October 25, 2023 05:09 PM UTC

To Know Lauren Boebert is to Know Mike Johnson

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• by: Colorado Pols

What do you need to know about new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson?

Well, we’ll tell you in a moment. But there’s a shorter version of this answer: Congressperson Lauren Boebert is a YUGE fan of the four-term Republican from Louisiana. Boebert, in fact, stood literally right next to Johnson during his first press conference late Tuesday after winning an internal Republican vote to make him the official GOP nominee for House Speaker.

Boebert’s excitement about Johnson speaks volumes about a man already being called “The First MAGA Speaker.” If we’ve learned anything from Boebert’s nearly four years in Congress, it’s this: The closer you are to Boebert at any critical moment, the less likely it is that you are in the right place in general.

Let’s call it the “Boebertstink Proximity Guide.” If Boebert is near enough that you can smell her perfume, then you’re in trouble. Johnson needed Boebert’s support to make it to the Speaker’s office, but he could have done that just as well with her in the back of the room. Interestingly, Johnson’s victory was a rare moment in which someone who actually aligned with Boebert’s viewpoints ended up on the same side as her when the votes were counted Remember, Boebert opposed Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker in January…he won anyway. Boebert voted ‘NO’ on ousting McCarthy a few weeks ago…and McCarthy got booted from the Speaker’s office. Boebert pounded the table in support of Jim Jordan as Speaker just last week…and Jordan failed on three separate ballots, losing more votes each round.

Now Johnson has the “Boebertstink” on him, and that’s an ominous sign for his future political interests.

Now, About Mike Johnson

As Dan Pfeiffer wrote on Wednesday:

Every Dem should thank every Republican for choosing a guy with Paul Ryan’s economic policies, Mike Pence’s position on abortion and marriage, and Donald Trump’s insane views on the 2020 election.

If that summary were included on a dating profile, the newly-single Boebert would sprain a ligament swiping right as quickly as possible. The rest of America, however, would be scrambling in the other direction.

Compare and contrast Boebert’s thoughts on Johnson with those of fellow Colorado Rep. Jason Crow (D-Aurora) this morning:

The House is about to vote on a Speaker for the 19th time in 10 months. Who is Mike Johnson?

1. Hard-right extremist who voted to overturn the 2020 election

2. Called Jan 6 a “legitimate protest”

3. Fought to ban abortion nationwide

4. Believes man-made climate change is a…

— Rep. Jason Crow (@RepJasonCrow) October 25, 2023

Let’s dig in a bit more on the details:

♦ Johnson is staunchly opposed to abortion rights. He co-sponsored legislation in January for a national abortion ban, and has said that any doctor providing abortion services should be sentenced to up to 10 years of “hard labor” in prison. Johnson is so far-right on abortion that he has no problem making absolutely offensive and absurd arguments:

Here is Mike Johnson railing against Roe v. Wade, arguing that if women were forced to give birth to more “able-bodied workers,” Republicans wouldn’t try to cut Social Security and Medicare pic.twitter.com/RN5FPNlvon

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) October 25, 2023

♦ Johnson is a leader of the right-wing Republican Study Committee group, which has proposed cutting Medicare by raising the eligibility age AND raising the retirement age for Social Security to 70 years old.

♦ Johnson was a leader in the efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. When asked about this by an ABC News reporter on Tuesday, Boebert and others SHOUTED DOWN THE QUESTION.

Johnson himself wasn’t just shouting encouragement to Donald Trump on social media — he literally wrote one of the main amicus legal briefs that attempted — unsuccessfully — to argue that state legislatures should be allowed to change electoral college members. As The Washington Post reported:

Johnson also objected to certifying Biden’s electoral win and was one of the architects of a legal attack on the election that consisted of arguing that states’ voting accommodations during the pandemic were unconstitutional. He led a group of 126 Republican lawmakers in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court alleging that authorities in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan had “usurped” the constitutional authority of state legislatures when they loosened voting restrictions because of the pandemic.

♦ Johnson is such an adherent of standard MAGA/QAnon conspiracy theories related to elections that he went on the radio in November 2020 to make silly claims that the Dominion Voting Machines used across the country were somehow the work of deceased former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez.

♦ Johnson has argued in favor of a same sex marriage ban.

These are all things that Lauren Boebert apparently supports as well. She is absolutely thrilled by Johnson’s ascendance. The more she crows about him, the more notoriety Johnson gains…and not in a good way.

As POLITICO explains:

Mike Johnson’s anonymity in Washington was a driving force in his election as speaker, making him perhaps the only Republican to escape the House’s widespread feuding.

His novice status won’t help with the burden of actually governing…

…The Louisianan with a distinct drawl on Wednesday became the unlikely leader to an unruly group of House Republicans that will now rely on him to run their side of the Capitol. He was next to no one’s first pick, but the onetime No. 7 Republican was shielded from much of the intraparty political drama that tanked speaker picks before him — from Kevin McCarthy to Jim Jordan to Tom Emmer…

…Other than his conservative reputation and leading role in challenging the 2020 election, most senators have had little or no personal contact with Johnson. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’s never met the Louisianan and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer does not know him at all, according to the New Yorker’s office.

About the only thing that the rest of Congress knows about Mike Johnson now is that his friends include the likes of Boebert, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, and The Big Orange Guy himself. No doubt Johnson’s “Boebertstink” is already influencing opinions about the little-known Louisianan; that’s not exactly the definition of getting off to a good start.