84 Comments
User's avatar
Gina Stanley's avatar

He is an abettor, and as such, he is guilty as a principal. He will face the same punishment as his king.

Expand full comment
Jacqueline Berry's avatar

This dude makes a mockery of Christianity. There is such a thing as a sin of omission according to James 4:17: "Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin." So he can pretend to be as pious as he wants and pray in front of whoever but when it comes down to the bottom line he is just as big a sinner as those he accuses of committing crimes.

Thanks, Will, for this great summary. It puts into plain view exactly who and what Mike Johnson really is.

Expand full comment
Steven Branch's avatar

Every time I read an expose on Little Mikie ("Lizard Lips") Johnson I want to break something! He is the epitome of a sanctimonious hypocrite who talks the talk but does not walk the walk. His blatant violation of the 9th commandment in the Old Testament about not bearing false witness against ones neighbor (aka LYING) is just one of his many transgressions that are too numerous to list here. Mind you, I don't believe in all that Judeo-Christian Bible stuff he claims he does. He is quite adept at dodging any questions about the appalling and illegal actions of the orange-faced demon who gave him his Speaker's job. So much for the legislative branch of government being a foil to a out of control, lawless convicted felon POTUS who is ransacking our country with the help of useful idiots like Johnson. A plague on all their houses.

Expand full comment
E. A. Bare's avatar

Johnson is NOT the Speaker of the house, he is the speaker of trump.

Expand full comment
John Roberts's avatar

Johnson mentioning that the Democrats would "take over the means of production" The classical definition for socialism, which was pounded into my head as I received a BS in economics from Fordham (where Trump had 1.28 GPA before transferring to a state school, U Penn), and an MBA after that. The fact of that is that there is only one party that is undertaking a socialist takeover of the economy and that would be the Republican party under Donald Trump. He told Coca Cola to change the makeup of Coca Cola, told numerous companies to fire personnel he didn't like, including Intel to fire its CEO, Goldman Sachs to fire its market strategist and numerous others. He has told numerous other companies how to run their businesses (law firms, universities, etc) just to name a small fraction. This is classic controlling the means of production. It is also classic of Authoritarians to call the opposition what you are doing, much as Putin calls the Jewish President of Ukraine a NAZI (Isn't it funny how MAGA is consinent, vowel, consinent, vowel just like NAZI? Also that Trump is German?). Johnson is just carrying on typical Authoritarian moves.

Expand full comment
Jeff's avatar

Anit-anti fascist = Fascist.

Expand full comment
gary addington's avatar

Wonderful writing Will. "Blind Devotion" indeed. He is goose-stepping in time to the march of the conned. AND, helping lead the parade. "With The cross of Jesus going on before," as the song has it. That Christianity has been co-opted is no ones fault, but is self-evident.

Expand full comment
John Coyne's avatar

This whole thing regarding Johnson is galling and sickening. A coequal branch of the government has effectively laid down and shown it's belly to trump and his simps. These passive, benign and toothless questions are not cutting it. The media should be all over this stuff and relentless with pointed questions and facts at their fingertips about what trump is doing and what Johnson is allowing him to get away with. The former rule of law party is completely dead and buried at this point in exchange for power and to try to fundamentally change this country. We as a society can't allow these maniacal views to poison the very fabric of what we want our country to be.

Expand full comment
mw's avatar

The media has been neutered into irrelevance. Click-bait reporting, plain greed, and right-wing ownership have together destroyed any trust in the media

Expand full comment
Peter Hornbein's avatar

Johnson is merely the Triumvirate's (Miller, Vought, and Bessant) head lickspittle in Congress. What is more frightening is the fact that Trump is the Triumvirate's Lickspittle-in-Chief. As long as Trump gets to play golf, make lots of money, watch TV, post on social media, and playact on TV pretending to be a strongman dictator, he's happy to let the Triumverate run the country; in fact, he's delighted to do their bidding because it requires no effort on his part.

Besides, he's becoming a dottard; his dementia and physical health appear to be deteriorating.

Expand full comment
mw's avatar

APPEAR TO BE??? That fat, stupid, racist slob can no longer hide what the entire world sees with its own eyes.

Expand full comment
John Keller's avatar

Has anyone else noticed, when debating a MAGA individual or Trump supporter either in person or on-line the responses from almost all of them is the same response word for word nearly every time for every issue, it's like trying to have an exchange with a robot. Apparently they really have been programmed by the cool aid. It's really spooky.

Expand full comment
Leslie J's avatar

Great article. When they call us the "Democrat" party I'm going to need a (sic). 😉

Expand full comment
Ryan Lentz's avatar

None of this would matter if Americans took their civic duty seriously. We are dumber and more distracted now than ever. It is our own fault. The only answer is to get enough of the 35% of eligible voters that don't vote to care. Otherwise we're fucked. Gerrymandering and apathy will be our downfall, and very soon if something doesn't change before November 26.

Expand full comment
mw's avatar

Americans like being stupid and distracted. Critical thinking is too "woke" for the redneck right. They have to constantly attack and tear down anything they don't like or understand.

Expand full comment
David White's avatar

Johnson is a weirdo. His arrangement with his son demonstrates his need for control. As those of us who live in crime ridden cities, he come visit, one of us will show him around. He’s a constitutional lawyer? I wish I went to that school then I could be the Speaker of the House. Johnson reminds me of. Joe Jackson song: Pretty boys on our TV screen, teeth so white and hair so clean, pretty boys want to sing and play guitars, pretty boys want to be big stars. Finally, Johnson’s flunkiness is such that he hurts flunky’s reputation.

Expand full comment
Bob Kolinski's avatar

Beware Mr. Johnson. The orange clown has a strange proclivity for turning yes men into scape goats.

Expand full comment
Mickey Long's avatar

It's not the Speaker (though it's him, too); it's the donor-class that threatens politicians that they either ignore Trump's corruption and bad behavior & get donor-class bills passed or else get punished by being primaried, not getting family jobs & contracts, etc. Attack those donors (Theil, Bezos, Merciers, Walmarts, etc.) & end the bad behavior.

Expand full comment
Nibbles McDaniel's avatar

Johnson strikes me as particularly weak. Kind of a cuck.

"To bring a democracy under authoritarian control, you need more than a strongman. You need politicians who will assure the public, as we slide toward one-man rule, that nothing odd is happening. That’s the role Johnson is playing in Donald Trump’s takeover of America."

Expand full comment
mw's avatar

It only works if the shitheads in the Democratic Cowards party continue to play nice and stay silent.

Expand full comment