Ron Johnson’s Rocky Campaign Launch Print
Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties
Written by WisDems Press, Philip Shulman   
Wednesday, 12 January 2022 11:09

ron-johnson-quibblesMADISON, Wis. – Report after report around Ron Johnson’s re-election announcement highlights what a damaged candidate he is after years of solely focusing on his self-serving agenda at Wisconsin’s expense.

See the coverage below of how Ron Johnson has betrayed Wisconsinites:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Sunday he's running for re-election, breaking a campaign pledge to serve only two terms…Johnson also promoted a key provision of a 2017 tax-cut bill, successfully pushing for a tax break for small businesses and other so-called pass-through entities. Pro Publica reported that Johnson's provision benefited wealthy Americans, including two of the biggest forces in Republican politics in Wisconsin and nationally. ProPublica said that Dick and Liz Uihlein of Pleasant Prairie-based packaging company Uline and Diane Hendricks of Beloit-based ABC Supply ‘contributed around $20 million to groups backing’ Johnson's 2016 reelection campaign.”

WPR: “The Cook Political Report, a national newsletter that analyzes elections, campaigns and political trends, lists the race as one of six U.S. Senate races across the country in 2022 with ‘toss up’ status, rather than being inclined toward one party or another…However, Johnson has been far from a narrowly-focused politician. He has made headlines for his stances on a wide number of issues since arriving on the political scene, from coming to the defense of a major oil company after an oil spill to blaming sunspots for global warming.”

The Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Johnson is facing a trickier road to retaining his seat, with state polling showing him underwater. A Marquette Law School Poll of registered voters in late October showed 38% said they would vote to re-elect Mr. Johnson, while 52% said they would support someone else.”

The Washington Post: “Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has announced he will seek reelection for a third term this year, despite a previous pledge to retire…Johnson, 66, had promised in 2016 when he ran for his second term that he would retire at the end of it if he won. Earlier this year, the senator waffled on that promise, telling reporters that he had not decided yet whether to run for a third term.”

HuffPost: “...Some Wisconsin Republicans called him a modern-day Joe McCarthy, the late Republican senator from Wisconsin who staged the national witch hunt for communists in the 1950s — dubbed ‘McCarthyism’ — that ultimately destroyed the livelihood of many. McCarthy, who had an acrimonious relationship with many of his Senate colleagues, was ultimately censured.”

The Guardian: “The Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson, a hardline Trump supporter once described as ‘what you get when QAnon and the Tea Party have a baby’, has confirmed he will seek a third term, a step he once promised not to take...Newspapers called for him to resign…Referring to Johnson and Republicans who went through with objections, the paper said: ‘These men are cowards.’”

Rolling Stone: “Johnson, unfortunately, has not been telling the truth when it comes to Covid. He promoted mouthwash (yes, mouthwash) as a way to kill the virus. ‘Standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus,’ he said. This lie became so popular that it prompted mouthwash company Listerine to create a website debunking the claim. YouTube has also suspended his account — numerous times — for violating its Covid-19 misinformation policy (Johnson has claimed this is censorship).”

Newsweek: “‘Ron Johnson is not someone you can take seriously as a United States senator,’ [Sophia] Nelson said during a segment of MSNBC's The Sunday Show, responding to the news. ‘He is a hack of the highest order. He has, you know, been someone who has just engaged in the most nefarious type of conversation, gas-lighting obstruction, from Russia all the way to January 6th. So I expect nothing less from him. I am no longer surprised,’ said the former GOP attorney…”

Vanity Fair: “Johnson, who on Sunday called upon the ‘support of every American who values the truth and refuses to allow lies and distortions to prevail,’ has been at the forefront of the attacks on public health and democracy that have come to define today’s GOP…Outside of parroting false claims about elections, Johnson has dedicated much of his time to spreading fringe theories about the coronavirus and the efficacy of vaccines. Johnson, who is not vaccinated, has spread anti-vaccine misinformation while advocating for unproven or discredited COVID-19 treatments such as mouthwash.”