It is hard, even as Republicans fight back against the idea of teaching history, for them to deny that some parts of history just happened. They have also taken time to fight back against the idea that new, different infrastructure is a positive, despite the fact that at one point, a fellow Kansas native Republican president by the name of Dwight Eisenhower promoted that with the federal highway system. It is easy, however, for the same Republicans to tell you what they fear. Senator Ron Johnson certainly didn’t learn from FDR, where the only thing to fear was fear itself. Instead, Johnson is telling us the most important thing to fear may be other Americans who, you know, want to vote and seek a better nation. More than that, he is urging Americans to be panicked about that outcome.
As the Wisconsin Republican convention moved ahead, Ron Johnson took time to talk to the audience about all his fears, how he quakes in his boots at night because he is panicked over what America might be, and, after all, America is pretty good right now—what really is there to change, actually? Just leave things well enough alone and get off my lawn! Oh, Senator Johnson, what a weak and feeble orator you portray yourself as when you resort to such pathetic fearmongering.
From the Madison Cap Times:
Johnson said he's "more panicked" than ever about the state of the country, having run for the first time in 2010 based on the same fears. Johnson defeated Wisconsin Democratic folk hero Russ Feingold in 2010 and again in 2016, outperforming Donald Trump when the former president won Wisconsin — the first Republican presidential candidate to do so since 1984.
"The leaders of the left talk about fundamentally transforming this nation. Do you even like, much less love, something you want to fundamentally transform?" Johnson asked. "America’s not perfect; we had that original sin from slavery, but we’ve made progress. We’ve continuously improved. That’s not good enough for the left."
The senator made one thing perfectly clear: Republicans have a plan, and it isn’t all-in on winning the Senate, though they want that too.
Johnson called on Republicans to run candidates at every level of public office, arguing that the GOP has spent too much time focused on federal elections while letting seats go at the local levels.
"Take back our school boards, our county boards, our city councils. We will take back our culture. We don't have to fear this anymore," Johnson said, advocating the concept of "trickle-up elections."
Sound familiar? Republican local initiatives are active nationally, seeking to set up systems that can move to hinder any reform initiatives for police forces, better uses of social services funding, prevention of meddling with school educational standards.
This is what keeps Ron Johnson panicked and up at night. He fears an America that teaches the truth, holds officers accountable, and tries to provide police forces with real support by moving a lot of their work to people who are actually prepared to do it, like mental health responders and social services. Ron Johnson has continued to oppose the rights of the voters in D.C. to have their voices heard, defend insurrectionists, and take a bold stance against protecting the right to vote.