In a weekend of unhinged TV appearances, Johnson doubles down on conspiracy theories and demonizes unemployed Wisconsinites needing help.

WISCONSIN -- In the middle of a pandemic that has been exacerbated by Republican inaction, Sen. Ron Johnson has weaponized his leadership position in the Senate to spread conspiracy theories rather than pass legislation to help his own constituents. Ron Johnson’s indifference to the plight of Wisconsin families was on full display this weekend as he called increased federal unemployment assistance a “perverse incentive” and chose instead to fixate on obscure conspiracy theories and cover up for his own conflicts of interest, including not denying that he accepted information from foreign sources in his Homeland Security Committee investigation.

Families across the Badger state are suffering financially and medically because the GOP -- from the White House to the Legislature -- has failed to take the virus seriously. Additionally, Sen. Johnson is using his position as Chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee to run political errands for Donald Trump, and is so out of touch with Wisconsinites, that he does not understand why workers would need unemployment insurance to take care of their families. Our country and our workers cannot recover under this lack of leadership

See coverage below:

Sen. Johnson Called Additional $600 In Federal Unemployment Assistance A “Perverse Incentive To Keep People Out Of The Economy.” SEN. JOHNSON: [...] “And we wanted to help, but in the CARES package, we passed a two $600 plus up, which – depending on which study you look at – either 68 percent or 5 out of 6 individuals, according to CBO, are making more unemployment than they made actually on their job. Now, that’s a perverse incentive to keep people out of the economy and we need workers coming back into the economy as safely as possible so we can start creating the opportunity and start recovering from this COVID recession. So, I think we want to help people financially but we have to do it at an appropriate level so people aren’t incentivized to stay on unemployment and are actually incentivized to get back in the workforce.” [UpFront, WISN, 8/2/20]

Sen. Johnson Did Not Deny Accepting Information From “Pro-Russia Ukrainians” And Said “We Are Getting Information From A Variety Of Sources.” ADRIENNE PEDERSEN: “So Senator, I just want to be clear -- are you saying that you do not get information from pro-Russia Ukrainians or disinformation?” SEN. JOHNSON: “We, we have not – what we are accused of is getting those audiotapes. We did not get those audiotapes. Okay?” ADRIENNE PEDERSEN: “But what about other things?” SEN. JOHNSON: “Again, we are getting information from a variety of sources. But primarily, U.S. –” ADRIENNE PEDERSEN: “And how do you verify that information?” SEN. JOHNSON: “Well, before we ever use it, we verify and make sure that it's accurate and true before we ever publish anything.” [UpFront, WISN, 8/2/20]

Sen. Johnson Called Additional $600 In Federal Unemployment Assistance “Pretty Destructive To Our Economic Recovery.” BARTIROMO: “For example, one lawmaker told me that, if revenue is down year over year by 50 percent, then you're eligible for the PPP. Is that right? And what about that $600? Are you going to ultimately just agree that you have to continue this?”  SEN. JOHNSON: “I hope not, because that $600 is pretty destructive to our economic recovery. If we do nothing, you will -- people will still have and be able to take advantage of state unemployment benefits." [Sunday Morning Futures, Fox News, 8/2/20]

Sen. Johnson Suggested The Trump Administration Did Not Actually Control The State Department: “How Many People In The State Department Do You Think Voted For Hillary Clinton Vs. Voted For President Trump?” SEN. JOHNSON: "One of our problems is obtaining documents from these agencies. And, Maria, understand, I mean, I will posit this question to you. How many people in the State Department do you think voted for Hillary Clinton vs. voted for President Trump?  I can't tell you my frustration how difficult it is getting information out of agencies that are supposedly controlled by this administration, but simply aren't." [Sunday Morning Futures, Fox News, 8/2/20]

Sen. Johnson Claimed There Was “Corruption At The Highest Levels Of, Certainly, The FBI” In An Effort To “Exonerate Hillary Clinton” That Shifted After The Election To “Sabotaging The Trump Administration.” BARTIROMO: “Senator, this is the first time we have heard from the Obama administration. She said it doesn't work that way.” SEN. JOHNSON: “Well, you will notice she didn't answer your question.  She just talked about, in general, what the process should be. That's not the process they followed. It is very clear that there was corruption at the highest levels of, certainly, the FBI. We have evidence of it.  I'm looking forward to John Durham wrapping up his investigation. I personally believe that the intelligence community was involved in this thing.  Their initial goal was to exonerate Hillary Clinton, when -- so that she could win the election.  When she lost the election, their goals shifted to first -- first and foremost, I think, sabotaging the Trump administration, which they have done a pretty good job of, also, I think initiating this diversionary operation, the smokescreen to cover up their wrongdoing.” [Sunday Morning Futures, Fox News, 8/2/20]

Sen. Johnson On When The Next COVID Relief Package Would Pass: “Not Anytime Soon.” ADRIENNE PEDERSEN: “Are you saying you don't think there will be another coronavirus relief package?” SENATOR JOHNSON: “Not anytime soon.” [UpFront, WISN, 8/2/20]

Sen. Johnson On His Decision Not To Hold Cash And Not Invest In The Stock Market: “I Have Lost Huge Sums Of Money By Staying In Cash And Staying Out Of The Market By And Large.” SEN. JOHNSON: [...] “What I did for marketable securities, I did one better than a blind trust. I converted it all to cash. There’s no conflict of interest in cash, so I have just been sitting on cash for most of my assets outside my ownership in my, in the company that I started. And as a result, I lost – I didn’t participate in more than a doubling of the stock market during my first six or seven or eight years in Congress. And more recently, when I did sell my five percent ownership stake in an equity, private equity sale that took over two years to do, rather than reinvest that in the stock market when I knew I could have made a lot of money because I figured the stock market would snap back, I just kept in cash because I didn't want anybody complaining about the fact that I was taking advantage of the economic situation. So, I have lost huge sums of money by staying in cash and staying out of the market by and large.” [UpFront, WISN, 8/2/20]

Sen. Johnson On Reports That Russians Paid The Taliban Bounties To Kill U.S. Troops: “Listen, Serving In Afghanistan Is Dangerous.” ADRIENNE PEDERSEN: “I want to ask you about the Russian bounties -- President Trump dismissed reports that Russia has been paying the Taliban bounties to kill Americans in Afghanistan. And he also said in a recent interview that he hasn’t not talked about that too President Vladimir Putin. Do you think you should be asking about that?” SEN. JOHNSON: “Well again, I'm not sure the last time he spoke with Vadimir Putin.” ADRIENNE PEDERSEN: “He says he's talked with him eight times and has not asked about it.” SEN. JOHNSON: “I’m not shocked by the reports, as I would not be shocked by reports that Iran could be paying. Listen, serving in Afghanistan is dangerous and there is no doubt about the fact that there are reports of that in intelligence briefings, but there are unverified reports. There was actually, you know, possibly disagreements because it was an analyst report as opposed to hard information. I can't talk about a whole lot of it because a lot of it is classified." [UpFront, WISN, 8/2/20]

Washington Post reports a warning from Wisconsin on Trump’s failed leadership.

WISCONSIN - The paper industry is vital to Wisconsin’s economy, and the hardworking Wisconsinites who have built this industry were already suffering under Trump’s failed leadership before COVID-19 hit. Now, he’s made things worse by ignoring the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and Wisconsin businesses are getting pummelled as a result. Trump narrowly won the Fox Valley area in 2016, but since taking office his ineffective coronavirus response is repelling voters  from him and other Republican candidates.

KEY POINTS BELOW:

The Washington Post: A warning from Wisconsin

• The massive paper mill has churned relentlessly since it began feeding off the energy of the Wisconsin River more than a century ago, forming the cornerstone of a city's economy and producing glossy paper coveted by publishers during the heyday of U.S. magazines.
• Rapids Mill will finally fall silent at the end of the month. The shutdown, announced June 9, will knock some 900 people out of work and has sent tremors across the region's economy, reaching from the plant's gates through town and deep into the Wisconsin forests that supply wood pulp to make paper.
• The coronavirus is proving to be a decisive Darwinian force in industries from retail to energy to transportation, culling some businesses that might have been weakening for years while giving others a new jolt of life. The swiftness has been stunning, with each closure in turn affecting other businesses and their workers, as has been playing out already around Wisconsin Rapids.
• "It impacts the 900 employees directly in the plant," said Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. "But the important thing to keep in mind is that the plant purchases and processes 25% of the timber coming off of Wisconsin's land. That impacts the haulers who are bringing the wood to the plant, it impacts the loggers who are cutting down the wood, and then it affects the landowners.
• "In Wisconsin, 2.4 million acres of managed forest is owned by counties, and they use the proceeds of the sales to fund their government operations," Hughes said.
• The closure is yet another destabilizing economic event in a state that Donald Trump carried only narrowly in 2016. The mill shutdown will result in the largest permanent layoff in Wisconsin since COVID-19 barreled into the economy, according to layoff notices submitted to the state, shocking a county that Trump carried overwhelmingly with nearly 57% of the vote.
• Known as the Dairy State, Wisconsin is also a paper state. The industry in Wisconsin sells more paper, employs more people and has more paper mills than any other state, according to a 2019 study.
• But the paper market, like everything, has been rocked by the novel coronavirus.
• When it announced the shutdown, the company cited research that found demand for printing paper fell 38% year-over-year in April. The research forecast an even greater plunge to come, with operating rates falling 70% in the second quarter.
• "There is so much capital invested in those mills, it is never easy for a company to walk away from that," said Mencke. "When a company decides to shut something down, it is because it is the best case for the dollars, but it hurts the town and all of these families."
• Many in Wisconsin Rapids can point to where the branches of their family tree are intertwined with the mill. In some cases, multiple family members work there now.
• "It is going to be bad for this town," he said. "It is not just the 900 who work here. It is going to have a trickle-down effect on the whole town."
• Businesses in Wisconsin Rapids, battered by the economic reaction to COVID-19, are already feeling the impact.
• With only a few more paychecks coming, mill workers are forgoing dinners out and aren't hosting catered events. What catering business remained amid the pandemic she saw vanish with the mill closing. "There are smaller graduation parties, not holding 50th-anniversary parties, retirement parties that will not take place," she said.
• She and her husband now work every shift at their restaurant. She can afford to schedule her wait staff shifts on only one or two days a month. The kitchen staff has had furloughs.
• "Am I in danger of losing my business? Absolutely," she said.
• She worries also about the deeper psychological toll the closing will have on the town.
• "It shakes the core of our community," she said. "And you see a negative attitude — 'The town is dying; there is nothing there anymore' — when that is not true."
• The plant closing has infused all aspects of local life — including politics, as the presidential election approaches.
• "Everyone in Wisconsin Rapids is either going to be related to someone who got laid off or will have some kind of close connection to someone who got laid off," said John Blakeman, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. "At a personal level, voters will feel the impact directly or indirectly. That will probably mobilize voters, and it will probably come down to whether they hear the economic message that is meaningful to them and less on identity-based politics."
• From May to June, statewide voter approval for President Donald Trump's handling of the economy fell 4 percentage points to 50%, as voters' view of the direction of the economy turned down sharply, a Marquette Law School poll found.
• The poll also found that a majority of Wisconsin voters disapproved of Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the George Floyd protests. Overall, the June poll found 49% of voters said they would vote for former vice president Joe Biden compared with 41% who supported Trump, Biden's largest margin in Marquette's polling this year.
• Blakeman noted that in the April primary, Wood County had relatively high turnout and that nearly half, or 49%, of voters cast a ballot for a Democratic candidate.