Brunswick Beacon, 11.16.23
After shutting down the House for three weeks because they couldn’t pick a speaker, Republicans settled on Mike Johnson (R-LA), a key player in their efforts to overthrow the 2020 election. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said Johnson’s selection shows “where the power in the Republican Party truly lies,” dubbing him “MAGA Mike.”
Johnson is the least experienced Speaker in 140 years. He blames school shootings on abortion, supports a national abortion ban, and rejects the separation of Church and State. He believes if women are compelled to bring more “able-bodied workers” into the workplace, Republicans wouldn’t need to cut Social Security and Medicare.
Johnson’s inexperience and extremism were evident with his first act, rejecting President Biden’s proposal for aid to Israel and Ukraine, American allies at war. Biden’s proposal also included $14 billion to stop fentanyl from entering the country and strengthen border enforcement.
Johnson eliminated everything but Israeli aid. Worse, he conditioned that on cutting IRS funding that makes rich tax cheats pay their fair share. Johnson falsely claimed his IRS cuts would improve our "fiscal stability." In fact, the Congressional Budget Office says they will cost $26 billion in revenue over 10 years, increasing the deficit by $12.5 billion. If the rich don’t pay that, you will!
It’s not the first bald-faced lie Republicans told about the IRS enforcement funding in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) warned of IRS “strike forces” brandishing “AK-15’s” (sic) “already loaded ready to shoot some small businessperson.” So much for Republicans supporting law enforcement!
Rather than working to avoid a government shutdown on November 17, Johnson wasted time on a bill that won’t pass the Senate. Why is he refusing to do the people’s urgent business? The not-ready-for-prime-time Johnson explained it with some accidental truth-telling in his first fundraising email: “I refuse to put people over politics.” Way to say the quiet part out loud, Mike!
Kristine Garrity
Calabash