American politics has turned into a cartoon. A kakistocratic cartoon, as a matter of fact. Kakistocracy is the “government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state” and I can think of no better description for today’s MAGA GOP. They hit the bottom of the barrel long ago and then began digging beneath it.
Mike Johnson is the latest dark star and dim wit in the GOP firmament. He brings to the job a Black invisible son and a history of helping out causes like funding the Noah’s Ark theme park in Kentucky, so that the myth that the earth is thousands, not billions, of years old can be foisted off on the young. That’s crazy enough, but not like wanting to take America back three centuries.
18th century values.
Slavery
Only white men able to vote.
Child labor
Women were chattels
Ruled by a King
The average life expectancy was 37.— Paul the other one… (@paulcshipley) October 28, 2023
Ain’t it grand?
And yes, even starting this low, it can still get worse. And it does.
New ad: Meet MAGA Mike Johnson. pic.twitter.com/0ZPUElQ5Dg
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) October 27, 2023
That argument about how abortion is a bad idea because we could use all those able-bodied workers to generate Social Security funds, or whatever the hell he said, is taking sophistry to a new level. I’m frankly surprised that this guy isn’t representing Donald Trump in one of his many trials — and he could end up doing so. With this crowd, rule out nothing is the watchword. He literally wants prison time with hard labor written into the law for doctors who perform abortions:
Opposition to abortion: Mike Johnson is the co-sponsor of multiple nationwide abortion ban bills. Johnson promoted a Louisiana policy, happily declaring, “Perform an abortion and get imprisoned at hard labor for 1-10 yrs & fined $10K-$100K.” In a Judiciary Committee, Mike Johnson said, “Roe v. Wade gave constitutional cover to the elective killing of unborn children in America,” and said that it prevented “able-bodied” workers from entering the economy.
Unhinged homophobia: Mike Johnson voted against the bipartisan legislation that protected same-sex marriage at the federal level. Mike Johnson also once wrote in favor of criminalizing gay sex, calling it an “inherently unnatural” and “dangerous lifestyle” that would “doom” the republic.
Climate change denial: Mike Johnson has downplayed the role of humans in climate change. In a town hall in 2017, Johnson said: “The climate is changing, but the question is, is it being caused by natural cycles over the span of the Earth’s history? Or is it changing because we drive SUVs? I don’t believe in the latter… I don’t think that’s the primary driver.”
Cuts to social programs: Mike Johnson once said that cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security needs to be the #1 Republican priority.
“Don’t Say Gay” advocacy: Mike Johnson authored a bill that “prohibits the use of federal funds to develop, implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually-oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10.” Critics compared this to Florida’s legislation, which has had a “chilling effect” on any LGBTQ+ expression in schools.
The only problem with that is that gay friends have told me, to the man and to the woman, that they always knew that they were gay. So I guess they’ll just know, in Johnson world, but find out after the age of ten that they’re not the only person on the planet to feel that way. I guess we should see this as encouraging.
And again, the thing that blows me out of the water every time, is the fact that this level of bigotry, xenophobia, hatred and intolerance is being packaged and sold as “Christianity.”
Ah, the good old days! I guess the harkening back to the values of America in the 50’s isn’t quite good enough for them. (even that was full of white privilege and oppression of POC)
I think Ursula is quite correct here! The republican party people(?) in leadership positions really do want there to be just the Lords of the manor, and the slaves/serfs. They also apparently want to take medicine back to the 15th century level…bring on the leaches!
yep. That’s what we need to go back to-Theodoric of York, medieval barber.
They always did.
Something that can easily checked by cross-referencing marriage dates with first birth dates, in those superior moral times, when people ‘behaved as they should’, back in the ’50s, more than half of first births were conceived ‘out of wedlock’.
No, not just the 1950s,- the 1850s AND the 1750s AND the 1650s.
The good old days of moral rectitude.
some subcultures thought proven fertility with each other was a plus.
Latest “dark star”? More like the latest shit stain (and only the latest).
Prevents able-bodied workers from entering the economy? What he’s effectively saying is that women are baby factories who should be forced to carry to term to supply a demand. I think we’ve come about three centuries from that way of thinking. Thank god for women’s suffrage. It may be the deciding factor next year.
I don’t know if you are aware, but there are reports of increases of congenital syphilis since the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Here in Texas the increase has been over 40%. Those babies are not born healthy. The results of all their policies are horrible.
Didn’t you know that women’s sole purpose is to serve their lord and master, by keeping his house, cooking his meals, and bearing his sons (daughters were not a blessing because they eventually married, so you didn’t get full.use of their work)? Educating girls is a,waste of money.
/s
I’d be willing to bet Johnson would sing the praises of one of our most famous founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. The thing is, Franklin was aware of a British book that was ostensibly a math text but was actually a general manual of lots of things. Books were expensive and having a tome that included a lot of useful information on a lot of topics was something many families thought worth having.
In the 1780s Franklin decided such a book would be a good thing for Americans to have and he created an updated version. He swapped out the medical section for one that included all manner of home remedies that were know to be at least sort of effective at the time. Practical stuff using home medicine with herbs and other stuff to cure ailments.
It also included a section on ending pregnancies. Abortions. It didn’t use that terminology of course but it was well understood by everyone what that section was about, and Franklin had a method which apparently was widely used. It wasn’t at all controversial back then. If anyone objected they were I guess ignored by most. Franklin’s book and his method could be found in most households of the time.
My point is that back when we were a young country and when our Constitution was written and adopted abortion was common and it was one of those “it’s nobody’s business but the woman and her family” matters and sure as hell not something for government to meddle in!
I’ve often wondered why, when this issue comes up in big court cases that make it to SCOTUS or even at the appellate level Franklin’s ubiquitous book and ESPECIALLY his section on how to do a home abortion using herbal medicine isn’t cited. I for one would enjoy the hell out of watching conservative heads explode like in that movie Kingsmen.
In the Roman Empire,abortion was banned,not because it offed an unborn child nut because it could kill the mother. Most abortion laws were for that reason. Childbirth was often fatal. Visit any old cemetery and see how men often ran through several wives and multiple offspring.
If we were living those “18th century values”, Johnson’s invisible black son, or ward, who may or not have been legally adopted would be his slave. You know, a person forced to breed “able bodied workers.”
What Johnson – and others – ignore os the fact that 18th century “values” played a huge part in driving the founders to create the constitution, flawed as it is. Eighteenth century values gave us first amendment protections and Article VI, prohibiting religion means testing for public office, a concept with which Mike Johnson strongly disagrees. When will these fools ever accept the fact that though imperfect, the constitution is a guidepost for decent living and creation of social conditions that were intended to be beneficial to all? One of the most frequently ignored phrases in that document, which proves its social contract nature occurs in the preamble, which sets the stage for the rest of the more specific parts. We the people are tasked with the responsibility to “promote the general welfare.” That umbrella covers a whole lot of conditions.