Rep. Mike Johnson is the new House Speaker—and that’s a good thing
For three weeks, there’s been a civil war in America. Not the cold civil war we usually speak about, between leftists and conservatives, but a civil war within the Republican party. Rep. Matt Gaetz worked with Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the speakership for breaking promises he made to conservatives in order to get elected to that role. However, Gaetz forgot to line up support for a replacement. From that moment, the conservatives and the Vichy Republicans went to war. Now, at last, it looks as if the conservatives won.
The new House Speaker is Rep. Mike Johnson from Louisiana. It’s a done deal:
It is the honor of a lifetime to have been elected the 56th Speaker of the House.
— Rep. Mike Johnson (@RepMikeJohnson) October 25, 2023
Thank you to my colleagues, friends, staff, and family for the unmatched support throughout this process.
It has been an arduous few weeks, and a reminder that the House is as complicated and…
No wonder that a lot of MAGAs and conservatives are happy, starting with Donald Trump, the Ur-MAGA:
BREAKING: Donald Trump congratulates Mike Johnson on becoming Speaker of the House pic.twitter.com/J3ngtaqSly
— ALX рџЋѓ (@alx) October 25, 2023
A couple of tweets spell out why Trump is pleased and why all conservatives should be pleased:
рџљЁ WE HAVE A SPEAKER: Who is Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana?
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 25, 2023
-He’s America First & MAGA
-Ally of the House Freedom Caucus
-His mentor is Jim Jordan
-He served as legal defense for Trump during both impeachment trials
-Voted against all Ukraine spending after the initial bill… pic.twitter.com/mRWUbXMubT
рџљЁHE WON! Congrats Speaker Mike Johnson!
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) October 25, 2023
Make no mistake, this is a *HUGE* victory
After Matt Gaetz ousted Kevin McCarthy, the DC Establishment fought back, but America 1st Patriots stood strong & won
For the 1st time in decades, We the People have a true voice in Congressрџ‡єрџ‡ё pic.twitter.com/a5sqvd92s5
Moreover, Johnson is not shy about his conservativism:
The first thing Speaker Designate Mike Johnson did last night was ask the Republican caucus to pray with him.
— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) October 25, 2023
This is EXACTLY what we need at this exact moment. pic.twitter.com/5F4RAqyFb4
Johnson is willing to take strong stands on issues, including Biden’s open border. The interesting thing about the video below is that the Democrats are manifestly hostile to closing the border.
Why is that interesting? Because the Democrats’ base—and New York City is certainly representative of that base—is getting very hostile to illegal immigration. In other words, the Democrat party has moved to the left of its own base:
Speaker Mike Johnson says that we need to fix the southern border and stop the wave of fentanyl.
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 25, 2023
Republicans stand up and clap while most of the Democrats stay seated. pic.twitter.com/7XVezrnH28
The usual suspects are deeply unhappy, with the most interesting criticism coming from CNN. There, Gloria Borger frets that Johnson, by being a calm man, is impervious to the attacks leftists level at more flamboyant conservatives, such as Trump:
How generous. CNN’s @GloriaBorger frets @RepMikeJohnson is “hard to demonize” and though he’s “hugely conservative” she concedes “he’s not the devil incarnate.” pic.twitter.com/UG9lkRNBPY
— Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) October 25, 2023
What just happened is incredibly important in terms of symbolizing a shift in power in the Republican party. As I noted at the top of this post, we’ve been witnessing the public face of a long-simmering civil war between genuine conservatives and those whom I call Vichy Republicans. The latter may, at the individual level, have a few hot-button conservative issues (i.e.., abortion, guns, taxes,) but they otherwise align with Democrats on huge numbers of issues (i.e., taxes, abortion, open borders, anti-white racism, Ukraine, Trump, January 6, election fraud, etc.).
With Johnson, the conservatives won. That is, the House at the very top aligns with conservatives in America who, for the most part, oppose abortion, support the Second Amendment, want lower taxes, demand a sovereign border, believe in a color-blind society, hate funding Ukraine, support Trump, believe that January 6 was a set-up, and look askance at 2020’s election results, etc. This is a step in the right direction.
Matt Gaetz took a dangerous, even careless, gamble and won. I’m delighted with the outcome, but I would suggest that, the next time a Republican decides to dethrone the king, he have a plan in place for what comes next.
Image: Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House. Public domain.