large portion of them believe their hatred & any actions they take are on the side of god’s will.
That said, we do have circles of influence where encouraging & prodding people to the polls to vote with sanity can work.
And in the last month, I have begun writing postcards for Tony the Democrat. This enables me to make some tangible contribution to efforts that have some hope of becoming fruitful.
Sounds good Joel, but I live deep in Maryland's southern most very rural county - it's real trump country and most of the citizens are armed...I live alone in a somewhat isolated house on a farm, so not too sure that will work for me. That said, I do have a "Country over Party" placard for my front yard...while one guy up the road has a f**k Biden flag, and another has had an American flag upside-down at half mast in his front yard since Jan 2020. It's a scary world out there right now.
We all want to live in a country, a world for that matter, where future generations stand the chance to live healthy, full, authentic lives. But there are some in power today, who only see winners and losers. They believe another human’s success automatically equates to their downgrade. So, they do anything to hold onto power, to preserve their imaginary throne. Here’s the good news, since the debacle (a gross understatement, I know) of 2016, people, rational, progress-thinking people (like us!) have become much more educated and engaged.
A couple of people have touched on it: voting is key! I know it seems like we’ve been gerrymandered and suppressed out of fair representation, but as long as voter participation hovers around 60%, it’s hard to rely solely on that argument.
We shouldn’t, however, tell people how to vote, you will only raise defenses. We just need to boost and celebrate the successes of our leaders who are truly working for the people. And, reach out to young voters, discouraged voters, chronic non-voters and inconsistent voters, to your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues, and simply make sure they are registered to vote. Carry around some voter registration cards for your county (hint, find them in post offices and/or public libraries), that way you have them at the ready. And memorize your state’s best online voter information resources.
Finally, know you are not alone. And together, we got this! 💙
So, here it is loud and clear exactly what Trump's Republican party stands for: ANYTHING, as long is it argues on behalf of Trump's claim that he deserves to have won the 2020 election for President. Mike Johnson's peculiar religiosity, that of "a despicable bigot of the higher order," harmonizes with that of Ron DeSantis.
Republicans up and down the ballot are going to find out if electing a nasty, Christo-fascist, homophobic, misogynistic, insurrectionist Trump stooge as Speaker is going to be a good look for the party. What do we know for sure? The government will be shut down, if not in November then in January. He will try to block aid for Ukraine, pass a national abortion ban, hype Hunter's laptop, allow a vote to impeach Biden and cut Social Security and Medicare. If Republicans want to run on that next year, well Vaya con Dios boys and girls. Just because it plays well on Newsmax doesn't mean it plays well in the country.
I hope you are correct, but the packaging on this guy and Youngin in VA is just good enough to allow some people to support if they lean R. I just completed 100 post cards mailed to VA Dems. We must must stay focused and committed If you can, send a few bucks to our Dems standing up for freedom of all people.
I do postcards as well. I am of the belief that Youngkin will be buried at the altar of his 15 week abortion ban. He can't hide that the way he hid the bullshit about CRT and crime in the streets.
Hope you are right. I'm kind of counting on the fact that even magats won't like them and may not vote for them if social security and Medicare and Medicaid will be taken away.
Sadly MAGAts are not critical thinkers. They believe that any cuts to Social Security and Medicare will only affect the underserving - immigrants, people of color, Democrats, etc. They have no understanding that if their heroes put thru a 30% cut, it will affect them as well. And when it does, they will blame Biden, Harris, Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Remember that it was pre-MAGATs that carried the signs a few years ago: “Keep the government hands off my Medicare” They are NOT teachable. As they are, so they will be until they expire
Thank you for revealing the recent activities of the new House Speaker. Seems to me he IS 'a despicable bigot of the highest order.' We are in for a bumpy ride!
I watched his acceptance speech and was 'taken' with his personable qualities--and he talks like "Ted Lasso"-- so, I'm thinking... maybe he's a decent sort? Well, like most people, I've never heard of this guy and it turns out he's MAGAt on steroids, in a 'nice guy' suit. OMG. A wolf in sheep's clothing, here to do tfg's dirty work. Think of it, Gaetz, Boebert, MTG, Jordan, etc., all think he's great. That's really scary stuff. One of the best quotes I heard was from some talking head, saying Johnson is like Jim Jordan with a sport coat, or something like that... there was another that was better, but I won't post it here... The covenant marriage stuff and all the religious stuff, yikes, he and Amy Comey Barrett on that same page? Separation of Church and State? Fox and the right wingers were soooo scared of Sharia Law. I'll stop now. Good luck to our Republic.
I will be sending a larger portion of my income to those standing up to this scourge sweeping across the country. And that makes me mad. I could be having fun with that money!
Without hyperbole, this man would likely be a Taliban cleric if he were born in, let's say, Afghanistan. I think most of us want government to keep our society on the rails - clean environment, functioning marketplace, a well maintained national defense, law and order, passable roads and rails, etc. The modern Repubs really only want to use it to push a white male christian evangelical (or orthodox Catholic - shout out to the Supreme Court!) orthodoxy. It's surreal. And Mike Johnson has Taliban cleric written all over him. He's a disturbing fella.
So what's the plan? They get this Johnson guy in as a ringer, then foment some situation where the maga droids riot and in the ensuing confusion, supporters like the 3%'s show up and they kill their way to the top, installing Johnson as place keeper until the "election" for tfg? Democracy undone from within?
These guys are max level crazy and off-the-scale dangerous to our nation.
What happened to those republicans that did such a great job coordinating an increasing vote against Jim Jordan? Why do they now support this worst case scenario? Who influenced or intimidated them to vote for Mike Johnson?
This comment by Matt Gaetz is the scariest thing I’ve heard since it was announced that Trump was elected President:
"If you don't think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you're not paying attention,”
I’ll be working my butt off to make this a VERY short term. 2025 will be swearing in Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker of the House cuz the Dems are going to take back the House.
Forcing women to remain in abusive marriages and have forced births is not the message of of a good person. His paradigm is about control - a distinct feature of many religions - not love for others. “A despicable bigot of the highest order” seems apropos. Let’s make that stick.
Thank you for revealing him. I will share this far and wide. Next up, we need ProPublica to look into any contact he’s had with Leonard Leo and the billionaire anti-U.S. donors club. At this point, it feels like he was the plan for the Republicans all along. I feel so depressed and scared
But . . . Of course. The Organized Crime Syndicate aka the RNC is NOT about democracy or leadership; it is about backwards, chaotic, mind-f**king and greed. Welcome to a World controlled by fascist, neonazi billionaires.
I guess the best thing we can do is get Johnson out of office as soon as possible. However, Trump may do that for him because there is no one better at choosing bad colleagues than DJT. Things are looking dicey for DT. Some of his top people are running like rats from the sinking ship. The Georgia case is likely to sink him. Felony on tape.
In my 70 years, I cannot recall feeling so frightened for my country and my family's future. And now an anti-democracy Christian-sharia-law promoter has the power of the Speaker. I know it's vital to keep shining the light (thank you Judd!) on these issues, but I'm feeling that 1 step forward/2 steps backward sense of impotence to effect change in our trajectory. I give money, support candidates of integrity, but between the GOP gerrymandering and continued (and unbelievably insane) support for Trump and MAGA's, I fear we are losing the fight. I live on Social Security (which Johnson wants to kill); what's a reasonable person to do?
I know exactly how you feel. I’m the same age and worry for my kids and grandkids. I write letters to get people to vote. Check out Vote Forward and join in!
Head to https://www.votesaveamerica.com/ and https://runforsomething.net/ as well. And influence the youth around you to also get involved and activate!
Thank you Adam...will check it out!
Thank you Jill. I did that in 2021 and then got so caught up in life events I forgot about them...appreciate the reminder!
I took some time off too, but I’m getting ready to start again. Plus I volunteered as a independent polling observer and learned a lot about how the ballot counting process works. I was impressed by the professionalism of the staff and the security of it all. I live in a mail only state which is great.
Joyce, send this article to everyone you know and spread the word.
Everything about the creep makes me terrified for all of us. I particularly resent a man(?) telling me how my body will be abused or used! Same with religion(?) if he is actually a lawyer(?) then he may have come across separation of church and state!
What he is is a feeble minded male who doubts his own sexuality and therefore needs to make anyone else wrong. These predators have to eat to stay alive.... they live on garbage. They insult the entire law society, and the entire male population. What we need to do is let Americans of all beliefs be very aware of what his “ so called beliefs” are. Mostly as I said, he has none of his own. He id rudderless and as dangerous as a boat motor without the boat or the water!
Get it out there!!!! And hang on . We need each other!🎂👏🏻🤗💕
Joyce--
While I have a few extra years on you, my concerns are the same and have been since I first heard Rush Limbaugh in the late 1980's. Educated as a journalist and involved in the industry for awhile thereafter, it troubled me that a broadcaster could so casually lie and insult without repercussions. Soon he had many imitators, across the country, entertaining voters with lies, innuendos, conspiracy theories and assassinating the character of many democratic leaders. Rupert Murdoch's entire media empire is built on the same red meat model. For over three decades we allowed this disinformation industry to thrive and hide behind the First Amendment. Now, I fear, it's too late. Tens of millions of voters are untethered from reality and form the base of voters who scare the bejesus out of once normal republicans. Trump simply got in front of these voters and convinced them that only he could address their supposed grievances, ones that were mostly created by the disinformation industry. I don't believe that our founders intended for the First Amendment to be an eventual poison pill for the democracy. The media landscape of today bears little resemblance to that of 1787 but we have ignored the damage that an unregulated approach to freedom of the press has caused. In 1930's Germany, Joseph Goebbels, a second rate PR flack, convinced about 30% of the voters that Adolph Hitler was the only one who could "fix" the Jewish problem, the people behind all of the country's ills. With that minority voting block, Hitler came to power legally. Worry you should.
I’m 61 and have kids at 20 and 22 - I’m terrified for their future!!! I’m seeing failure of Garland for not indicting these insurrectionists - they should be in jail not sitting in Congress. They failed their oath and Garland failed the American people. Shameful
Exactly what I said to the man of the (my) house this morning. Why is Johnson even serving in the House as a representative?
Could not agree more! I cannot believe they are getting away with this while many of the other insurrectionists are in jail (as they should all be).
I turned 70 this year. i could have just cut and pasted your comment. You've captured my feelings so completely.
As well as donating to campaigns of people we can trust, I do a lot of praying.
But even so, I'm so disillusioned about the kind of world our grandkids will inherit.
Here's my advice for what a "reasonable person" should do -
1) Speak to all of your family members and all of your friends and urge them to vote only for Democrats in 2024 - - and ask them to spread that same word to all of their friends. We need to do everything we can to ensure that there is a huge voter turnout in Nov 2024!
2) Affix signs to the doors of your car that say "Vote Only for Democrats in 2024!"
If you live in the Deep South as I do, item 2 will draw gunfire.
Sad to hear that, Brian. But, to me, the price we have to pay to preserve Democracy in the United States is worth it. I live in a "RED" area in CA. I did (what I suggested) during the months of Aug, Sep and Oct 2020. While I did not draw any gunfire, I did draw lots of angry stares. (And, a lot of "driving finger" gestures, if you know what that is.)
Well, I should probably add that since the first of 2023, Alabama is a no-license-required-open-carry state with 2 or more MAGAt voters to every Democrat and a gun ownership rate of 52.3%. A different strategy should be given thoughtful consideration. A mess of dead Democrats will not be mourned here. We don’t have a gun problem here, just a people problem so say the bumper stickers.
Yes, hostile people who have made up their minds are only antagonized by the opinions of others. A large portion of them believe their hatred & any actions they take are on the side of god’s will.
That said, we do have circles of influence where encouraging & prodding people to the polls to vote with sanity can work.
And in the last month, I have begun writing postcards for Tony the Democrat. This enables me to make some tangible contribution to efforts that have some hope of becoming fruitful.
Sounds good Joel, but I live deep in Maryland's southern most very rural county - it's real trump country and most of the citizens are armed...I live alone in a somewhat isolated house on a farm, so not too sure that will work for me. That said, I do have a "Country over Party" placard for my front yard...while one guy up the road has a f**k Biden flag, and another has had an American flag upside-down at half mast in his front yard since Jan 2020. It's a scary world out there right now.
Scary place!
We all want to live in a country, a world for that matter, where future generations stand the chance to live healthy, full, authentic lives. But there are some in power today, who only see winners and losers. They believe another human’s success automatically equates to their downgrade. So, they do anything to hold onto power, to preserve their imaginary throne. Here’s the good news, since the debacle (a gross understatement, I know) of 2016, people, rational, progress-thinking people (like us!) have become much more educated and engaged.
A couple of people have touched on it: voting is key! I know it seems like we’ve been gerrymandered and suppressed out of fair representation, but as long as voter participation hovers around 60%, it’s hard to rely solely on that argument.
We shouldn’t, however, tell people how to vote, you will only raise defenses. We just need to boost and celebrate the successes of our leaders who are truly working for the people. And, reach out to young voters, discouraged voters, chronic non-voters and inconsistent voters, to your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues, and simply make sure they are registered to vote. Carry around some voter registration cards for your county (hint, find them in post offices and/or public libraries), that way you have them at the ready. And memorize your state’s best online voter information resources.
Finally, know you are not alone. And together, we got this! 💙
So, here it is loud and clear exactly what Trump's Republican party stands for: ANYTHING, as long is it argues on behalf of Trump's claim that he deserves to have won the 2020 election for President. Mike Johnson's peculiar religiosity, that of "a despicable bigot of the higher order," harmonizes with that of Ron DeSantis.
Republicans up and down the ballot are going to find out if electing a nasty, Christo-fascist, homophobic, misogynistic, insurrectionist Trump stooge as Speaker is going to be a good look for the party. What do we know for sure? The government will be shut down, if not in November then in January. He will try to block aid for Ukraine, pass a national abortion ban, hype Hunter's laptop, allow a vote to impeach Biden and cut Social Security and Medicare. If Republicans want to run on that next year, well Vaya con Dios boys and girls. Just because it plays well on Newsmax doesn't mean it plays well in the country.
I hope you are correct, but the packaging on this guy and Youngin in VA is just good enough to allow some people to support if they lean R. I just completed 100 post cards mailed to VA Dems. We must must stay focused and committed If you can, send a few bucks to our Dems standing up for freedom of all people.
I do postcards as well. I am of the belief that Youngkin will be buried at the altar of his 15 week abortion ban. He can't hide that the way he hid the bullshit about CRT and crime in the streets.
Boy, I hope you are right. But from the tons of mail and deluge of ads I'm seeing on TV I fear the Democrats are too narrowly focused on abortion.
I totally agree with you and have been fearful of Younkin since he won as VA Governor. I am surprised he isn’t running for President now.
Fantastic! I’m only up to about 60 on Ohio’s abortion ban.
Great job!
I'd love to reduce NewzSnax to a smoking ruin!
Hope you are right. I'm kind of counting on the fact that even magats won't like them and may not vote for them if social security and Medicare and Medicaid will be taken away.
Sadly MAGAts are not critical thinkers. They believe that any cuts to Social Security and Medicare will only affect the underserving - immigrants, people of color, Democrats, etc. They have no understanding that if their heroes put thru a 30% cut, it will affect them as well. And when it does, they will blame Biden, Harris, Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Remember that it was pre-MAGATs that carried the signs a few years ago: “Keep the government hands off my Medicare” They are NOT teachable. As they are, so they will be until they expire
I believe the actual wording on the sign was "Kepp your gummit hands off my Medicare" /s Alongside the signs that read "Get a brain morans"
Ignorance is bliss. Freedom is slavery. War is peace.
Thank you for revealing the recent activities of the new House Speaker. Seems to me he IS 'a despicable bigot of the highest order.' We are in for a bumpy ride!
I wish it was only going to be bumpy. I fear much worse than that.
I watched his acceptance speech and was 'taken' with his personable qualities--and he talks like "Ted Lasso"-- so, I'm thinking... maybe he's a decent sort? Well, like most people, I've never heard of this guy and it turns out he's MAGAt on steroids, in a 'nice guy' suit. OMG. A wolf in sheep's clothing, here to do tfg's dirty work. Think of it, Gaetz, Boebert, MTG, Jordan, etc., all think he's great. That's really scary stuff. One of the best quotes I heard was from some talking head, saying Johnson is like Jim Jordan with a sport coat, or something like that... there was another that was better, but I won't post it here... The covenant marriage stuff and all the religious stuff, yikes, he and Amy Comey Barrett on that same page? Separation of Church and State? Fox and the right wingers were soooo scared of Sharia Law. I'll stop now. Good luck to our Republic.
I will be sending a larger portion of my income to those standing up to this scourge sweeping across the country. And that makes me mad. I could be having fun with that money!
I know! I hate that $$ drives our government, it hasn't belonged to the 'people' for decades.
Without hyperbole, this man would likely be a Taliban cleric if he were born in, let's say, Afghanistan. I think most of us want government to keep our society on the rails - clean environment, functioning marketplace, a well maintained national defense, law and order, passable roads and rails, etc. The modern Repubs really only want to use it to push a white male christian evangelical (or orthodox Catholic - shout out to the Supreme Court!) orthodoxy. It's surreal. And Mike Johnson has Taliban cleric written all over him. He's a disturbing fella.
So what's the plan? They get this Johnson guy in as a ringer, then foment some situation where the maga droids riot and in the ensuing confusion, supporters like the 3%'s show up and they kill their way to the top, installing Johnson as place keeper until the "election" for tfg? Democracy undone from within?
These guys are max level crazy and off-the-scale dangerous to our nation.
"chaos and sexual anarchy"
don't threaten me with a good time, Mr Johnson
😏
What happened to those republicans that did such a great job coordinating an increasing vote against Jim Jordan? Why do they now support this worst case scenario? Who influenced or intimidated them to vote for Mike Johnson?
This comment by Matt Gaetz is the scariest thing I’ve heard since it was announced that Trump was elected President:
"If you don't think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you're not paying attention,”
Um - they got too tired of the fight. doormat grates wore them out.
So right...I was horrified to hear those words (from Gaetz) because there is truth in them.
Idiocy... the fascist right is ginning up a hype here, and we need to crush it.
I’ll be working my butt off to make this a VERY short term. 2025 will be swearing in Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker of the House cuz the Dems are going to take back the House.
Vote blue!
...your lips to God's ears (or whoever can make it so)
WE make it happen!
Call, write, text, cajole. Get people voting.
Forcing women to remain in abusive marriages and have forced births is not the message of of a good person. His paradigm is about control - a distinct feature of many religions - not love for others. “A despicable bigot of the highest order” seems apropos. Let’s make that stick.
Thank you for revealing him. I will share this far and wide. Next up, we need ProPublica to look into any contact he’s had with Leonard Leo and the billionaire anti-U.S. donors club. At this point, it feels like he was the plan for the Republicans all along. I feel so depressed and scared
But . . . Of course. The Organized Crime Syndicate aka the RNC is NOT about democracy or leadership; it is about backwards, chaotic, mind-f**king and greed. Welcome to a World controlled by fascist, neonazi billionaires.
Why is this person not in jail? WHY no accountability???
I guess the best thing we can do is get Johnson out of office as soon as possible. However, Trump may do that for him because there is no one better at choosing bad colleagues than DJT. Things are looking dicey for DT. Some of his top people are running like rats from the sinking ship. The Georgia case is likely to sink him. Felony on tape.
I hope you are correct, but living in NYC and viewing 25 plus years of his antics and NO accountability, I remain a skeptic.
You know, just occurred to me that prison doesn’t stop mob bosses from controlling their empires. DJT II, still ruling from inside?