Ron Johnson
How nice to be able to vote on some loopy "principle," knowing enough others will do the sensible thing and save you from yourself.
Case in point, Sen. Ron Johnson, one of only 12 Senators, way out there on the fringe, to vote against a bipartisan compromise spending bill to keep from shutting down the federal government.
Actually, that's probably giving RoJo more credit than he deserves. He probably actually wanted to shut down the government, because it spends money. And that's what he's against, on principle. Here's the roll call.
Senator Ron Johnson has found a House member loony enough to join him as a co-sponsor of his bill to stop ALL new government regulations until the national unemployment rate goes down to 7.7 per cent, or the world ends, whichever comes first.
Great news, Wisconsin! RoJo's not our only certified nut case. The House member who signed on is Reid Ribble, a freshman Republican from Wisconsin,
Never mind that no one has credibly made an argument that regulations are what's costing us jobs, or that removing regulations would create them. (Note the word credibly; RoJo might make that argument, but it has no basis in fact."
Johnson said Thursday that the growth of regulation has been a “bipartisan problem” pre-dating the Obama administration but he and GOP colleagues who joined him Thursday assailed the president’s record on regulation.
“What this bill does is say stop the madness,” said Johnson.
Senator, you ARE the madness.
Michelle Litjens: Obama is a lunatic
CORRECTION/UPDATE: I misread the story and attributed the "lunatic" agreement to Kleefisch, when it was actually Litjens. The description of Kleefisch stands.
Lest you think these people are going away, our LtGov and US Senator spent the eve of 9/11 stoking up the Tea Party at an Oshkosh rally:
Kleefisch garnered roars when she said Republicans were responsible for instituting concealed carry laws, photo ID voting requirements and a business-friendly environment to Wisconsin while [State Rep. Michelle] Litjens elicited laughs when she jokingly “thanked” President Barack Obama for uniting the Tea Party, and responded with a “you’re right” when an attendee shouted “he’s a lunatic!”
Gee, and we thought Kleefisch and Litjens (that's Kleefisch pictured, in her new mascara) were the lunatics. Go figure. (Ron Johnson is not smart enough to be a lunatic.)
Johnson, who made his political debut at a Tea Party rally, was back for more.
Wisconsin's US Senators: One class act, one greedy corporate clown
Dave Zweifel in The Capital Times, on today's corporate greed:
...[H]ere in Wisconsin all we need do is take a look at our two U.S. senators, who both happen to be successful businessmen. Together, they epitomize the two different worlds that Collins paints.
One, the soon-to-retire Herb Kohl, built a highly successful empire of grocery stores, all the while following the rules, contributing his fair share of taxes and helping promote the state's social and cultural life.
Then there's the new senator, Ron Johnson, who built a plastics business in no small part thanks to some well-placed tax breaks, and who now spends his time in Washington complaining about taxes, insisting that government needs to "get out of the way," and opposing any kind of health care reform that might benefit the uninsured.
Kohl spent his entire career espousing the belief that business and government could partner to make this a better world. Johnson wants no such partnership. Business needs to be left alone, no matter what means it must use to achieve its ends.
RoJo: Cut lower priorities to pay for disaster relief; Here are a few ideas
Politico: New disaster aid must be offset, GOP senators say.
Freshman Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), whose state has experienced minor flooding this year, agreed, saying the this year’s $1.3 trillion federal deficit simply can’t be ignored. “I think helping states in a disaster should be a priority,” Johnson said. “We got to find things that are less of a priority.”
Here are a few ideas, RoJo: How about the wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan?
Or subsidizing nuclear power?
Or paying for your Cadillac health care plan?
Just sayin'.
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