A star is born!
A great communicator explains conservatism with a human face.
"I think all the American people, at one time, had great pride in this institution. But right now, that is in jeopardy. And we have a challenge before us right now to rebuild and restore that trust.” — Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House.
Ronald Reagan had it. Mike Johnson seems to have it, too. Not the angry face of the early Barry Goldwater. Not the glowering criminal mug shot of the Sore Loser who vows to be your vengeance. But a family man of real faith. “He raised up each of you.” and not just Republicans but “All of us.”
Elected 220-209 on Wednesday 10-25-23, the latest Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives — “the peoples’ House,” as Mike Johnson took care to remind — comes from modest beginnings. Son of a disabled firefighter. Self-deprecating, even humble. (Remember “humble”?) A sense of humor that does not mock others.
“I want to thank my wife dedicated wife of 25 years, Kelly … She’s not here, couldn’t get a flight in time. This has all happened sort of suddenly.”
His very name is common, everyday. There’s gotta be a thousand Mike Johnsons in America. If Mike Johnson had a doppelganger it would be the CBS Late Night so-called comedian Stephen Colbert — but without the smarmy self-righteousness. Yes, Johnson refused to certify the 2020 presidential election. The case can be made that too many Americans doubted the outcome and that more could have been done to validate the results. In any case, our sense is that the new Speaker has moved on.
It is a wonderful speech that will be studied by future scholars.
(Read the transcript.)
First item of bidness: Return to that higher threshold for removing a Speaker. Do it with Democrat(ic) votes, if necessary.
The new Speaker sounds more Reagan than Trump. He’s no America First isolationist. “A strong America is good for the entire world.” And like the Gipper, Mike Johnson may be the Republicans’ best communicator. That includes the would-be presidents. He listed the core principals of conservatism:
I boil them down to individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity.
Works for the Werkes! Populist AND intellectual. A constitutional lawyer and former talk show host. Who else quotes G.K. Chesterton? The new Speaker sounded downright Bill Buckley when he said “We’re going to fight. We’re going to fight vigorously over our core principles. Because they’re at odds at times with this modern era.” And a little bit Churchill:
And we want our allies around the world to know that this body of lawmakers is reporting again to our duty stations. Let the enemies of freedom around the world hear us loud and clear. The people’s House is back in business!
The bookish-looking Republican Speaker, a youthful age 51, reminded the Chaos Caucus to take the incremental wins in a divided government. “We have to sacrifice sometimes our preferences because that’s what is necessary in a legislative body. But we will defend our core principles to the end.” Nor did he demonize the opposition party. Won’t hear this guy demean himself by referring to the opposition as “Demo-rats.”
Hellz bellz! Speaker Johnson even promised to try to find common ground with the Democrats! Isn't that what deposed Kevin McCarthy? To minority leader Hakeem Jeffries he said:
“I know in your heart you love this country so we’re gong to find common ground there, right?
Blaska’s Bottom line: What heresy! Mike Johnson gets what has been forgotten by most MAGAs: Republicans succeed when they win hearts and minds — not by demanding fealty at the heels of a bully. “We have a duty to the American people to explain this to them so they understand it well.” — Speaker Mike Johnson.
19 responses to “We like Mike (Johnson)!”
Sooooo, is despicable Lefty Media (forgive the redundancy) giving the talented Herr Johnson a fair chance?
Not exactly.
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The Gotch
None of those headliners are false. Are you trying to rewrite history? I think the far right has found their useful idiot. Wait till he tries to compromise with the Dems for the first time; bye bye little man.
Single Parent Households Are One Of The Greatest Indicators Of An Idiot’s Future Poverty And Sub-Standard Education!
The Gotch
Putting it in bold letters doesn’t make it sound less stupid.
And saying “it’s stupid” doesn’t make it stupid. Bring a rational, persuasive rebuttal.
Where do the weird ads come from. You have a guy sticking a plastic bottle in his ear!!
Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
“Don’t knock it until I try it” You mean the weird ads or the bottle in the ear??
[…] This post originally appeared at https://davidblaska.com/2023/10/26/we-like-mike-johnson/ […]
I’m not a Johnson fan; he is a trump loyalist, religious extremist (recall trump just talked about “our religion” at a rally in NH), election denier, big-time homo-phobe, and spoke about “You’re going to see a new form of government, and we are going to move this quickly” in his speech after being nominated. Is he proposing another attempt at overthrowing our democracy soon?
I hope his future is better than his past.
I think he sounds like a really good guy. Let’s give him a chance
I agree! It is time for our elected officials to work together and get America back on track. I’m tired of all the partisan fighting, name-calling, and lack of common sense. That includes many of the above comments. Give Mike Johnson a chance!
Squire, we’ll all know by November 17th or thereabouts . If he can engineer a budget deal with some of the more sane Democrats and trick Biden into signing it (Give some Ukraine aid for cuts? Tell him he’ll get 10%? Hide it in his pudding?) to avoid a shutdown that includes some spending reductions, he could seriously challenge President Trump for the ’24 nomination. I’d love to see some exorcizing of the green
crapola"investments" from the ironically named Inflation Reduction Act, but to do this, in addition to the votes, he’d need a young priest and an old priest.Thank goodness he’s not a supreme court nominee or half a dozen bimbos would’ve erupted to audition for remembering Mike Johnson as a rapist.
“Thank goodness he’s not a supreme court nominee or half a dozen bimbos would’ve erupted to audition for remembering Mike Johnson as a rapist.” (bolds mine)
Faux Feminista Extraordinaire Hillarity NEW JOWLS** Clinton deserves a H/T for the reference BIMBO ERUPTIONS!
**CAUTION: You can’t “UNSEE” that image!
The Gotch
Mike “Gabby” Johnson is an interesting choice.
Oh shit here comes Mongo.
I see another Mike just dropped out. bye bye Pence.
Mike must be the guy: Saturday Night Live attempted to poke fun of him last night. Heavy on “attempted “.
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The Gotch