It's occurred to me that in all the things I've written here, I haven't once dedicated a single blog to Ron Johnson. Maybe I should. He's a U.S. Senator from my state of Wisconsin, after all.
But I've done what others who will read this have probably done: Chosen to shunt him aside for other, more important, things (It's a low bar). Because he's such a sad excuse for any kind of political representative, not to mention Senator, that one barely knows where to start.
Thing is, he's beaten one of the finest Senators we've ever had twice. I'm not sure what that says about then having to take him seriously, but he's chosen to run again (after hinting very strongly, and quite publicly, more than once that he wouldn't, in a typical snake-spine move). So he must be taken on nose-to-nose. I really do have to go to the trouble of explaining why he's one of the biggest mistakes this state has ever made, and that we cannot afford to make it again.
Why bother, then? Because he's there and may remain. That will continue to damage the state's reputation. We have to take him seriously because the powers that be in Washington clearly do not.
I've read two decent sources on him, one conservative and one decidedly not. They both say the same thing: He can be beaten, but he might also win going away.
All that says is that this is a tough, quirky state to read. It always has been. It put Joe McCarthy in the Senate, and Bill Proxmire to succeed him. It elected a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, and attorney general. Its other U.S. Senator is the extremely competent Tammy Baldwin, who was on some people's second lists for consideration as Joe Biden's running mate. It also has people like Tom Tiffany and Glenn Grothman representing it in Congress. Go figure.
The pogo stick nature of our politics here thus makes things hard to predict. The underlying 'skinny', though, is this: While it's true that some Republicans are bothered by Johnson's strange views on the pandemic, for instance, they may not be bothered enough to vote to unseat him. After all, he's a dependable vote on several vital issues. It will depend on whatever Democrat survives the primary on August 9.
On paper, then, it would seem that any old Democrat can swipe the seat from Johnson. But he's been elected twice against someone who many considered a rock solid dependable choice, Russ Feingold. The trick is that Johnson's been lucky: He's always run as an outsider, so to speak, when the Democrats have been in control. He hasn't had to play defense. This time is no different. That's to his advantage.
And his early TV ads drum up the same theme that ex- has been pounding on for all this time: Fear. He wants you to think that the country's gone to pieces and that Democrats are to blame. The videos are almost amateurish in their depiction. Of course, he has no plan to improve any of that, but neither do any of the other Republicans in the Senate: All they think they have to do is just sit there.
Johnson has clung to ex-'s coattails feverishly as well. His strange views on the pandemic and vaccination keep him from being criticized from Mar-A-Lago, which keeps his poll numbers at a decent level. It will be interesting to see if he will drill down on the Big Lie, or try to dodge it and move on. It will also be interesting to see how he answers for the simple fact that, back in November, he was temporarily suspended from YouTube--which hasn't been the most fastidious in self-policing--for violating its rules for spreading misinformation about Covid.
But I would never call him savvy. I would call him attuned to whatever dog whistles that are present and relevant. They've worked twice, though, and that's a prescription that won't be ignored. That also tells you something about this state, something that's been sad to admit for some time now. We used to be known as independent and unique; now far too many are knee-jerk and Southernish, taken in by pseudo-macho bullying.
He needs to be defeated. He has embarrassed this state for far too long. I think it can be done, but Democrats must take him seriously, despite the gaffes and stumbles. If they do--and it will take strong, consistent messaging about the good things government can do--we can be rid of this odd, obstructive, deceptive excuse for a major political force, who, like his idol, wants you to believe that government is your enemy until he's in charge of it, and needs power for its own sake.
Be well. Be careful. Get a booster. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.
Mister Mark
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