Tag: Sen. Johnson

Assaulting the Truth, Ron Johnson Helps Erode Confidence in Government

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Pushing false theories on the virus, the vaccine and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Mr. Johnson, the Republican senator from Wisconsin, has absorbed his party’s transformation under Donald Trump.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. — Senator Ron Johnson incited widespread outrage when he said recently that he would have been more afraid of the rioters who rampaged the Capitol on Jan. 6 had they been members of Black Lives Matter and antifa.

But his revealing and incendiary comment, which quickly prompted accusations of racism, came as no surprise to those who have followed Mr. Johnson’s career in Washington or back home in Wisconsin. He has become the Republican Party’s foremost amplifier of conspiracy theories and disinformation now that Donald Trump himself is banned from social media and largely avoiding appearances on cable television.

Mr. Johnson is an all-access purveyor of misinformation on serious issues such as the pandemic and the legitimacy of American democracy, as well as invoking the etymology of Greenland as a way to downplay the effects of climate change. Continue reading.

Ron Johnson’s misleading citation of data to back his ‘concern’ about BLM protesters

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“Out of 7,750 protests last summer associated with BLM and Antifa, 570 turned into violent riots that killed 25 people and caused $1- $2 billion of property damage. That’s why I would have been more concerned.”

— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), in a statement, March 13

Johnson has come under fire for telling a conservative news radio show that he “never felt threatened” by the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, but he would have been concerned if the mob had been made up of Black Lives Matter or antifa protesters. Referring to Trump supporters, he said: “I knew those are people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law.”

We will leave the political commentary to others. We are interested in the facts that Johnson used to document his concern after the uproar started.

While he did not identify the source of his information in his statement, in a March 15 Wall Street Journal op-ed defending his remarks, Johnson confirmed that first set of numbers came from a study by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project(ACLED), a nonprofit data collection, analysis and crisis mapping project. The property damage figures are from a different source. Continue reading.

Bob Menendez calls Ron Johnson a ‘racist’ on the Senate floor: ‘Like rubbing salt in an open wound’

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Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) did not mince words when it came to sharing his opinion of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) and his remarks about the U.S. Capitol riots that erupted on Jan. 6. 

On Tuesday, March 16, Menendez appeared on the Senate floor where he lambasted the Republican senator for his remarks during a conservative talk show where he insisted that he was not afraid of the Capitol rioters simply because they were not members of Black Lives Matter or Antifa.

According to Menendez, the remarks suggest that he is “a racist,” reports NBC News. The senator did not hold back when he offered his opinion of Johnson’s remarks.  Continue reading.

‘What the hell?’ MSNBC’s Morning Joe unloads on Ron Johnson for defending Trump’s ‘terrorists’

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MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough unloaded on “bigot” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who admittedhe was unafraid of white insurrectionists but would have feared Black Lives Matter protesters.

The Wisconsin Republican later feigned surprise over the strongly negative reaction to his comments, but the “Morning Joe” host called out the racism and inaccuracy in Johnson’s claims — and his subsequent denials.

“An ‘innocuous comment,'” Scarborough said, quoting the senator’s denial. “An innocuous comment where he said, I’m going to get in trouble for saying this.’ He knew exactly what he was doing. Let me tell you, Ron, the left doesn’t want you to be silenced, because the more you say bigoted things like the other day, the more you actually help the left and the more you hurt Republicans. So, yes, Ron, they don’t want you to be silenced, and of course, you aren’t silenced, because you actually wrote an op-ed in one of the largest newspapers on the planet, one of the most important newspapers on the planet. We keep hearing this, ‘I will not be silenced,’ as people write op-eds in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal and go on national news networks and get more access to the American people than anybody else. It’s just a stupid, stupid argument.” Continue reading.

Ron Johnson keeps digging

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The Wisconsin senator tried Monday to explain his comments about being more scared had Black Lives Matter followers stormed the Capitol. But the revisionism didn’t stop there.

Last week, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) yet again caused controversy by saying what he really thought about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Having previously downplayed the severity of it and raised a debunked conspiracy theory that it might not have been perpetrated by supporters of former president Donald Trump, Johnson said he never truly felt threatened. His reason: Because, in his words, “those are people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law.” He said he would have felt more threatened if Black Lives Matter or antifa were behind the riot.

On Monday, Johnson kept digging.

In an appearance on a local Wisconsin radio show, Johnson fought back against allegations of racism for invoking BLM and saying he would have been more scared if that movement had been behind it. Continue reading.

Ron Johnson’s unscientific take on the coronavirus vaccine

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Reporter: “Did you get the vaccine or are you planning to get vaccinated?”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.): “No, I had covid, so I don’t believe, you know, I think that probably provides me the best immunity possible, actually having had the disease.”

— Interview on CBS 58 Milwaukee, March 10

Doctors, public health experts, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are clear: Get the coronavirus vaccine even if you had covid-19.

Yes, people who had the disease produce antibodies that provide immunity from the coronavirus. But that immunity fades over time, and the body’s natural response may not be enough to prevent a repeat infection 90 days after the first one, the CDC says.

Reinfections, both mild and severe, have been well documented since the coronavirus emerged in late 2019. For example, a nursing intern in the Netherlands with no issues in her immune system contracted covid-19 in the spring and again in the summer of 2020, with stronger symptoms the second time. A nurse in Ohio got the disease twice, seven months apart. Hundreds more cases have been reported worldwide, although experts say they are widely undercounted. Continue reading.

Ron Johnson supporters mystified by his transformation into conspiracy-spouting ‘RonAnon’

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Writing for the Washington Post, columnist Karen Tumulty reports that hometown fans of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) are scratching their heads over his transformation from successful straight-laced businessman into one of the U.S. Senate’s leading conspiracy mongers.

Among other unfounded claims the Wisconsin Republican had made recently was at a recent Senate committee appearance where he said the Capitol riot on Jan 6th. was the work of anti-Donald Trump “provocateurs,” while he read a post from a right-wing website that claimed the insurrectionists were “festive” while stating the rioters are “presumed to be Antifa or other leftist agitators.”

Those comments led Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) to fire back, “It’s disgraceful for a sitting Senator to spread disinformation so blatantly,” before adding, “it’s dangerous and it must stop.” Continue reading.

Critics slam Sen. Ron Johnson for unfounded claim that ‘fake Trump protesters’ led riots: ‘It’s disgraceful’

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As senators on Tuesday worked to unpack the security failures that allowed a pro-Trump mob to storm the Capitol last month, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) offered a wholly different take on what had happened: that “agent provocateurs” and “fake Trump protesters” were to blame.

Critics, including some within his party, promptly slammed Johnson over his unfounded suggestions that the Jan. 6 insurrection had been a “jovial” protest and that rioters who stormed the Capitol were not supporters of Donald Trump.

“It’s disgraceful for a sitting Senator to spread disinformation so blatantly,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who has been an outspoken critic of Trump and his role in the insurrection, said Tuesday evening on Twitter. “It’s a disservice to the people he serves to continue lying to them like this. It’s dangerous and it must stop.” Continue reading.

Amy Klobuchar shuts down a GOP senator spreading a ‘conspiracy theory’ at the Capitol riot hearing

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On Tuesday, members of the U.S. Senate held a hearing on the Jan. 6 insurrection — and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin promoted a debunked conspiracy theory claiming that the insurrectionists were really left-wing militants. But Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a centrist Democrat, pushed back against that false claim.

According to far-right conspiracy theorists, members of Antifa attacked the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6 in order to make supporters of then-President Donald Trump look bad. But there is no evidence to support that claim, and the participation of QAnon, the Proud Boys, White nationalists, various militia groups and others on the far right has been well-documented. Axios’ Jonathan Swan, on Jan. 12, reported that when Trump floated that conspiracy theory, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pushed back and told him, “It’s not Antifa, it’s MAGA. I know. I was there.”

But Johnson, on Tuesday, promoted false claims that on Jan. 6, the U.S. Capitol Building was attacked by “provocateurs” and “fake Trump protesters.” And when Klobuchar spoke, she made it clear that she saw no validity in those claims. Continue reading.

A disaster for journalism raises disturbing doubts for the Republic

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On Sunday, NBC’s “Meet the Press” interviewed United States Senator Ron Johnson. ABC’s “This Week” interviewed House Minority Whip Steve Scalise. CBS’s “Face the Nation” interviewed United States Senator Lindsey Graham. “Fox News Sunday” interviewed United States Senator Rand Paul. They’re Republicans and they had a message for a combined television audience of millions: Donald Trump won.

Not in those exact words, but that was the clear implication. This thing or that thing—it didn’t really matter what thing—meant in their “view” that the former president was robbed and the legitimacy of the current president, Joe Biden, is somehow suspect.

I bring this up not because yesterday was a disaster for journalism and the integrity of the public square (though it was that). I bring this up because it seems to me an answer to the question that haunts democratic discourse: How does a republic deal with parties that lie so intensely, so voluminously and so shamelessly? Some say we should afford them the same respect we ourselves would expect. If we call them liars, that might encourage them to lie more given the outrage of being called liars. Better to check their facts, state the truth and move on in hopes that they behave in kind. Continue reading.