If Ron Johnson (Q - Moscow) is planning on running for reelection next year, it sure doesn't seem like it with the week he just had.
RoJo was one of the 30 Republicans that had voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Before and after his vote against it, he was making the circle of conservative TV and radio squawk shows, saying he wouldn't vote for it because it was "too expensive" and would increase the deficit too much.
But then, he went on the Dan Bongino Show and admitted that he never read the bill before voting against it:
Sen. Ron Johnson was one of 30 Republicans who voted against the recently passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill — yet in an appearance on the conservative Dan Bongino Show, Johnson said he hadn’t even read the bill.
The package passed the Senate last week but has not yet passed the House of Representatives. It could bring billions of dollars to Wisconsin to repair roads and bridges, expand internet access across the state and replace lead pipes; 19 Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voted for the bill.
Johnson noted the bill’s 2,700 page length and its price tag in his public statements about the vote, but later said he didn’t read it.
“And, I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t read the thing,” he said on the Aug. 12 episode of the Dan Bongino Show. “I was able to glean pretty quickly on that there was no way I was going to be able to support that pig…”
He probably didn't read it because there were no pictures or pop ups to help him understand how much it would help his state of Wisconsin.
Even his excuse of adding to the deficit or high cost doesn't pass the smell test.
For just the day before RoJo made his confession of being an incompetent, maleficent boob, ProPublica came out with a report regarding RoJo and the 2017 GOP tax scam. In this report, it was shown that RoJo was saying he was a no vote on that bill - unless certain modifications were made to it. He then applied heavy pressure on treasury officials about the issue. After a couple of weeks, RoJo got the concessions he had been seeking and ended up voting yes on the bill.
But what we those concessions he was so adamant about? If you guessed that it was nothing good, give yourself a gold star. From the report:
Confidential tax records, however, reveal that Johnson’s last-minute maneuver benefited two families more than almost any others in the country — both worth billions and both among the senator’s biggest donors.
Dick and Liz Uihlein of packaging giant Uline, along with roofing magnate Diane Hendricks, together had contributed around $20 million to groups backing Johnson’s 2016 reelection campaign.
The expanded tax break Johnson muscled through netted them $215 million in deductions in 2018 alone, drastically reducing the income they owed taxes on. At that rate, the cut could deliver more than half a billion in tax savings for Hendricks and the Uihleins over its eight-year life.
But the tax break did more than just give a lucrative, and legal, perk to Johnson’s donors. In the first year after Trump signed the legislation, just 82 ultrawealthy households collectively walked away with more than $1 billion in total savings, an analysis of confidential tax records shows. Republican and Democratic tycoons alike saw their tax bills chopped by tens of millions, among them: media magnate and former Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg; the Bechtel family, owners of the engineering firm that bears their name; and the heirs of the late Houston pipeline billionaire Dan Duncan.
In other words, when it comes to unneeded tax breaks for his wealthiest donors, the deficit and the cost is nothing to worry about, but if the money is to help the working families of the country, there is no number low enough for him to agree with.
Wisconsin Democrats have been hammering him about these issues relentlessly and rightfully so. This is exponentially true for his now 11 Democratic opponents.
I am starting to think that he is not going to run again. Or at least he would be smart not to run again. But being smart and making good decisions have never been his strong suit.
