Some people wonder if Ron Johnson-- who either is or isn't running for reelection-- could really be this obtuse... or if he's just pretending. Yesterday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that now, following an interview with a right-wing radio host, he's facing accusations of racism after saying the supporters of the failed Trump coup who stormed the U.S. Capitol on 1/6 "didn't worry him but that he might have been concerned if they had been supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement. 'I knew those were people who love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, so I wasn't concerned,' Johnson said about the predominantly white crowd that marched to the U.S. Capitol to overturn a presidential election and triggered an assault that left five people dead, 140 police officers injured and windows smashed. 'Now, had the tables been turned, and Joe-- this is going to get me in trouble-- had the tables been turned and President Trump won the election and tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and antifa, I might have been a little concerned,' Johnson said during an interview with syndicated radio show host Joe 'Pags' Pagliarulo."
He was right after one thing-- and just one thing: "this is going to get me in trouble." Though probably not with his base, who have never had any problems with Johnson's racism or stupidity. Ted Lieu sure did though-- in a quote directed straight to Johnson:
Blue America has been begging state Senator Chris Larson to run for Johnson's US Senate seat and he's still considering doing so. Certainly someone as far to the right as Johnson, needs an unabashed progressive as an opponent to help frame the issues and nobler them. This morning, Larson-- on a break during an 18 mile run-- told me that "Johnson has moved on to openly sympathizing with domestic terrorists. They stormed the Capitol carrying confederate flags, killed a police officer, and five others died. Ron Johnson is finally admitting these are his people and he’s on their side. From most of Wisconsin, we wouldn’t accept this behavior from a drunk guy blathering at the end of the bar."
One of Larson's colleagues, Milwaukee state Senator LaTonya Johnson, was also outraged: "What, white people love this country and Black people don’t? That’s exactly what he’s saying. For him to say something as racist as that-- it’s ridiculous. It’s a totally racist comment and the insult to injury is he didn’t mind saying it in the position that he holds because for some reason that’s just deemed as acceptable behavior for people who live in and are elected officials in this state."
I caught up with Assembly member Francesca Hong (D-Madison) this morning just as she was working on a tweet on the topic. She had just jotted down "Senator Ron Johnson is a white supremacist who advertises racism. Stop questioning why we are still the most segregated state in the country and instead, let us all demand the resignation of this embarrassment of a human being who condones the dehumanization of others." That sums it up pretty well!
It's a tall order given that it's fucking WI!!