One of the biggest objections that so-called moderate Republicans lodged against Rep. Jim Jordan as a candidate for speaker of the House was his election denial. For the 18 Republicans in districts won by President Joe Biden, staying away from those who embraced the worst of election denial seemed like a line in the sand.
Then those same Republicans got out the broom and erased that line by voting for Rep. Mike Johnson.
Because Johnson wasn’t just a Jan. 6 supporter, he was an architect of the entire scheme. From planning to steal the votes of millions of Americans to making false claims about voting machines, Johnson worked to support the Big Lie at every stage. No member of Congress did more to overturn the 2020 election. And every Republican who voted for him just voted to endorse Johnson’s efforts to end American democracy.
Here’s Republican Rep. Ken Buck insisting that the next speaker of the House had to be someone who acknowledged President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and claiming he wouldn’t support anyone who was involved in Jan. 6
Here’s another statement from Buck explaining just how important it was to admit the truth of Biden’s victory. “If we don’t have the moral clarity to decide whether President Biden won or not, we don’t have the moral clarity to rule in this country, period,” Buck said.
And here’s Buck congratulating Mike Johnson after Buck voted for him for speaker.
Buck is emblematic of a group of Republicans who claimed to care deeply about upholding democracy … until they didn’t. Because there’s absolutely no mystery about Johnson’s positions. He wasn’t just another Republican who went along with Trump’s efforts. He was a leader and originator of some of the most dangerous efforts, and directly involved in attempts to overturn the election that have already netted felony indictments for other members of Trump’s circle.
As The Washington Post reports, Johnson recruited 125 members of the Republican House into a scheme that included signing a Supreme Court brief. That brief supported throwing out the votes in four states that Trump lost on the basis that election officials had made changes to voting rules in response to the pandemic. Jordan and Rep. Steve Scalise might have signed onto that brief (as did former speaker Kevin McCarthy), but it was Johnson who wrote it and recruited the rest.
By the time Jan. 6 rolled around, Johnson was a leader among the Republicans who were set to vote no on accepting the electors from multiple states. And he did.
It’s no wonder that Donald Trump was so supportive of installing Johnson as speaker, Because Trump worked hand in hand with Johnson in planning these election denial efforts. According to the Post, Johnson was “directly solicited by Trump” to spearhead efforts on Capitol Hill. In Johnson, Trump has exactly what he wanted: Someone who will work to deny the outcome of an election, no matter what the voters say.
After all, as Johnson has said plainly and repeatedly, he doesn’t believe in democracy. He believes America is a republic set up by founders who “followed a biblical admonition on what a civil society is supposed to look like.”
That admonition seemingly includes the ability to suppress the votes of tens of millions to obtain the desired outcome. Johnson believes that his elevation to speaker was “ordained by God” and that Republican House members were “raised up” by God to their current positions. But apparently, when a vote goes against Republicans, they’ve also been ordained to overturn that vote.
It’s an extremely convenient view of God.
Politico reports that on Jan. 5, 2021, Johnson huddled with other Republicans and explained to them God’s will. “This is a very weighty decision,” Johnson told them. “All of us have prayed for God’s discernment.” Then he led them in voting against accepting the election results in two states. Because for Johnson, God’s will and his own will are apparently inseparable.
Johnson’s prayers have also given him insight into software programming that seems to bring knowledge straight from the Book of Sidney Powell.
That’s who the Republicans have put in charge. A theocratic Trump supporter who believes that any lie is acceptable because God picked him–-and Trump, and everyone who supports them—no matter what the voters say.
That’s who Buck and every other Republican who claimed to have some concern about upholding the truth about the election selected. Only 125 Republicans may have signed onto Johnson’s efforts to overturn democracy in 2020. But this week, 220 of them signed onto his scheme. Every single one of them is now an election denier.
Every Republican who voted for Johnson is a volunteer in the effort to end America. Mike Johnson would say that was God’s will. One thing is certain: They don’t give a damn about the people’s will.
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Then those same Republicans got out the broom and erased that line by voting for Rep. Mike Johnson.
Because Johnson wasn’t just a Jan. 6 supporter, he was an architect of the entire scheme. From planning to steal the votes of millions of Americans to making false claims about voting machines, Johnson worked to support the Big Lie at every stage. No member of Congress did more to overturn the 2020 election. And every Republican who voted for him just voted to endorse Johnson’s efforts to end American democracy.
Here’s Republican Rep. Ken Buck insisting that the next speaker of the House had to be someone who acknowledged President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and claiming he wouldn’t support anyone who was involved in Jan. 6
Here’s another statement from Buck explaining just how important it was to admit the truth of Biden’s victory. “If we don’t have the moral clarity to decide whether President Biden won or not, we don’t have the moral clarity to rule in this country, period,” Buck said.
And here’s Buck congratulating Mike Johnson after Buck voted for him for speaker.
Buck is emblematic of a group of Republicans who claimed to care deeply about upholding democracy … until they didn’t. Because there’s absolutely no mystery about Johnson’s positions. He wasn’t just another Republican who went along with Trump’s efforts. He was a leader and originator of some of the most dangerous efforts, and directly involved in attempts to overturn the election that have already netted felony indictments for other members of Trump’s circle.
As The Washington Post reports, Johnson recruited 125 members of the Republican House into a scheme that included signing a Supreme Court brief. That brief supported throwing out the votes in four states that Trump lost on the basis that election officials had made changes to voting rules in response to the pandemic. Jordan and Rep. Steve Scalise might have signed onto that brief (as did former speaker Kevin McCarthy), but it was Johnson who wrote it and recruited the rest.
By the time Jan. 6 rolled around, Johnson was a leader among the Republicans who were set to vote no on accepting the electors from multiple states. And he did.
It’s no wonder that Donald Trump was so supportive of installing Johnson as speaker, Because Trump worked hand in hand with Johnson in planning these election denial efforts. According to the Post, Johnson was “directly solicited by Trump” to spearhead efforts on Capitol Hill. In Johnson, Trump has exactly what he wanted: Someone who will work to deny the outcome of an election, no matter what the voters say.
After all, as Johnson has said plainly and repeatedly, he doesn’t believe in democracy. He believes America is a republic set up by founders who “followed a biblical admonition on what a civil society is supposed to look like.”
That admonition seemingly includes the ability to suppress the votes of tens of millions to obtain the desired outcome. Johnson believes that his elevation to speaker was “ordained by God” and that Republican House members were “raised up” by God to their current positions. But apparently, when a vote goes against Republicans, they’ve also been ordained to overturn that vote.
It’s an extremely convenient view of God.
Politico reports that on Jan. 5, 2021, Johnson huddled with other Republicans and explained to them God’s will. “This is a very weighty decision,” Johnson told them. “All of us have prayed for God’s discernment.” Then he led them in voting against accepting the election results in two states. Because for Johnson, God’s will and his own will are apparently inseparable.
Johnson’s prayers have also given him insight into software programming that seems to bring knowledge straight from the Book of Sidney Powell.
That’s who the Republicans have put in charge. A theocratic Trump supporter who believes that any lie is acceptable because God picked him–-and Trump, and everyone who supports them—no matter what the voters say.
That’s who Buck and every other Republican who claimed to have some concern about upholding the truth about the election selected. Only 125 Republicans may have signed onto Johnson’s efforts to overturn democracy in 2020. But this week, 220 of them signed onto his scheme. Every single one of them is now an election denier.
Every Republican who voted for Johnson is a volunteer in the effort to end America. Mike Johnson would say that was God’s will. One thing is certain: They don’t give a damn about the people’s will.
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